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The Bison Restaurant: Restaurant Reviews

#213, 211 Bear Street, Banff, Banff National Park, Alberta T1L 1B5, Canada
403-762-5550
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Ranked #4 of 103 restaurants in Banff
Price range: $15 - $40
Cuisines: Contemporary, Canadian
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Restaurant details
Good for: Romance, Local cuisine, Special occasions, Entertaining clients
Dining options: Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Reservations, Late Night, Dessert
Dining style: Casual Dining
Cross street: Caribou
Description: Our venue hosts 2 different restaurants... Please be sure indicate which restaurant you would like to reserve in... Upstairs, 'The Bison Restaurant & Terrace' is committed to using regional, seasonal and Canadian ingredients. Our intimate dining room has windows on all sides, with Banff's best mountain views, and large sunny terrace. Watch as a brigade of chef's prepare your meal in our open concept kitchen led by executive chef Liz Gagnon. Our main level houses the 'Bear Street Tavern', a Banff National Park inspired hot spot serving up Banff's best pizza and cast iron specialties. Our courtyard patio is perfect for cocktail sipping or enjoying a local pint. The Bison is open daily from 5pm with brunch served on Sunday's from 10am until 2pm. The Bear St Tavern is open daily from 11:30am until late Children welcome in both of our venues.
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282 reviews from our community

80% Recommend
    152
    75
    33
    14
    8
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
There are newer reviews for The Bison Restaurant
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Sydney, Australia
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
“Xmas Dinner at the Bison”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed January 22, 2013

We took a party of 9 to the Bison for Xmas dinner. It was a set menu with a variety of choices for young and old. The service was great, the food outstanding, and the value for money quite amazing. Banff restaurants can sometimes be overpriced - but this certainly was not. The atmosphere is good, and the staff seemed to enjoy working there.

We also ate at the downstairs pizza tavern, and were similarly impressed.

It is great to see a restaurant catering for different markets and occasions.

  • Visited December 2012
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Peterborough, United Kingdom
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
3 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
13 helpful votes 13 helpful votes
“Very nice”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed January 14, 2013

Nice posh restaurant. Some menu items are expensive but food is excellent. Great to see the chefs cooking. Great service. Very hot inside.

Visited December 2012
Was this review helpful? Yes 1
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Edmonton, Canada
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“good but could improve”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed January 11, 2013

lamb- I was expecting more than two pieces, but very yummy
bison rib eye- was nothing special
had bread before the meal came and the butter was hard!

The high light... the veggies! A potato, corn, and spinach patty that had a batter crust.
Steamed carrots and squash... both very good.

The place was empty (during the week at 5 o'clock) so we had good service and a quiet atmosphere.

  • Visited January 2013
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Food
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
Ask nderksen about The Bison Restaurant
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Toronto, Canada
Senior Contributor
24 reviews 24 reviews
16 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“amazing sunday brunch”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed January 7, 2013

The food is amazing here. The french toast was to die for. Fresh everything on there! Their menu is also locally sourced where possible and it was just delicious all the way around. Hope to try dinner one time. The atmosphere is comfortable and welcoming. The service is relaxed and casual. It wasn't too busy when we went but I can't understand why they played the music they did. It was loud and obnoxious in my standards.

The entrance was a bit of a puzzle because they are upstairs and I couldn't make heads or tails of where I was going when we first got in but someone directed us right away.

  • Visited August 2012
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Alberta
Top Contributor
119 reviews 119 reviews
54 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 47 cities Reviews in 47 cities
66 helpful votes 66 helpful votes
“Perfect meal”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed January 6, 2013

We arrived at the Bison without a reservation in the later evening on a weekday...it was very busy but we were soon seated. My partner and i shared a harvest salad app, a bison steak entree, and the chocolate mint torte for dessert. It was fabulous...everything done to perfection. Service was good, lots of activity in the room, lots of happy diners. A great choice for a great meal. I look forward to returning.

  • Visited January 2013
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
Was this review helpful? Yes 3
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