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    Cliffhouse Bistro

    4.6 (18 reviews)
    ModerateCanadian (New)
    Closed • 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

    Cliffhouse Bistro Photos

    CLIFFHOUSE BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Cliffhouse Bistro

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    Shawn K.

    Fantastic views and great staff. Food was so good and I would recommend to everyone! I enjoyed the game pizza that had a lot of different types of meats!

    Alberta Beef Salad
    Art C.

    High upon a mountaintop (Norquay) sits the Cliffhouse Bistro, reachable by using a chairlift. It was an exciting trip for us and the views were the attraction. I have a lot of photos and videos. The dining room was mostly wood and stone, a nice look. There are a few windows, not as many as I expected, but we were able to sit along a counter looking out to the great outdoors. Reservations suggested if you want to avoid an interior table. On our visit they had a limited menu just for that day. We decided on couple of their pizzas and a salad, plenty for the 3 of us. The pizzas were maybe 12" beauties, one was a Mushroom, Olives & Broxburn Tomatoes, the other was Quattro Formaggio, or four cheeses. Both were delicious. The outer crust was crunchy and slightly burnt, the bottom crust a traditional thickness. The cheese pizza had plenty of cheese. The pizzas came with a honey drizzle you could add, which I eventually did and it added a nice sweetness. We also got an Alberta Beef Salad that contained quite a lot of slices of beef. Service was friendly, the restaurant wasn't very busy so we got to talk about the area and wildlife. While we didn't see anything from the lift, we did get a close look at a bear on our drive back down the mountain.

    Kelly S.

    Amazing views of Banff while you're eating at the top of the mountain. Small restaurant with excellent food and drinks. We were lucky when we went it wasn't busy. It's a nice place to go on a date.

    Enjoying lunch with an amazing view
    Ly L.

    This is the only restaurant on top of Norquay lift. It's definitely not handicap friendly. You have to walk up the stairs to get to the restaurant. It has a spectacular view on the front side of the restaurant. Bathrooms are located in the bottom basement level. Seating is pretty limited. But we didn't have much problem, getting a table. If you want a table with a view make sure to make reservations. The food was good. Everyone enjoyed it. It was presented nicely, on very modern dining ware. My daughter loved her mushroom heirloom flatbread. It was vegetarian but had lots of flavor. My pickled beet and Cauliflower salad was a pretty large portion. It was a bit tangy from the picked beets and pickled cauliflower, which I actually liked. I just had to add a little more salt and pepper to taste and then it was perfect! Hubby got the ratatouille feta Panini. It was made nicely and tasted pretty flavorful for a vegetarian dish. My son got the all beef burger and he said it tasted good. They only serve the burger cooked one way. For a nicer end restaurant the price was decent. The kids menu had cheese pizza which was a half portion of an adult meal for 15$ but it comes with a drink, side of hummus, and a side of french fries. Service was excellent. Our waitress was very nice. So nice that my daughter wanted to color the kids activity and gift it to her. She told her that she would place it on the kitchen refrigerator at the restaurant for all to see. Overall a nice restaurant to dine in. Even with it being the only restaurant of choice you have up there, they still delivered!

    Coral M.

    Awesome place to see from the top of the mountain and have a glass of wine Our waiter Scott was so friendly and attentive, I would totally come back.

    Scenic view from the Bistro
    Marc K.

    Nice venue in a beautiful setting but things are not perfect yet. We took the Mt Norquay scenic chair lift (around $20 per adult) up the mountain, which is an interesting alternative to the very popular and often crowded Banff Gondola. Once on the top there the Cliff House Bistro and a small fenced walk which leads you to a scenic viewpoint into Bow Valley. This is also the start for the "Via Ferrata" trails, a guided mountain experience. The bistro itself features a panoramic window and a cozy wood stove. The food selection was ok but neither the service nor the prices of the items was great. After standing in the entrance for about a minute or two we were told we should just come in and chose any table. We chose one close to the window but were immediately shushed away by a staff member who put a "reserved" sign on the table once we moved to another one further in the back. Surprised by the pretty high prices for a bistro we ordered a cup of coffee to warm up. The service was basic but friendly. A while later one of the tables at the panoramic window opened up and the reserved sign from the table we had to leave was moved to the window table. This ticked us off a little as it made us feel like second choice guests. Dear manager: you have a location with great potential. There are not too many other spots like this around here. However, the attitude towards us (moving us away to another table) and the high prices for a bistro won't make us come back soon.

    Laura H.

    Chloe was an amazing server! She was friendly and accommodating. I dont eat meat and dairy and she was able to have the kitchen throw something together.... It was delicious!

    Amazing views and good fresh food up at Cliffhouse Bistro at Mount Norquay.  See more at: http://www.vcinthekitchen.com/exploring-alberta/
    Vic C.

