Any recommendations for good restaurants in Banff? I will be there for 5 nights in August. One reservation has been made - the Banffshire Club in the Fairmont Banff (where we will stay). Any comments on it??

casual - st james pub and magpie & stumps
fancy - buffalo mountain lodge
always a good steak - keg
breakfast - melissa's

The Banff locals whom I know swear by "Taxi Mike's" guide to local dining:

http://www.taximike.com/index.html

Our favorite restaurants were St James' Gate for beer and pub food. Everything we had there was excellent (we only ate the pub food - not the nachos, chip & dip, etc). The shepherds pie, fish & chips, all items along those lines, were great. Not to mention the tasty pints of Guinness. We have eaten there many times. For something a little nicer, we loved The Grizzly House. They advertise themselves as a fondue restaurant, as I recall, but I had one of the best meals (steak) I've ever had at that restaurant.

Banffshire Club
Saltlik (upscale steaks, etc)
St.James Gate (pub food, great beer on tap)
Coyote Cafe (great for lunch)
Melissa's (breakfast)
Buffalo Mtn Lodge

Just got back from Jasper and Banff last week.

We were very disappointed with Melissa's for breakfast. Waffles burned black on one side. Over easy eggs cooked hard.

Lots of the "better" restaurants are very pricey compared to what we can get at home here on the east coast of the USA--I would guess that it costs a lot to ship foodstuffs up there. But the dishes were prepared well. Service was pretty rough (though friendly) in most restaurants, but that's not unusual in a resort area that hires college kids for the summer season.

Most reasonable meal we had was shrimp tempura udon at one of the Japanese restaurants on the main drag--$9.95 each, and it was prepared properly. Best service we had on the trip, too.

Oh, we had a nice healthy organic breakfast at the Wildflour. Bought some nice breads there, too.

"Lots of the "better" restaurants are very pricey compared to what we can get at home here on the east coast of the USA--I would guess that it costs a lot to ship foodstuffs up there."

The costs are high not because of the food but because of high wages and labour shortages in Alberta caused by the oil boom. Alberta has virtualy no unemployment and has to import temporary foreign workers to try to fill many of the basic jobs in the province.

Restaurant prices have always been more expensive in Banff. It's a resort town with huge demand, especially now that it's in the height of peak season. That's just Banff pricing for you: expensive.

Jake1 - was that Japanese restaurant in Banff or Jasper?

The restaurant was in Banff. Suginoya Japanese Restaurant on Banff Ave. downtown.