The article Banff Bites and Sips was first published in Taste and Travel Magazine in the Jan. – March 2025 issue (Pages 54-57).

While the Northern Lights unexpectedly streamed in surreal colors during my visit to Banff in October and the stunning turquoise glacial lake and mountain view setting felt like stepping into a postcard at every turn, the thriving culinary scene is another reason to visit this Canadian rocky mountain town. Discover not only adventure in Banff National Park but an exciting, scrumptious, and gourmand ride with many hyper local ingredients and specialty dishes.

Just a 3-hour direct flight from over a dozen US destinations to Calgary and a 2-hour dramatic scenic drive on the Brewster Express, it’s easier than ever to arrive in the Canadian Rockies.

Sips and bites not to miss in and around Banff

Mushroom Specialties

Farm & Fire featuring Trafford Farms mushrooms

Pink oyster mushrooms sprout like colorful flowers, courtesy of a brother sister duo who grow and harvest exotic mushrooms in a shipping container in nearby Calgary. During the pandemic, many foods couldn’t make it to Canada and this team realized the importance of growing locally. On a mission to advance access to sustainably-grown food, Trafford Farms Mushrooms are showcased in numerous dishes at Farm and Fire, a local restaurant favorite that launched in 2020 with a menu design from Chef Scott Hergott who is recognized for his award-winning culinary innovation at the Banff Gondola’s Sky Bistro. Hergott’s farm-to-table philosophy is evident throughout the menu, especially when elevating dishes with fungi, even using the shrooms as a meat substitute. 

A rotating menu of mushroom-focused dishes are available – like Wood Fired Funghi Flatbread, Alberta Grains Mushroom Risotto, and marinated mushrooms inside a Wild Mushroom Loaf floating in a creamy rich mushroom truffle sauce. New menu items include crispy fried mushrooms with dip while other non-shroom must-tries include tequila soaked Watermelon Salad and Bison Tomahawk for two. Breakfast Bowls are also uber-popular as some offer  flavorful mushrooms soaked in other ingredients enhancing flavor. 

Bison Entrées 

Sky Bistro atop the Banff Gondola

While Banff has the highest elevation of any town in Canada, it’s worth taking the gondola to scale even higher up the Sulphur Mountain summit, to admire six mountain ranges, the Bow Valley, and the charming resort town of Banff below. At the summit, Sky Bistro’s bird’s eye view is where to dine with unforgettable sights paired with wood-fired and slow-roasted staples. Start with Canadian Seafood Chowder featuring mussels, clams, trout and British Colombia prawns. Finish with a hearty cut of bison, like the 8-oz Noble Farm striploin presented like a tent atop Potato Gratin with blueberry demi, glazed carrots, and smoked onions. Bison is considered a lean and tender cut of meat with a hint of game – a sustainable choice in Banff with lower environmental impact than eating bovine meat. 

Chicken Noodle Soup with Dumplings

Lake Minnewanka 

Due to the east-to-west facing valley, this “spirited waters” lake can get swells of 5-7 feet. Why not savor the serene lake and mountain setting on glacial Lake Minnewanka, just a ten-minute drive from Banff on a calm day? In the fresh mountain air on a covered boat, sail across the emerald waters on a “beer voyage” where you’ll learn about four brews and their connection to the Rocky Mountains. Also, a 90-minute guided classic cruise dives into Minnewanka’s fascinating history with possible wildlife sightings and local pine tea. Book a private tour with a chef aboard who creates hearty bowls of chicken noodle soup with luscious dumplings. 

Ginger Beef 

Brazen at Mount Royale Hotel

Invented in Calgary, Ginger Beef quickly became a staple of chop suey restaurants and Chinese takeout menus throughout Alberta and the Prairies. Ginger beef is also often seen in food courts and casual Chinese restaurants. Find an elevated version of the sweet ginger beef staple at Brazen served with blistered Shishido peppers, onions, and ginger syrup. Brazen also delights with inventive dishes that celebrate the adventurous spirit of the town’s early pioneers.

The Caesar, Canada’s National Cocktail 

Brazen at Mount Royale Hotel

Similar to a Bloody Mary, the Caesar is considered to be Canada’s national cocktail – made with vodka, Worcestershire sauce, spices, and clamato juice instead of tomato juice. Invented in neighboring Calgary circa 1969, Brazen’s brunch version – with Trailblazer Vodka, Worcestershire, Clamato, and Tabasco – is topped with an asparagus spear, olive, and lime slice. Said to have hangover-healing properties, we will let you be the judge! Pair your Caesar with Bison Naan or Cinnamon Brûlée French Toast loaded with cream cheese icing.

Beavertail Raspberry Ale 

Grizzly Paw Brewing

Located just down the road from Banff in the town of Canmore, Grizzly Paw is the second oldest craft brewery in the area and unlike the US – where the grizzly bear population was hunted to extinction – Canada’s grizzly bears still freely roam the land in Alberta. The brand’s name is a play on words, so to speak, as the thumb (or grizzly paw) started at the beginning of mankind as a crucial human trait in holding a pint.

