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- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
12 reviews for Grizzly House
All Reviews
Wowie! Took my girl for dinner here and was NOT disappointed.
The four course fondue meal is absolutely delicious, with the perfect amount of food. Highly reccomend the beef and lobster meat course!
The only downside to the wonderful ambiance and cuisine of this resturant, was that our waitress talked down to my girlfriend, and myself, since we are younger than the average customers that were there. I really didn't appreciate her tips and whatnot.
I really liked this place :D
We were a group of 6 and they sat us to the table directly to the left when you first walk in. It was a nice private area with a TV, a table for six, and a lounge area. The restaurant itself has a log cabin feel with unique decorations.
On to the food!! This place has cooking styles of fondue, boiling pots, and hot stones. Our table all did the hot stone cooking style -- this was the best! It cooked the food just right and the meat they supplied was delicioius. One thing I regret is not trying somthing more "exotic" meaning they offer meats like rattlesnake, ostrich, shark, etc.
Lastly dessert was awesome, simple but delicious! We had the chocolate fondue and ice cream fondue. The ice cream fondue was amazing -- they gave you vanilla ice cream in shape of a ball coated in a crunchy type of cereal along side of sweet sauces you can add to it.
This restuarant is a must eat at while visiting Banff!
Sometimes touristy is good, and with a name like Grizzly House how could this place be bad.
I was visiting a friend in Canada, and she took me here for a little taste of the Rockies. As she put it the only thing more Canadian would be to drink beer while watching hockey in a Mountie uniform. Well--2 out of 3 ain't bad.
My friend had made reservations, and when we arrived we were placed in the "private lounge" and little area with just our booth, and a TV with the first came of the Stanley Cup finals going. The atmosphere here is killer--wood, dim lights, animal heads, etc. Harking back to the 60's when every table would have a phone so you could call another table to pick up chicks (our parents version of social networking)---the phones provide great entertainment during your meal. Because we were in the lounge with the TV, we got frequent calls from other tables asking for the score of the game. The only thing slightly disturbing about the phone situation was the one located in the bathroom--I probably wouldn't choose to answer that one.
Now on to the food. We ordered the 4 course fondue meal. First course was soup or a salad. I had the soup and it was a decent start. Second course was the cheese--and who can beat cheese and bread? Yeah, no one. Third course was the meat. I went local and got the Alberta Special--Beef, Buffalo, Elk, and Venison. We got both the hot rock and the pot of oil to cook--both of which produced tasty meat. Final course was of course the chocolate fondue made with Tobelrone--delicious.
So if you want to have a little culinary adventure and your are in Banff for a little R and R stop here--it will get you full.
This restaurant was in our guidebook and after passing by it, saw the sign that said they serve buffalo and elk meat, we thought "what the heck"!
Beware when entering the restaurant during daylight, it's pretty dark in there. In fact, one of our friends had to ask for a flashlight to read the menu.
We all decided to partake in the whole experience by ordering the 4-course meal. For the main course, the guys ordered the special which was buffalo, elk, beef and venison. I went for the beef and lobster.
Starter: I think we all ordered salad which was ok, nothing to write home about.
Appetizer: since there were 4 of us, we got both the cheese and the vegetable fondue. Cheese fondue was served with bread cubes. It was really yummy but then again, it's hard to mess that up. The vegetable fondue was also yummy, it was served in broth (and I'm sure butter and all that other goodness).
Main course: we opted for the hot stone and I'm glad we did. I think grilling the meats (and the lobster) brought out the flavors better than dipping it in hot oil. The meats came with an array of sauces, around 6, I believe.
Dessert: chocolate fondue, need I say more? Ok... it came with fresh fruits, there!
Other notes:
1. They do serve wine and beer,
2. You'll notice a telephone next to each table. The waitstaff can give you a map of the dining room and it has the extension numbers on it. So you can call any table you want. A good way to pass time while you're waiting for your food, which brings me to #3,
3. I don't know why our food took so long considering we had to cook it ourselves.
4. We tipped our waiter decently but right before we left, he had the gall to ask us for more tips. Seriously, you weren't that great to begin with, and the tip reflects that!
Overall, quite a pricey meal (average 4-course meal is $55pp) but it was a unique experience. Best part of the meals were by far the cheese and chocolate fondues. The rest were just fillers.
Kevin, How is this place FOOD CHAIN EXPLOITATION AT ITS BEST???
I don't think this place is a chain my friend from the north. In fact, its nothing like a chain. This is a home grown totally pure rocky mountain eatery. A true experience. So I just assume you don't have a strong command of the English language and meant to say something else.
You can do your next post in French, its OK. Whats important is that your thoughts get out there correctly and that you don't make bizarre comments that don't fit the place.
OK enough of that.
I love this Grizzly House in all its overpriced cook it yourself glory.
The food is high quality. The staff is friendly.
What you have to understand about staff in Banff (Be Aware, Nothing For Free)... get it? Banff. Yes the staff. The local ones that actually live there as a life choice are awesome. Cool cool people that anyone would want to hang with.
The rest are the backpacker working oversees on holiday pot smoking hostel staying types that I just don't fancy.
