What I Thought of It

The Elk & Oarsman
119 Banff Avenue
Banff AB
Phone: 403 762 4616
www.elkandoarsman.com

Our plan had been to eat at The Keg in Banff, but unfortunately for them they are not open that early (3:45 pm). In need of something to fill our famished stomachs, we ended up at The Elk & Oarsman in the building next to The Keg.

The Elk & Oarsman is situated above some shops, and that offers a prime spot for people-watching on Banff Avenue. If the weather’s nice, you can even sit on the rooftop patio, with an even better view of Banff and the mountains.

The decor of The Elk & Oarsman has lots of wood with many antique objects. The result is a cozy and friendly feel. We grabbed a booth by the window so that we could enjoy the view.

The menu offers a good selection of dishes. As usual I wanted a burger, which meant a choice of Angus beef, buffalo, chicken, salmon,…but I went for the elk burger. My friend, on the other hand, looked in the fancy part of the menu and chose the elk rib steak, one of the more expensive items at $27.

With the burger you can choose two sides, so I decided to test the difference between regular potato fries and sweet potato fries. Next time it will be sweet potato fries hands-down. The burger was juicy and very flavorful, definitely a great value choice.

The much pricier elk rib steak was good but just similar to the burger in flavor. In fact, the burger tasted less “gamey”, so burger definitely wins over steak. The vegetables were also underwhelming. They were not fresh and kind of bland.

We had entered The Elk & Oarsman through the door on Banff Avenue. We went up a set of stairs to the pub, but nobody noticed us, and we didn’t know whether to sit or wait to be seated. We waited a bit and then asked. Alternatively, at the other entrance from the mall, there’s a sign that says “wait to be seated”. You’d have a better chance of being noticed that way.

Our waitress was somewhat patient in letting us take our time with the menu. She did forget to ask how the steak should be done, but she fixed that promptly.

Last thoughts: The Elk & Oarsman is a nice location to grab a bite or drink. The food is good, but make your choices wisely. I could come back here but not before trying other places in Banff, because it was also not that special.

Food ++++
Service ++++
Ambiance ++++
Washrooms +++

The Paddock Pub
135 Banff Avenue
Banff AB  T1L 1A7
Phone: 403 760 8543

The Paddock Pub is part of the Mount Royal Hotel. It’s not in the hotel but actually a couple of doors down the street, below ground under the hotel. The door in the photo is the only part above ground. You go through the door and down the stairs to reach the Paddock.

This basement pub is roomy. One side of the bar has lots of seating, and the other side is an entertainment zone housing pool tables, video games, and more. The seating area consists of big benches against the wall and tables and chairs directly opposite. On our visit there was hockey showing on the big-screen TV and a couple of smaller TVs.

When we got to The Paddock around 5 pm on a Saturday, it was not busy but there were enough customers to keep the staff working. After sitting down, we waited a while before the lone server came by our table.

The menu at The Paddock Pub is very limited. It has the basic pub dishes but nothing like soup or desserts.

We ordered the Buffalo Burger and Chicken Philly Sandwich. The food looked great on first sight. I then noticed that my fries were lukewarm, not hot. Luckily the rest of the food was properly hot.

The Buffalo Burger was thick and juicy, served on a fresh bun and topped with a nice piece of melted cheese. The Chicken Philly sandwich was also tasty and well prepared. It was supposed to be on panini bread, but the bread was soft (isn’t panini hard?).

Last thoughts: Although the menu at The Paddock Pub is not extensive, I would go back there. The food was just good, no question, though they should put a couple more servers on the floor.

Food ++++
Service +++
Ambiance ++++
Washrooms +++