Bienvenue a Banff

2020 has been a year of firsts. First time not living at the beach. First time not having a lot of family trips. First time going to Banff in the summer. We are fortunate enough to live just shy of four hours north of Banff {and equally as fortunate to have in-laws to keep the kids}.

Mike and I decided to celebrate our 5 year anniversary early [for fear of a wave two of COVID during our actual anniversary in October]. For the first time in over a year and a half we packed up the car and headed to the mountains for a long weekend in Banff.

Hotel

We stayed at the Elk + Avenue and it was wonderful. The hotel had hand – sanitizer and physical distancing signage everywhere so we felt safe. My friend Ashley had previously stayed at this hotel and recommended it because of the location – we were able to head right out the front door onto Banff Ave and walk to all of the shops and restaurants. We were also fortunate to stay in a corner room (that was bigger than my first apartment) that had panoramic mountain views. Attached to our hotel was a new restaurant called Farm & Fire where we were given two of their signature cocktails, the Solstice. This hotel was also one of the most reasonably priced hotels in the town.

Food + Drinks

I think by now y’all all know that I am all about some good food and drinks. Below are all of the spots we were able to stop by:

Rose and Crown – After checking in, Mike and I decided we needed to have some lunch and some drinks so we walked down to the Rose and Crown. Luckily no one else was out and about and we got right onto the rooftop patio. Coronas were on special for $5 so we ordered a round and shared some poutine. {Note: prior to entering they took our temperature and sprayed us down with hand sanitzer}

Park Distillery – Dinner night one was at the highly recommended Park Distillery. You can smell this place a mile away – some how they infuse the air with maple smoked sugar salt – or at least that is how it smelled to me. We were seated next to these huge open garage-door style windows. All of the menus were accessible via QR codes on the table. For dinner I ordered the burger (shocker) and it was amazing. We also tried quite a few of their drinks – my favorite was the Gin Cascade – think passion fruit gin mojito!

Tooloulous – Breakfast of champions! We stopped here for breakfast before we headed out for a hike. Tooloulous is a tiny, Louisiana themed restaurant that I LOVED. I ordered the waffle and Mike ordered a Benedict. The food came out fast and was delicious. We actually ate here twice – it was that good.

The Radiant – Post hike we decided we needed some lunch, we put our name on a wait list and wandered around where we stumbled upon The Radiant. The Radiant is like an old fashioned boutique cocktail bar. They had an outdoor area all set up with tables so we stopped in for some appys and drinks. We ordered the fried avocado wedges (delish) and the house cut fries. The fries were so good and came with a citrus seasoning salt and this killer tomato aioli. Mike helped himself to a beer and I ordered a very large glass of Rose. Next time we are in Banff I want to eat here for dinner.

El Patio – Yes, all I have to say about El Patio is yes! This is the rooftop of Magpie and Stump and it made my little Texan heart happy. They too had a Corona special as well so we ordered those with queso fundido + ground beef . The fundido came in a skillet and is definatley somthing I want to recreate at home.

Chucks Steakhouse- For as long as I can remember Hall’s Chophouse has been my favorite steakhouse. Well Folks, Chucks may have pulled in the lead. We started with Oysters Rockefeller and split a cesar salad (both of which were delicious). For mains we each got our own favorite cuts of Alberta beef , I chose the tenderloin and Mike ordered the ribeye. These steaks were PERFECT. To add some greenery we ordered the asparagus – which to this day is the best asparagus I have ever had. We tried out two deserts: the creme brulee and the chocolate cremeux – they were both ridiculously good and nothing was left on the table. THIS PLACE WAS MY FAVORITE.

Extras

Banff Gondola + Sulphur Mountain – Our hotel had given us one free pass to take the Banff Gondola so we drove up, parked, and jumped on the gondola. We went to the top and had drinks. We also took the trail up to the old weather station (my ears popped the whole time and I felt like my head was going to explode) but the views were unreal. 100% recommend diong this, although next time I think we will hike the gondola path.

Marble Canyon + Red Earth Hikes- We are not hikers, we didn’t even take bear spray which would have come in handy considering we ran into a black bear on the train at Marble Canyon. Both of these trails were “beginner status” and had unbelievable views.

Fairmont Banff Springs – This hotel is stunning and also where Mike and I got engaged. Our Banff weekend was sunny and warm so we walked up to the Banff Springs and sat out on the balcony and got a tan. There is an outdoor bar and Muskoka chairs that we lounged in for most of the afternoon.

All in all, our first summer Banff trip was amazing. We had the best weather, food and drinks you could ask for. We left wanting to move to the mountains and super relaxed. As always if anyone is heading to Banff and needs some more recommendations drop me an email.

Happy Traveling!

AK