They are like indentured servants that get jobs here so they can ski hike smoke pot... group orgy, whatever it is that they do. I just can't relate. I guess because I can afford to go there and actually stay at a resort, not work there and eat at great places like the Grizzly House.
This place will transport you to another time. The interior is really nice and has that true feel. I can't say enough. It just captured my heart and I will always remember the Grizzly House. And I will always be back if I can afford it.
I hope to be back there very soon.
FOOD CHAIN EXPLOITATION AT IT'S BEST.
Nothing makes me feel more manly than cooking exotic raw meats in garlic butter upon a steaming hot rock. Grizzly House offers pretty much every kind of meat imaginable and the option of either cooking then in oil, or upon hot rocks.
I prefer the hot rocks because it accentuates the natural game flavours and it makes it easier to variate how rare or well done you'd like the meat cooked. Plus, the hot oil can splash and be rather hazardous for my liking.
I loved the caribou and the Alberta AAA beef. Also- you can order raw veggies and cook them at the table as well.
Grizzly House is pricey, but it's really fun to enjoy with friends and the staff are super fun and helpful. Plus, it way easier than hunting your own game...
I came here since the sign outside said it served Buffalo and Caribou. Never tried either so I figured this would be a good place to eat. Upon entering you notice it's pretty dark and smells funny. After reading the menu, you may (just like I did) realize you bit off more than you can chew. This place IS NOT cheap....at all.
But, having already been seated, figured "why not" and give this place a try?
The waitresses here are super friendly and explained everything for us on how things work here. You can have your meat cooked either in oil or on a hot rock. Being adventurous, I chose the exotic meats dish which consisted of shark, ostrich, venison, rattlesnake and some other unique meats.
After walking us through the cook times for each meat, my buddy and I dug in and started cooking everything. I was quite surprised at how good the meats tasted. Having never eaten such unique meats, I thoroughly enjoyed the meal albeit a little expensive.
My favorite was probably the venison and wild boar. The rattlesnake is a bit chewy and stringy and the shark pretty much tastes like scallops. But, if you're in the area, this place is great-to-try-once sort of place. It's quite expensive, especially if you get the exotic meats dish, but I think it was well worth it.
For souvenirs, you can purchase laminated place mats, shirts, as well as a $4000 buffalo head. The only thing I don't understand is why they sell a souvenir thong?
My family had a very memorable meal at Grizzly House on a family vacation several years ago. Specialties are Alpine meals, such as fondue and raclette. It's a bit touristy with the pine lodge exterior, but who cares? You're probably not in Banff unless you're on vacation, and if you're looking for a memorable meal, this worked for us.
Ten years later, I have vivid memories of the meal, and our family still reminisces about it, so it all worked well!
Banff is a vacation destination, so if you are here on vacation you need to do something different and fun. You can find that here at the Grizzly House.
They offer everyday meats and for those that are adventurous, more exotic meats. We dove in with both feet and did the whole fondue thing with fillet mignon, lobster, buffalo, alligator, caribou, python, ostrich, shark and venison.
You start off with a cheese fondue. It is a classic fondue and has cheese with wine in it. You dip bread in it. Next come the meats. They bring out a hot slab of granite that you cook the food on yourself. For dessert, there is a toblorone chocolate fondue with fruit and marshmallows to dip. Everything was wonderful. My favorites were the caribou and alligator.
The place is very wild. It used to be a night club and there are phones at each table. There is a map with the numbers to the other phones on it. I took pleasure in calling other tables and checking in on their meals. There is also a phone in the bathrooms. Hint: watch ladies walk in there and call them up to see how they are doing. If you play it cool when they walk out they will not know who to suspect.
Service was right on. This was the dining highlight of our Canadian Vacation.
Also, it is a licensed restaurant. Not sure why restaurants always feel the need to point this out up here in the Great White North. But, they are, so there you go.
After a week in the Rockies, I pretty much forgot I even ate here. It wasn't bad, it was just fairly ordinary.
We had just arrived in Banff and got suckered by the whole exotic-animal-meat-in-a-pine-lodge sales pitch.
The room was fun and had cool decorations from the history of town. We both had the Buffalo Burger and it was a leaner, more peppery piece of meat than you expect in your typical pub burger. The best thing was this hash-brown-like thing called Rosti. My wife got that and I got some disappointing onion soup. She has much more positive recollection of this place than I do, and that is probably the key difference.
My soda was flat and when i sent it back, I got another flat soda with no comment from the server.
What I remember most is that they had a phones at every table where you could call other tables. They even had a phone in the bathroom. Unfortunately, we there during the off-season, so the place was empty. In retrospect, every move in the bathroom was probably audible in the dining area without any amplification because it was as quiet as library. That said, I bet the place gets hoppin' during ski season.
the stone grill is really good... would definitely order the exotic fondue the next time i come....
i had the sea and land fondue and the beefeaters fondue... they are actually stone grill... a piece of stone that is 650C hot and you could grill your own food... pretty unique and fun experience i would say... you could also get the traditional oil or cheese fondue...
great food... great service...
cant give them a 5 star cause im the one who cooked my food...
Fonduuuuuulisious! All kinds o' meat and fun desserts too. Cozy atmosphere. AKA; Bring a date. $? Forgetabout it. Spend it and eat well.
