7 Best Restaurants in Banff National Park, Alberta

Cliffhouse Bistro

Breakfast or lunch at this mountainside restaurant involves a ride up the sightseeing chairlift to a cool retro-style chalet. The food is delicious and unpretentious; brunch is served all day, the salads are meal-sized, and the nachos and the charcuterie board are great for sharing. Local craft beers, sodas, and Canadian wines are also on offer.

Farm & Fire

Canadian flair is the hallmark of this modern, airy restaurant—a recent addition to the Elk + Avenue Hotel—where ingredients sourced from small, local, organic farmers are used in appetizers such as barbecue "pig wings" (made from pork shanks and served with celery and buttermilk-blue-cheese dressing) and entrees like slow-roasted rotisserie chicken, mushroom orecchiette pasta, and flatbread pizza. The drinks menu features Canadian wines, local craft beers, and unique cocktails made using the best Canadian spirits. Brunch includes classic breakfast dishes and cocktails as well as breakfast bowls and sandwiches.

Juniper Bistro

Ask for a table on the engaging patio or inside near one of the dining room's walls of windows to enjoy some of Banff's best views while dining on dishes made from fresh local ingredients. The brunch menu features stuffed French toast, huevos rancheros, and several kinds of eggs Benedict; lunch options include burgers, sandwiches, and pulled-pork poutine. Many dishes can be made gluten-free, vegetarian, or both.

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Nourish Bistro

Vegan-friendly Nourish lives up to its name with intricate and diverse plant-based cuisine. Twenty different ingredients power the explosion of flavors in each bite of Banff's most intriguing nachos: strawberries, toasted quinoa, smoked blackberry sauce, garlic gherkins, six kinds of beans, Monterey Jack, and nine more items. Other inventive dishes include curry poutine; vegan mac and cheese made with quinoa noodles and a coconut-based sauce; and wild mushroom ravioli with garlic, red pepper, and lavender cream sauce.

The Nordegg Cantine

This casual little restaurant serves all-day breakfast, sandwiches, snacks, baked goods, house-made donuts, salads and picnic lunches to go. It's a great place to stop for a hot dog, French fries, poutine, ice cream, house-made ice pops or house-made marshmallows for ultra special camping s'mores. They also offer a wide variety of beverages including coffee, tea, kombucha, craft sodas, craft beer and wine.

Trailhead Cafe

Local work crews, mountain guides, and park wardens love this small café for a hot breakfast, lunch, or early dinner (until 6). Baked goods, made-to-order sandwiches, wraps, and salads are the specialties, and the coffee is excellent. This is a good place to pick up a meal to go if you're driving north on the Icefields Parkway. There are only a few seats along the window and a few chairs outside.

Wild Flour Bakery

At breakfast, enjoy a regular coffee or espresso, hot chocolate, or tea from the local Banff Tea Company with your breakfast panini, toast, or house-made granola. Lunchtime soups, sandwiches and salads are often innovative; consider trying the buddha bowls with fresh veggies, falafel, quinoa and tangy tahini lemon dressing. Kale salad with fresh apples and toasted nuts is a typical vegan offering.

Banff National Park

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