Big White, Lake Louise, Banff, and Calgary- places to eat?
 

Aloha-
We will be coming from Hawaii to drive from Vancouver to Calgary with stops along the way. We love our FOOD - so we would like to ask for your expert advice on places we "have to" eat at while at Big White, Lake Louise, Banff, and Calgary. We like all types of foods but especially asian, mexican, and italian. We're spending a mint on airfare so we might not be able to afford the Post Hotel although I would love to try it.

A very nice, but expensive, restaurant in Calgary is La Caille. It's at the very western edge of the downtown core, overlooking the Bow River.

A moderately priced Calgary restaurant that provides excellent value for its price range is La Luna Rossa. It's in Kensington, a funky neighbourhood just to the north of the downtown core. The cuisine is Italian. The restaurant is in a neighbourhood in which most of the parking is restricted to 2 hours, except for local residents who have special parking permits. This may cause you to panic. There is no need for that, as the restaurant has a parking lot behind the building in which it's located. Reservations are essential.

Join the locals for breakfast at Laggan's Mountain Bakery and Deli in the Samson Mall (can't miss it) in Lake Louise village. Great selection of pastries, sausage rolls (if you are there at the right time), and coffee, tea and juices. Excellent and cheap.

This is more or less a side note, but I do know that the USA has the best Mexican cuisine outside of Mexico, but for one reason or another, Canada seems to be lacking in decent Mexican restaurants. A mistake I've noticed many Americans make (specifically here in Vancover) is that the seek out the Mexican restaurants, which then tend to disappoint them. My word of advice is - go for Asian cuisine fusion in Vancouver, as that's what Vancouver does best. :)

http://www.vanmag.com/bites.html

and

http://www.vanmag.com/16th/restaurant_awards.html

(both from Vancouver Magazine) will give you some excellent ideas!

Liked Melissa's in Banff - clean, reasonable and good food. Also the dining room of the lodge at Lake Moraine.

Also, the Saloon in the lower level of the Lake Louise Fairmont has a nice pub/bar atmosphere and a nice selection of bar foods, drinks, beers, as well as a full menu. Pretty decent place.

When in Banff - here are some other restaurants to consider:

Coyotes Grill for lunches: - West Coast and Mediterranean cuisine (they have great coffee too)

Buffalo Mountain Lodge for dinner, very nice timber decor/ambience and great service: Canadian Rocky Mountain cuisine including free-range game (buffalo, elk, carobou)

Le Beaujolais has French cuisine and is rather pricey, but well worth it.

The brunches at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel are very good, and if you have a table by the window - a lovely scenic view.

The dining room at Baker Creek Chalets (on the way to Lake Louise on the Bow Valley Parkway, about 8 to 10 minutes drive from LL) has received some very good reviews on this forum. We've dined there once and thought it was good but not superlative, but the service was very friendly.

Cafe Soliel also serves tasty dinners (Mediterranean cuisine) and a good selection of wine - it's a narrow but cozy restaurant.

And of course, when in Lake Louise - The Post. We've had wonderful experiences dining there.

Oops - that should be "caribou" at Buffalo Mountain Lodge and not "carabou" :">

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions. DH now wants to go to Sun Peaks instead of Big White - any good eats there?

There is a really good restaurant at Baker Creek Chalets (which is just south of Lake Louise Village on the Bow Valley Parkway).Having eaten at both the Post Hotel and Baker Creek several times , my wife and I both prefer Baker Creek. It's less formal than the Post (you can wear jeans), is less expensive than the Post, and the food is comparable. Note that a dinner for two at Baker Creek (including drinks and tip) could be in the $90-$100 (US) range if you opt for some of the more expensive menu items.

The best food in Sun Peaks is at the Austrian (or German?) place in the Village, or in the Delta hotel. There's not much choice there, I'm afraid, and other than those 2 places it was traditional ski town greasy pub fare, but nothing was too terrible.

Had a wonderful meal recently at Deer Lodge in Lake Louise, but it is more local flavor...

Deer Lodge is also known (and recommended by Wine Spectator) for the very good wine list it offers. It is also a nice place to stay as well.