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- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 11 pm
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Music:
- Background
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
16 reviews for Bear Street Tavern
Review Highlights
16 reviews in English
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Review from Jeffrey Q.
Vancouver, BC
5/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
I am AMAZED by this place.
First of all, the pizza is PHENOMENAL. We tried a few different ones and they were all excellent. Fave Pizza goes to the Godfather(prosciutto, roasted garlic, arugula salad, olives, herbed bread crumbs, shaved parmesan, pizza sauce) and another highlight was the Donair (lamb, onions, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, mozzarella, garlic sweet sauce).
The Bison flavour was excellent too!
The suggestion of mixing the chili oil w/ rosemary and honey with the pizza is mind-blowing!
The pizza is delicious and the best I've ever had. The really thin, crispy crust is top-notch and I came here with my mom and family to celebrate Mother's Day. My mom normally has issues digesting pizza and not too happy with the choice of dining but she was ecstatic as she was able to have no problems eating the pizza and even eating more than she normally does because it tasted so good!
The staff is really friendly here! -
Review from Blake C.
4/21/2012
I'm starting to wonder if I should move to Banff. The people that live and work in the area and genuinely friendly. The women are beautiful and bring out the post pubescent teenager that starts to see girls in a different way and stutters when trying to talk to them. This place was no different.
It was packed, so I picked an open spot at the bar to plant my butt. The bartender was a machine, making 183 drinks at once and still able to take and serve my drink order. After a quick browsing of the menu, my eyes fixated on the mac and cheese. 15 minutes later, I was served a bowl piled with a corkscrew-like pasta with cauliflower all swimming in a cheese sauce that was advertised on the menu as a cheese and bacon sauce. Oh boy, could I ever taste the bacon. And no wonder. On the bottom of the bowl in the sauce were giant chunks of bacon. It was great. It didn't beat my beloved Palomino mac and cheese, but it is definitely something to try. -
Review from Heike Y.
3/8/2012
Looking in Banff to find something reasonably priced - tough going other then regular pizza and pub food BUT then we found Bear Street Tavern and LOVED IT!
Why???
We where told they have Bison Pizza - never had Bison so off we went.
Nice atmosphere, great service, fresh food and yes, the Bison Pizza is fabulous and it is served with honey and chilli oil - all I have to say: You have to try it - super delicious. We also tried: Cesar Salad and the Sheppard's pie and it was so good. Did not look a the wine list because the local draft beer yummy!
The crowed: Young and as local as it gets.
Will go there again before we leave - for sure :) -
Review from Eric G.
Calgary, AB
5/20/2012
No salt on their "ridiculously good pizzas" = no flavour. All our food was very under seasoned. Disappointing.
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Review from Paul N.
2/22/2012 1 Check-in Here
The pizza was phenomenal. Seriously. It felt light, with fresh ingrediants and a thin crust...I didn't feel like a blob of grease after I finished eating it.
The Noodle Bowl was incredible...totally ordered it on a whim, not expecting much from an asian noodle at a pizza place. It blew me away. Flavorful, and surprisingly brave with the spiciness (always nice to see).
They have a fantastic beer selection, great wine menu, and watch out for the Caesar specials. They'll get you every time.
There are lot of big TVs for watching sports...it has a bit of an upscale-tavern/bar feel to it.
I can't wait to go back for the pulled pork nachos. -
Review from Merry K.
3/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
We were headed to Barpa Bills but after a day of snowshoeing we wanted somewhere to sit down that had backs on the chairs. We had a look around and we decided to try Bear Street Tavern. The pizza was so, so good. We decided to get a The Wheeler Hut (mushroom/pine nut/pesto/truffle oil) pizza and The Godfather (prosciutto/roasted garlic/arugula/olives) pizza. The were both so very good. I can't wait to go back when I don't have to go back to Calgary so I can try some of their HUGE cocktail menu!
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Review from Justin B.
1/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
Holy DEL-FANTASTIC-IC-AMAZING-IOUS!
I was hanging out in Banff with the family over Christmas and we were hungry, so I hoped on Yelp to see what was around and it led me to the Bear Street Tavern.
THE PIZZA! The pizza is super fantastic, I am a huge pizza fan, I try lots of pizza in lots of places, but never have I ever eaten pizza as good as this. I can safely say that this is the Best Pizza I Have Ever Eaten. Declared.
Okay I think I have ranted enough about their pizza...for now anyways...the restaurant is a friendly environment, slightly on the rustic trendy side. The waitress was very friendly and fun, chatted just the right amount and left us to our own devices when it was necessary. It isn't often to find a member of the serving community who really understands when people do and do not want to be bothered.
Okay lets talk allergies, a member of my family is Celiac, really hard to find places that serve good gluten-free food. Guess what the Bear Street Tavern sells? PIZZA! AMAZING PIZZA!
All I have left to say is TRY THE PIZZA! -
Review from Phil W.
8/18/2011
This is the lounge for The Bison restaurant.
New name, new menu... although it looks very similar to the old one.
We were here during the winter olympics and watched the curling finals out on the patio beside a roaring fire. It was awesome! We devoured the best meat and cheese charcuterie tray we've ever had (they smoke and cure their own meats and cheeses) and had a fantastic time.
So, upon our recent return visit to Banff we couldn't wait to check out this place again.
All three of us decided on pizza, having witnessed a couple leaving the kitchen when we walked in and they looked amazing.
My wife had the veggie pizza with asparagus, artichokes, spinach, onion, and cheese. It was pretty decent... at least we thought so until we tasted our friends choice.
