Weekend travelling companions at the Banff sign on Mount Norquay Road
Trips to the Rockies in the winter used to be about the skiing. Banff was a place to have dinner and crash, to get ready for the slopes the next day. What does a trip to Banff look like without the lure of the mountain top? A lot of fun actually. And so much great food and drink. Time to explore Banff on foot.
Mary Bailey story and photos
BUT FIRST, BREAKFAST.
Brazen, the new restaurant in the venerable Mount Royal Hotel plays with the wild history of Banff. It leans into the romantic hardscrabble view of Banff’s early days—of adventurers and remittance men, of explorers and mountain guides. It celebrates the characters that built Banff with historical photography and a straightforward, no-frippery look to honour their spirit. It works. Staff are dressed in hardworking denim with suspenders—they could be off roping something or rafting down the river.
Brazen also has very good food. Classic Canadiana—local meats, west coast fish, delicious local mushrooms and solid plant-based offerings. For breakfast—plentiful bacon and eggs, steak and eggs, house-made granola parfait and good coffee.
Breakfast at Brazen.
Brazen is the last piece of the puzzle for the Mount Royal Hotel, a key Banff property since 1908. Since then, the hotel had undergone several owners, additions, expansions and two devastating fires. The last one, in 2016, brought about a change in ownership (it’s now part of the Pursuit Banff Jasper Collection) and this new and best iteration. It’s a thoughtful and intelligent renovation, with historic photos and signs on each guest floor bringing the past alive.
At dinner, Brazen’s smoked beef tartare is a standout as is southern Alberta’s Red Fox Funghi with sherry cream on sourdough. The ginger beef is made with hangar steak and blistered shishito peppers and the ribs are a riff on smoky Korean ribs with a saskatoon chili glaze. “We have staff from all over the world,” says Darren Fabian, director of beverage and bars, Pursuit Banff Jasper Collection. “We want our menus to reflect that and where we are through the ingredients we use.”
I asked Darren how you incorporate the needs of the modern diner in a historic property. “We embrace our surroundings,” he says. “We respect that we are in a national park, it’s unforgettable and iconic. We know people come here to collect memories. We want to be the best part of what could be the vacation of a lifetime.”
Rundle (Minihapa, Cree) and Cascade (Waskahigan Watchi, Stoney Nakoda) Mountains dominate the Banff skyline.
TIME FOR A WALK.
Walk up Buffalo Street past historic homes like the Senator Forget and the 1920 Park’s Superintendant’s residence, the Old Banff Graveyard (1888) and up the hill to the Banff Centre. Mountain culture fans will not want to miss a peek at Mary Schäffer’s home on Grizzly Street, built in 1913, by her second husband Billy Warren.
Or, walk to Bow Falls, pretty in the winter too. After navigating several sets of snowy stairs on the way to Bow Falls, you may feel that you deserve a stein and a pretzel at the Waldhaus Pub. You would be correct.
If you are wanting a shorter walk (you have a reso at Lupo for Italian Happy Hour, let’s say), cross the pedestrian bridge but go right and keep to the path, then cross back to the downtown side over the brand-new Nancy Pauw pedestrian bridge, named after the Banff resident and philanthropist. It makes for the perfect loop, enough time to get some fresh air and enjoy nature.
At the other end of Banff Avenue on the way to Tunnel Mountain is Farm & Fire in the Elk and Avenue Hotel (another notable Pursuit property). It’s a great spot for kids or for a larger group. Pretty much everything is served family style—heaping plates of roast chicken or striploin and outstanding wood-fired pizza, the Salty Pig being our favourite and of course, the Margarita. If the pizza with the potato chips is on the menu when you are there, do not hesitate to order it. And the deep-fried gratin potatoes. Stellar! We loved the veg-based dishes and the bison and bannock.
Farm & Fire’s deep-fried gratin potatoes.
There were some gems on the wine list too, strong in Canadian selections and well-priced.
