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All 100 Banff Restaurants »

The Bison Restaurant

#213, 211 Bear Street, Banff, Banff National Park, Alberta T1L 1B5, Canada
403-762-5550
Ranked #15 of 100 restaurants in Banff
4.0 of 5 stars 175 Reviews
Price range: 15 AUD - 41 AUD
Cuisines: Canadian, Contemporary
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Restaurant details
Good for: Romantic, Local cuisine, Special Occasion Dining, Entertaining clients
Dining options: Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch Spot, Dinner, Reservations, After-hours, Dessert
Dining style: Casual Dining
Cross street: Caribou
Description: Our venue hosts 2 different restaurants... 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 Salvatore Polizzi. Our main level houses the 'Bear Street Tavern', a Banff National Park inspired hot spot where our famous pizza's and cast iron specialties are not easily forgotten. Our courtyard patio is perfect for cocktail sipping or enjoying a local pint! All in all, the Bison Restaurant & Bear Street Tavern, while very different, bring quality back to the table with their food, service, and an overall experience that you'll sure to be writing home about. 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
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175 reviews from our community

75% Recommend
    86
    47
    24
    10
    8
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
Calgary, Canada
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 31 May 2012 NEW

I bit slow in the service but the food was just delicious ...would recommend it

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Brighton, United Kingdom
Contributor
14 reviews 14 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 29 May 2012 NEW

Our best meal in Canada by far easily. The food was inventive, different and cooked perfectly. I had the quail wrapped in bacon to start and my partner had the oysters...both were delicious. Our waitress, Clare was brilliant, allowing us 3 samples of their red wines before we chose what we wanted and happily chatted with us in a relaxed... More

Was this review helpful? Yes
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 28 May 2012 NEW via mobile

Food, service, atmosphere were all amazing. Definetly be back!

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See 2 more reviews by Batterthangood for Banff
Beijing, China
Contributor
14 reviews 14 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 10 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Actually I couldn't tell the difference in bison meat. The potato was good. Things are on the expensive side.

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See 8 more reviews by mh001 for Banff
Canada
Contributor
13 reviews 13 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Had a great brunch at the Bison and wish we had gone here again before leaving Banff. The French Toast with bacon in the middle was amazing and the burger was very good. Price was reasonable and staff was friendly. Highly recommended.

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Edmonton, Canada
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 4 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Made reservations a month in advance for 3 on a Sat night. When arrived(15 min) early told not ready but told to sit in bar or come back. When we came back at the correct time, were told rudely to come back at the time of the reservation time(even though all clocks said it was that time). Why does staff... More

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See 2 more reviews by Terry_Barb for Banff
Hamilton, Canada
Top Contributor
60 reviews 60 reviews
Reviews in 24 cities Reviews in 24 cities
22 helpful votes 22 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 4 May 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Rarely would we walk into a restaurant and decide to leave. Perhaps the upstairs offers more but we were not impressed with either the room or the menu downstairs for a late lunch.

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See 3 more reviews by CathP027 for Banff
Manchester, England
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 4 May 2012 via mobile
1
person found this review helpful

Myself and a friend went here for lunch recently. We had searched around for a place that wasn't too expensive which is lot to ask for in Banff! We were shown to our seats by a really friendly waitress and brought over water straight away. We ordered cocktails which were good and for $9 each, quite big, so good value... More

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Calgary
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 April 2012
1
person found this review helpful

The food was very good, but not what my husband and I expected. We are foodies, so we expected something different done with the food. We both had the Ribeye Bison Steak and it was done to perfection, but nothing amazing as far as presentation, or reduction. The vegetable was just a stuffed potao with 3 cheeses melted over the... More

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Senior Contributor
43 reviews 43 reviews
Reviews in 29 cities Reviews in 29 cities
87 helpful votes 87 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 April 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Had a great steak dinner at Bison. The food is very fine, but the atmosphere is still casual and you don't feel out of place wearing casual clothes or ski wear.

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See 2 more reviews by cowtowntraveller for Banff

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