31 Best Restaurants in Alberta, Canada

Chef Sean Walker and his culinary team showcase regional farms and suppliers at this family-owned and operated restaurant. It's a favorite brunch spot in Jasper with options like the short-rib poutine breakfast bowl or the loaded avocado toast, there's a fun afternoon social menu with sharing plates and Happy Hour drink specials, and the dinner menu features entrées like elk loin with Saskatoon berry jus or Arctic char with lemon caper butter. A nice selection of wines and cocktails accompany the menus.

An annual recipient of Calgary’s best restaurant award, River Cafe focuses on creating top-tier Canadian food, even going so far as to shun imported kitchen staples like pepper and olive oil. The stroll through Prince’s Island Park will whet your appetite and the beautifully woodsy dining room will get you in the mood for dining. Favorites include the wild boar, buttermilk pancakes with hazelnut whipped cream and dark chocolate, and picnic lunch you can enjoy along the bank of the Bow River.

Beautiful views of Pyramid Lake and Pyramid Mountain are complemented by a menu of gourmet comfort food with a Canadian twist. Breakfast options include brioche French Toast with a haskap berry compote and maple syrup, while dinner offers a five-course carnivore tasting menu or a five-course vegetarian tasting menu; you can also order à la carte. Other dinner specialties include duck breast with sweet potato fondant or Rocky Mountain Trout with roasted fennel.

Named for the now defunct 27th letter of the alphabet, this Whyte Avenue restaurant is a local favorite. The creative menu is varied and contains lots of vegetarian and vegan options that even meat lovers will enjoy. Great for a date night or special occasion, ask to sit on the charming and private patio, and don't miss half-price bottles of house wine and 2-for-1 appetizers on Thursdays.

This relatively new eatery on Whyte Avenue has quickly become a local favorite with its creative shared-plate menu that includes flavors from all around the world. Excellent cocktails and a quiet patio out back only enhance the dining experience.

Centrally located in the Design District and within walking distance of the Calgary Stampede, this diner-inspired eatery is a great place for a hearty breakfast or lunch. You can't go wrong with any of the traditional breakfast options including the numerous bennies, but classics like chicken and waffles or breakfast poutine are a good idea.

Opened in 2024 and named for Chef Scott Iserhoff's grandmother, this small Indigenous restaurant in downtown Edmonton offers delicious Indigenous cuisine made with fresh seasonal ingredients. For Iserhoff and his guests, the restaurant evokes memories of home and comfort---what it's like to sit in grandma's kitchen and enjoy a hot meal with bannock bread and berry jam. The lunch menu includes salads and sandwiches along with brunch options, while the dinner menu has sharing plates with menu items like bison cheeks, elk carpaccio, and scallops with burnt dandelion. The signature barbeque brisket, which is slow roasted for 12 hours and served with Saskatoon berry–infused barbeque sauce, is on both the lunch and dinner menu. There is a good selection of Indigenous wines, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages on the menu.

The Edmonton emigrant of a successful Vancouver chain, Browns is a widely popular place with consistently good food, good service, and good vibes. The combination keeps the locals in the neighborhood coming back again and again, and that is high praise, though a generous happy hour doesn’t hurt either.

This café is a great place to enjoy coffee, tea, or ice cream, grab-and-go breakfasts, fine chocolates, or baked goods before or after a hike. There's also a variety of hot and cold sandwiches, pizza, hamburgers, stew, burgers, fries, and poutine. They even micro-roast organic fairly traded coffee beans in small batches, and you can have local beer or BC wine with your meal if you dine inside. There are picnic tables if you wish to dine outside and enjoy the magnificent scenery.

What do you get when you blend a Top Chef finalist (Connie DeSousa) with aged Alberta beef and a custom-made Argentinian wood-fired grill? You get the excellent charbar, located in the East Village’s historic Simmons Building, which has quickly become one of Canada's best restaurants. The beef tenderloin is a favorite, as are the fugazza pizzas, which are also available on the roof-top patio with expansive views over the city.

More than 80 varieties of loose-leaf teas, craft beverages, and artisan coffees are served alongside fresh, healthy, and local food at this downtown café. Look for pad Thai noodle bowls, rice bowls, salads, sandwiches, and delicious wraps. There are many vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options on the menu as well.

Located in the back corner of a shopping mall, this family-run restaurant has a casual menu, a kids menu, and a pet-friendly patio. Along with burgers and pizza, you'll find steaks, shrimp, salmon, ribs, and a few specialties like bibimbap and bulgogi (the owners immigrated from South Korea). The restaurant has specials that are served before 5 pm. There are five craft beers on tap and six wine choices.

Located in the turn-of-the-century home of RCMP Superintendent Captain Richard Burton Deane, this award-winning restaurant is an easy and delightful walk from Downtown. The restaurant specializes in contemporary Canadian fine dining, with some of the dishes based on archival recipes and photographs from Calgary’s Wild West past. The weekend brunch is delightful.

Every town has at least one outstanding breakfast and lunch place, and in Downtown Edmonton, the District is it. Excellent limitless coffee and fresh baked goods, all-day breakfast, and a world-class breakfast sandwich make this a great breakfast stop. The tasty sandwiches and salads make it a great spot for lunch too, and there are lots of options for vegans and vegetarians too.

