5 Best Restaurants in Alberta, Canada

It's safe to say that the beef in Alberta is some of the best around, so if you're looking for the quintessential steak house experience while in town, this Calgary institution (started in 1972) is the place to dine for exceptional Alberta beef. While you're here, try the iconic Ceasar cocktail (like a Bloody Mary but with clamato juice), and perhaps that other iconic Ceasar, the salad which is made table-side.

Alberta is world-famous for its beef, and this restaurant is a great place to sample it, along with pork, lamb, and sustainable wild game and seafood. All steaks are hand-cut on-site and grilled on cherrywood, and everything, from the butter to the garnishes, is made in-house. Try the Brant Lake Wagyu beef tenderloin or the dry-aged Brome Lake duck. Seafood choices include Pacific halibut and Atlantic lobster. There is one vegetarian option on the menu.

An authentic cowboy restaurant with great Alberta steaks and terrific burgers, Buzzard's serves up good western food amid rustic country-style decor and cowboy artifacts. If you're feeling brave, this is one of the few places in Calgary where you can sample prairie oysters, otherwise known as bull testicles. The place is renowned for its annual "testicle festival." There's a sunny outdoor patio, and Bottlescrew Bill's Old English Pub next door serves Calgary's largest beer selection, including Buzzard's Breath Ale house brew.

This second-floor restaurant has great views of Banff Avenue and incredible steaks—namely Angus and Wagyu prime beef—that are sourced from ranches along the Cowboy Trail—the heart of Alberta's ranch country—dry aged in-house, started on a mesquite-wood grill, and finished in a copper pan with herbs and butter. Servers are well-versed in the various cuts of beef, but if steak isn't your thing, alternatives include pistachio pesto gnocchi, bourbon barbecue beef ribs, and wild British Columbia salmon. Appetizers and side dishes are served family-style. An extensive wine list and an in-house sommelier ensure perfect pairings. Mud pie is the signature dessert, and it's exceptional. This restaurant also has a roof-top patio open in summer.

This good ol’ Canadian steak-house chain always gets top marks from its regular customers. There’s two options: a family-friendly restaurant with a laid-back vibe and the more adult urbanLODGE that serves the same great steaks in a more festive atmosphere.