Wild forest mushrooms, pine nuts, truffle oil, gouda, and pesto atop a crispy thin crust. It was delicious. I was ready to grab it and run for the hotel, munching truffl-y goodness all the way while being chased by a couple of pizza crazed maniacs, but then I decided to try my own pizza first.
Mine was a work of art. Gooey, cheesy art that you stuff into your pizza hole.
Not your typical toppings on this one. How does caramelized onions, mozzarella, edamame beans, and thin shaved, smokey bison sound to you? Good right? It's actually even better than it sounds. Possibly the best pizza i've ever had.
Now it is Banff, so even though there are plenty of hippy's around, the prices are not exactly hippy friendly. The pizza's range from $14-$18, with most falling in the $16 or $17 range.
I would suggest you live a little, and splurge on one of these great pizza's, or try something different and use YELP to tell the world about it!Listed in: 30 day challenge
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Review from Kelly B.
9/9/2011
This was the perfect spot for just chilling after a long day hiking in the mountains. We were looking for a taste of Banff - not just in terms of food, but the vibes and the people as well. This spot was kind of trendy, sort of a closet sports bar but humbly so. Clean and quasi-chique. The atmosphere was very comfortable thanks to the woodsy interior and cushy window seats. As soon as we sat down, we felt it was a solid choice.
Initially however there might be an attitude issue as the semi-snooty hostess was a little huffy about the lack of reservation. She thought we were looking to eat at Bison upstairs but lucky for us ruffians we just wanted beer and pizza. Our waitress made up for the hesitant first impression- sweet as can be and uber attentive. Probably our best server in Banff.
The food was wonderful. The butternut squash tomato soup was SO what I needed to get through the chilly evening and the beer list offered a good selection of Canadian brews. We were told the pizza was exquisite, and it was damn good. I don't know if it's the best I've ever had, a little too much cheese for my taste, but still delicious. Overall fabulous experience and would love to come again. -
Review from Q T.
Sherwood Park, AB
11/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
Great pizzas. Good value for Banff. Nice atmosphere.
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Review from Tim C.
Ottawa, ON
3/5/2012
The pizza really is quite good. Friendly service. We also had the Mac and Cheese which was pretty good but the pizza really stole the thunder.
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Review from Kerri W.
Banff, AB
4/2/2011
Situated in the shadow of The Bison restaurant, Bear Street Tavern is a bit of a hidden gem.
To be completely honest, it took a few tries for the place to grow on me. Finally I discovered that the best nights to go are Sunday or Monday because the pizza, which they claim is "ridiculously good," is on special for $10. Pair that with $4 domestic bottled beer and that's a decent meal.
I must note that only select pizzas are included in the special but that doesn't really limit you too much. Of the selected few, you're bound to try something you're willing to try. For me, it was the donair pizza. Was that really lettuce on my pizza? Yes, it was. The base sauce is your typical donair sauce but it's also served with a bottle of some sort of chili oil that I poured in the corner of the plate (no, the plate was NOT round) and dipped my pizza into when the sweetness of the donair sauce became too much. It offered a nice counterbalance.
Aside from their own website, they've recently become quite active in social media with a Facebook page and a Twitter account. In fact, for the past few weeks, they've been posting time-limited specials with a password that they post on Twitter each weekday. They seem to be trying to get people in there just before the typical dinnertime rush. On the Facebook page, they ask for feedback on things like what sort of things people want for specials - like someone suggested all-you-can-eat nachos.
It's a cozy atmosphere despite the rocky decor. They've got a few TVs over the bar where you can watch snowboarding/skateboarding on one at any given time and whatever seasonal sport is popular (hockey, etc) on the others. It's reasonably laid back, the prices make it accessible - particularly if you know your specials. -
Review from Robyn W.
8/18/2011
I was concerned when I saw that the Bison bar had changed to the Bear st Tavern (the Bison restaurant is still upstairs) - I loved the cheese & charcuterie tray that they used to serve, and with the new name (ownership?), that is no longer on the menu, but we decided to give them a chance anyway.
And I am so glad that we did.
I was there with the Hubs and a friend from NYC and we each chose a pizza - a veggo, a bison, edamame beans & caramelized onions, and a mushrooms, pesto, pinenuts & truffle oil pizzas.
They were all really good - the veggo was the worst out of the bunch (the asparagus was a little woody, but even that was still pretty good) - but the smoked bison pizza was the winner of the night. My friend even said that it was the best gourmet pizza she had ever had!
The waitress brought a jar of honey and bottle of rosemary & chili-infused oil, and let us in on the greatest secret ever told:
Mix the 2 together in a big blob and dip your crust in it.
The woman is a genius! It was so good - the sweet and spicey goo was the perfect antidote for boring crust.
She also advised my friend that her ordered martini was very strong and brought an extra side of juice to temper it with. Again she was spot on and my friend was grateful for the extra juice.
We sat out on the back patio, and missed the fireplace that we enjoyed the last time we visited (it was a touch cool out), but the place itself was as wonderful as I remembered, even if there is a new name and no charcuterie. -
Review from Glenn B.
6/9/2011
Gourmet Pizza - grilling on the patio on Sunday's until 3:00. Great beers and music.
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Review from Jonah K.
7/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good pizza, interesting toppings. They have a good deal for groups which is a pizza party. Its a great deal and they handle parties wonderfully.
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Review from Barbara B.
9/10/2011
Outdoor patio very inviting so decided to take a chance. We had been told to try the Bison but it wasn't open for lunch that day. Had a great lunch with good service on sunny patio on Labor Day weekend. It was crowded and they handled things well. Loved the beer selections. Food was the best. Enjoyed the atmosphere. Not a big fan of Banff--too touristy, but liked this place.