Which brings us to cocktails. Banff is becoming a cocktail town, no doubt about that. Local distillers Park, Wild Life and Turner Valley’s Eau Claire, are well represented on the Banff scene. “Brown spirits are the key at Brazen,” says Darren; “the Whiskey Creek cocktail with Eau Claire’s Rupert’s Whisky, walnut bitters, lime and egg white and the JG Julep, made with Park Glacier Rye.”
His fave right now at Farm & Fire? “The Kickboxer, gin-based with lemon grass and ginger, super refreshing.”
TIME TO GET HIGH: BANFF GONDOLA on a BLUEBIRD DAY.
Can you go to the mountains and not get on top of a mountain? Nah, not possible. I recall a steep and rugged hike up Sulphur Mountain with my Dad and one of my brothers a long time ago. Knowing my family’s penchant for off-piste escapades and not spending money when you don’t have to, it was a free and only slightly terrifying way to get there. (It was probably a goat track, not even the acta
The beef brisket burger at Sky Bistro.
Expect warming hearty plates at the Sky Bistro—seafood chowder and a delicious Three Sisters salad with roasted acorn squash, corn and beans, crispy Arctic char and a standout beef brisket burger.
BACK IN BANFF
Walk around town, do a bit of shopping, check out the galleries, don’t miss the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, pop into Evelyn’s for coffee (and pie). You could load the Banff Walking Tour app, or just wander, delighting in discoveries around each corner. Like the Bison Courtyard, home to the Wild Flour Bakery and Jolene’s Tea House in the Old Crag Cabin. This quaint cabin, built in the late 1800s, was home to the Crag & Canyon newspaper, a funeral home and a real estate office before its move to the Courtyard.
Close by is Lupo, on the second level of a well-designed new build on Wolf Street (yes, lupo is wolf in Italian). It has a New York Italian trattoria feel, or maybe that was the Frank Sinatra and show tunes playing during the Sunday Italian Happy Hour. A well-made Caesar salad and grilled shrimp along with a glass of Greco di Tufo took the chill off. The winter menu has outstanding savoury pastas (carbonara and a deliciously spicy rigatoni), pizzas and Italian-inspired mains such as roasted halibut with mint and veal parm, as well as an excellent grouping of contorni (vegetable side dishes). Open kitchen, great flavours, a terrific spot to check out.
Could the Bluebird be anywhere but Banff? The luxe casual interior is a modern interpretation of the decades-old watering hole Melissa’s MisSteak (which moved to Banff Avenue). The building itself started life as a temperance hotel called the Homestead Inn. Sunday night means Sunday roast, a reasonable cut of perfectly-roasted prime rib, with horseradish cream, potato mash and roasted root veg. Leave room for the Key Lime Pie.
Bluebird, at breakfast and at dinner, has the tinkly vibe of people having fun, which is a very nice vibe indeed. The brunch menu has tons of variety and the French omelette was perfection. It takes good technique to pull that off. Brava to the Bluebird kitchen.
A trip to Banff now always involves a visit to Jolene’s. I ask Jolene what’s special about Banff. “The mountains,” she says; “but also the community—it’s incredible, a lot of passionate locals. If you are living in Banff, you are fighting hard to be there. We are like one of those trees growing out of a bit of rock on the side of the cliff. You have to work hard to make it work long-term in a sustainable way.”
Too Cold and Snowy to be Outside?
Book a yoga class at Flow State; power it out at Summit Lifestyle; visit Sally Borden Fitness in the Banff Centre, enjoy the pools and fitness centre at the Banff Springs, or have family fun at Fenlands, Banff’s community recreation facility.
Go for a soak at the Upper Hot Springs. Go to a movie at the Lux on Bear Street.
Visit the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum, it may look old fashioned and kitschy, but there is history here of the intersection of cultures, as well as a fun gift shop.
Where to Stay
Mount Royal Hotel
The historic brick hotel has comfortable rooms and a parking lot. The top floor has an intimate lounge for guests with hot tubs outside, and the location cannot be beat, right on the corner of Caribou Street and Banff Avenue.
Peaks Hotel and Suites
Chic accommodations on one of Banff’s quieter streets.
The Juniper
Outside of town on the road to Norquay, has been well refurbished, rustic and comfortable, with stellar views.
The Nancy Pauw Bridge