Take a brewery tour of this pioneering Alberta craft beer institution to soak up the history. Then relax outside to indulge in a fall Jack O Lantern Pumpkin Ale made with fresh local pumpkins; and the refreshing light Raspberry Ale, an unfiltered wheat ale made with real raspberries, unexpectedly not super fruity. A portion of their craft brew proceeds go towards causes like citrus sour Nine Lives, a beer that promotes adopting black cats that are often snubbed. 

In addition to a stellar lineup of craft brews (IPAs, Blond Ales, Lagers, Barrel-finished brews) on tap or in cans, the company amps the game with ready-to-drink canned cocktails and handcrafted sodas. They thought it was a fabulous idea to mix them – creating canned soda cocktails like the BlackBeary Bramble made with real mint, real honey and real puréed berries and gin – that are meant to be served over ice. 

Try the Grizzly Paw Cream Soda Mousse, Better Lemon Soda, and Ginger Beer, or elevate a day with a canned Mountain Mule or Grizzly Greyhound. It’s easy to spend an afternoon in view of the Three Sisters Mountains, Ha Ling Peak, and Mount Rundle from their third-floor brewery restaurant – Tank 310 – an architectural glass window marvel. Around the corner at The Paw Pub, pair your drink of choice with Canadian Poutine, a Boss Burger with Alberta beef, or Pork Belly Burnt Ends with Apple Whiskey BBQ Sauce Pair. Garden fresh salads can be topped with pulled pork, Bulgogi beef, and more. 

Rhubarb Gin 

WILD LIFE (WLD) Distillery

Born and bred in the Rockies as a passion project turned business, two brothers-in-law educated themselves by visiting distilleries in Chicago, Scotland and Japan before producing a variety of spirits including vodka, gin, whisky, and amaro, using locally sourced Alberta grains. Some of their best-selling spirits include Wild Life Rhubarb Gin, Wild Life Tonic Syrup and Wild Life Alberta Botanical Gin made with sustainably-foraged summertime botanicals like Alberta juniper, Labrador tea, and wild sage.

Located in Canmore, the tasting room offers craft cocktails, spirit flights, and charcuterie. Just 500 meters away, the distillery offers tours at their production facility to educate guests on the grain-to-glass process and the opportunity to touch, smell, and taste the elements that go into making the spirits. Learn about the stories behind each bottle associated with an animal and you’ll soon realize the name is also a play on words – It’s a WILD LIFE!

The beautiful bottles with symbols of Castle Mountain and two birds can be seen around town, even at Fairmont Lake Louise with a special botanical collaboration with the hotel brand. Sip the Rhubarb gin, infused with strawberries, to experience its aromatic nuances and juicy fruit notes; or savor it in one of their cocktails made at WLD’s speakeasy vibe cocktail bar – like Lola The Showgirl with rhubarb gin, Mezcal, grapefruit, lime, habanera, and soda.

Wild Blueberry Rooibos Tea and Maple Black Tea 

Jolene’s Tea House

The smell of Wild Blueberry Tea was a comforting daily morning ritual at the historic Mount Royale Hotel, and has been found to improve brain health. Guests can find this same organic tea at Jolene’s Tea, in one of Banff’s oldest buildings, situated in a pine and spruce log cabin built around 1889. The weekly paper was also produced here at the Old Crag Cabin until 1929.

Locally owned, Jolene Brewster has been hand-blending organic teas in small batches from handpicked tea leaves, fresh spices, and local herbs in Banff National Park since 2005. Come in to smell Jolene’s loose-leaf teas, sample numerous varieties according to health benefits, or sit in one of their blanketed Adirondack chairs, with a tea in hand, to soak up the rocky-mountain-high views. 

At Jolene’s Tea House, don’t miss the Alpine Peppermint, Strawberry Green, and Maple Green or Maple Black tea infused with dried maple syrup. Other unique varieties include Spirit Lake Tea made from healthy needles and sage, pine, sweetgrass and spearmint, fresh citrus Peach Blossom White, and Lapsang Souchong, a smoky tea great for using with cocktails. Moms  will appreciate Jolene’s delicate herbal infusion called Happy Mumma that uses native raspberry leaf. Bring home favorite tea blends in Jolene’s sleek loose-leaf tea containers or in an adorable log cabin container that holds the tea bags.

Tea houses have a rich history in the Canadian Rockies, facing some of the most beautiful views in the world. Log tea houses were constructed as places of refuge, connection, and nourishment. Tucked away on the shores above Lake Louise on a forested path, visitors can hike 3.5 km to discover the Lake Agnus Tea House on the shores of Lake Agnes. For those with endurance, consider the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House Trail.

Fresh Mountain Spring Water

Everywhere

No need to buy bottled water here! The fresh Banff water comes deep from underground aquifers and is rated the highest quality, so for city folk it’s hard to believe you can drink such deliciousness straight from any sink. It’s plentiful, so drink up and stay hydrated!