This new restaurant has an eclectic, often-changing menu that focuses on fresh, flavorful food. The menu includes appetizers like bacon-wrapped dates and fired Halloumi cheese with honey, toasted walnuts, and pumpkin puree. The entrées range from pan-seared trout and steak frites to roasted lamb. The vegan options are typically limited to one or two items. The wine list is not extensive, but it is well-chosen and there's a nice, reasonably priced Sunday brunch.

The signature location of this upscale chain for years, the large and varied menu ranges from sushi to barbecue ribs, and almost anyone can find something they prefer. Portions are large, the food is quite good, and a generous happy hour inspires the locals to head to the bar or patio, depending on the season, for drinks.

With a casual, upscale ambience and a tried-and-true menu, Earls is always a good choice for dinner or drinks. Steaks, pasta, salads, seafood, and Thai options provide something for everyone.

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 entrées such as slow-roasted rotisserie chicken, Alberta grains risotto, 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.

Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the restaurant is known for locally sourced ingredients that are used in their delicious wood-fired pizzas and house-made pasta, creative salads, seafood and chicken dishes, and Alberta beef steaks; there's also an excellent breakfast buffet. The dining area includes a long bar, an open kitchen, and expansive windows with gorgeous mountain views along one side of the restaurant. A few vegetarian and gluten-free options are available and children under six eat free.

A small all-day breakfast place that has been around for more than 30 years, the Galaxie Diner is a great option for a fair-priced breakfast (especially if you slept past noon). The decor is vintage diner, the staff is friendly and helpful, and you can have as many hash browns as you like.

This spot resembles an old English pub in every way, including having a red phone booth and the best fish-and-chips in town. Other British pub classics like Scotch eggs, bangers and mash, stuffed Yorkshire pudding, shepherd's pie, and beef Wellington are on the menu alongside Canadian favorites like salads, burgers, poutine, and steak sandwiches. The breakfast menu is also very good. The bar is one of the biggest in Canmore with more than a dozen beers on tap as well as a nice selection of cocktails, spirits, ciders, and wines. FYI: The Georgetown is named after a ghost town not far from Canmore.

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 like prairie berry stuffed waffles (brunch); burgers, salads, and flatbreads (lunch); and pan-seared duck breast or the daily butcher's cut (dinner). Many dishes can be made gluten-free, vegetarian, or both.

This cafeteria-style café located just off Maligne Lake is a great spot to get a picnic to go or to relax and eat in. The regionally sourced menu has a wide variety of sandwiches, salads, soup, chili, hot dogs, and three different kinds of poutine, a Canadian indulgence made with potato wedges, cheese curds, and gravy. There's also a small children's menu.

The theme of this upscale pub is “come in good, leave better,” and a meal here will only improve your day. Award-winning burgers, the best Caesar in town, and an outstanding weekend brunch are just three of the reasons to visit the Next Act Pub. For a more carnivorous experience, visit its sister restaurant next door, where Meat serves up excellent barbecue.

This is not your average diner as OEB offers creative riffs on brunch classics—try the Get Shorty Philly Rib poutine or the cold-smoked salmon scram-blette—in a hyper-modern setting. Locals know to use the Yelp app to check wait times and have your name put on the waitlist.

With water from six Canadian Rockies glaciers and grain sourced from high-altitude family farms, Park Distillery produces spirits with aromas and flavors like no others. Its restaurant features a fun campfire-cuisine theme with classic coleslaw, warm potato salad, or mac and cheese served alongside rotisserie chicken, salmon, ribs, burgers, or steaks. There's a nice selection of vegan and gluten-free options as well. Sprawling over two floors, the restaurant has picnic tables and wall decorations that look right out of a kids' summer camp, though the lively main-floor bar reminds patrons of the grown-up pleasures to be enjoyed.

Inspired by the natural surroundings of Prince's Island Park, on Bow River, this restaurant has the look of a fishing lodge. The exquisite regional Canadian cuisine includes Northwest Territories caribou, British Columbia oysters and Pacific salmon, Alberta Black Angus beef, and Alberta lamb. The wine list has earned Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence since 1997. With 24-hours advance notice, the restaurant can prepare you a picnic basket to enjoy in the park.

Near the top of Whistlers Mountain, spectacular views and casual dining are the big draws at this restaurant that is operated by the Jasper SkyTram. It's a good spot for breakfast, lunch, or possibly an early dinner—depending on the season—as casual Canadian-style sandwiches, burgers, wraps, soups, and salads are served with beer, wine, coolers and soft drinks.

If you want a taste of Australian café culture, this is the place, with six types of coffee, a variety of organic teas, kombucha, and healthy smoothies. The food menu includes breakfast sandwiches and bowls, sausage rolls, apple-cider loaf, and other nibbles. The view is lovely from the sunny second-floor terrace.

Fine artwork adorns the brick walls of this bright and charming French-style café perfectly blending old and new; there's a great Euro-vibed patio for summer dining. The daily brunch menu includes a blue crab bennie and a truffle mushroom omelet, but there are also plenty of delicious vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free items. Late afternoon Happy Hour features half-priced bottles of wine.