Banff
Dining And Drinking

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Drinking and dining are two very different activities in Banff. Well known as both a party town and a seat of haute couture, the town boasts raucous bars, but also gourmet eateries. From the starched linens of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel's banquet hall to the grimy oaken tables of the Pump and Tap Tavern, your search for sustenance can show you the many sides of Banff.

Dining
With hundreds of restaurants scattered throughout the town, it can be hard to choose one. Almost every hotel has a restaurant or two, most of which specialize in steak, which is eaten almost as commonly as breakfast cereal in Alberta. Vegetarian diners won’t be pleased, as it is nearly impossibly to find a meal without meat hidden in it somewhere.

The hotel restaurants typically are quite nice, though their menus are often limited. Most feature a casual dress code and meals in the CAD 10-20 range. Wine is a point of pride amongst Banff restaurateurs, and many of the hotels have cellars with hundreds of different varieties. Independent restaurants have flourished, particularly along Banff Avenue, and here you'll find greater variety, including foods from the Mediterranean, Asia, South America and Mexico. As Banff is particularly popular with visitors from Japan, sushi bars and noodle houses abound.

For Greek cuisine, Caramba! and the Balkan can whip up a savory batch of calamari at a moment’s provocation. The Magpie and Stump serves huge helpings of fine Mexican food in a rather eccentric atmosphere, and the Saki House will have a steaming bowl of fresh noodles ready for you in seconds. If you are in the mood for a pizza, but don’t want another one of the greasy fast-food varieties, try the bacon and crabmeat roesti potato pizza at the Bistro.

If you are looking to dine while still drinking in the spectacular view of the Rockies, many restaurants have expansive patios and glassed in dining areas. Two of the best mountain views can be had at the Big Horn Steakhouse and the Eden.

One nice thing about Banff is that there are very few fast-food outlets. Aside from a McDonald's and a Subway, the town is free from franchised chains. This allows for a great variety of food, and makes for some surprisingly good lunches and snacks. Aardvark Pizza and Sub is Banff’s undisputed late-night snacking locale, with fast and healthy pizzas, wraps, donairs and sandwiches.

And then to drinking
Drinking is a very serious affair in Banff, and an activity that the denizens of the town approach with a great deal of enthusiasm. Nearly every hotel has a venue of some sort, whether a quiet martini bar or a feverishly loud nightclub. Banff is almost as famous for its nightlife as it is for its skiing. Should you arrive in Banff at any time of night, on any night of the year you are guaranteed to see Banff Avenue teeming with carousers. Braving subzero cold in nothing but t-shirts, revelers hop from bar to bar along the Avenue, sampling the specials that each has to offer.

The Aurora Nightclub is the classiest of the clubs, with purple neon fuzzing the distinction between the doors of the maze-like interior and the mirrors scatted about the walls. The Outtabounds is a celebration of extreme skiing and snowboarding, with cheap drinks, ski and snowboarding movies playing constantly, and a fog-covered dance floor that is almost always feverishly busy. The Rose and Crown Banff is a little more laid-back and serves as a family restaurant during the daylight hours. After dark, however, it fills with resort workers dancing to the live music.

For those who don’t need many distractions to enjoy their drink, the Pump and Tap Tavern is a faux-Irish pub with a half-dozen tables and nightly showings of British soccer and rugby matches. Wild Bill's Saloon is a more Western bar, with hand-hewn wooden railings and a reputation for serving huge steaks and oversized draughts of beer. The clientele is unpredictable, as the band on stage may play anything from Country & Western to punk rock.

For a more sedate drinking experience, wander into any hotel lobby and ask for the cocktail lounge. Almost all of the downtown hotels have specialty lounges, which are quieter and serve a wider variety of exotic drinks than the clubs. If you are in the
mood for a forty-year old Scotch or wine of similarly ancient vintage, pull the bartender aside and ask to see their private stock, which is usually kept separate from the main bar.

Whatever your taste in apres-ski entertainment, you are sure to find it somewhere along Banff Avenue. Simply walk along the sidewalk and listen for music pulsing out of the open doors. Select your preferred scene, wander in and have a great time.