    Opting to skip the crowds of the Banff Gondola, we took the chairlift up to Mount Norquay for great vista views and to enjoy a leisurely lunch at the summit. Everything I read suggested that Mount Norquay is considerable less crowded there than the Banff Gondola, and we weren't disappointed. Cliffhouse Bistro somewhat surprisingly provided a wonderful lunch at the top accompanied by stunning mountain views, which was impressive given that the menu was originally designed to account for all ingredients to be sent up via the chairlift. The atmosphere was casual, with the typical laidback vibe you expect in a mountain restaurant, but food had excellent presentation and was all-in-all very tasty. After sharing a salmon salad sandwich, halibut fish tacos, alberta beef salad, and a duck confit sandwich, we found all of the food to be very fresh tasting, well-seasoned and surprisingly impressive for a mountaintop. Prices are a bit high, but typical since you don't exactly have a lot of other options in the area. I highly recommend a trip up to Mount Norquay if you don't like large crowds of tourists like me. Read this review and others from Banff and Alberta area on my blog: http://www.vcinthekitchen.com/exploring-alberta/

    Charcuterie plate - outstanding!

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    Park Distillery - Bison burger and wine

    Park Distillery

    4.1(858 reviews)
    3.4 km
    •$$$

    Wow, just wow. Our first night in Banff was started off right. The food here was amazing, and the…read morestaff were excellent. After finishing the trip, I can confidently say this was our favorite place to eat. The portions were generous, even for a big eater like myself. We shared the Rotisserie Chicken Sandwich and the Bison Burger. I honestly don't know which one I enjoyed more. The BBQ sauce and Blueberry aioli were both an experience. And of course, with it being a distillery, the drinks were also a win. The drinks were just right, strong but delicious. I also became a fan of their IPA. As for seating, there's two stories and plenty of larger tables for big groups. I highly recommend this as necessary dining location during your trip to Banff. I would HIGHLY recommend

    Unfortunately, our experience here was extremely disappointing. We had walked by a few times and…read morereally liked the atmosphere, so we were excited to make a reservation. We were seated upstairs on the balcony, which was a nice spot and had a great vibe. The service started off fine, but things quickly went downhill. It took over 20 minutes to receive our drinks after ordering. While bringing them out, our server accidentally spilled an iced tea all over the table and onto my white pants. Mistakes happen, but we were surprised that there was no apology, and the response felt very dismissive. Shortly after, while we were cleaning up, she came back and sprayed cleaner on the table but accidentally sprayed it onto me instead. Again, there was no acknowledgment or apology. A few minutes later, she brought out a replacement drink, but it was the wrong one. When we pointed it out, there was some confusion and we were initially told it was correct before another staff member came over and brought the right drink. Unfortunately, the food was also a letdown. The bison burgers were extremely dry, and the ribs were so tough and chewy that they were difficult to eat. We were really hoping the meal would make up for the service issues, but it left us disappointed. Given the issues, we expected the spilled drink would at least be removed from the bill. Instead, we noticed additional drink refills on our tab that we didn't order. Overall, it was a frustrating experience, especially because we had been looking forward to trying this place. Hopefully this was just an off night, but based on our visit, we wouldn't recommend it.

    Photos
    Park Distillery - Distillation towers

    Distillation towers

    Park Distillery - Salmon salad

    Salmon salad

    Park Distillery - Cocktails (orange one was a Blueberry Margarita)

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    Cocktails (orange one was a Blueberry Margarita)

    Brazen - Stop for a cocktail at our newly renovated bar.

    Brazen

    4.4(200 reviews)
    3.6 km

    Came here on a Saturday evening and made a reservation on opentable. There was a long wait for an…read moreavailability so we're glad we did that where there was service. We ordered to share: Bison carpaccio: 8/10, the large pieces of black salt(?) was overwhelming the bison, but otherwise very unique and worth trying Burrata salad: 100/10, super refreshing and unique palate of thinly ribboned squash covered with tarragon vinaigrette and burrata. Smoked trout doughnut: 8/10, interesting combination of sweet (donut, lemon glaze) and savory (smoked trout, herbed Crème Fraîche, everything bagel seasoning, pickled shallot) Individually: Strip sirloin: I didn't have this one but 10/10 for work of art presentation. Huge piece of steak though. Roasted chicken: 9/10 myself and one other got the chicken. Tender and well seasoned with sweet and spicy harissa honey glaze and chili crisps. It looked like they gave half a whole chicken to her and the other half to me, huge portions. Probably could've been 3 meals. Peyto's ribs: 9/10 had to get it for the touch of maple paprika. Seared ling cod: 9/10 it's the only portion that remotely made sense for a single person and didn't end with leftovers. The dimly lit atmosphere at Brazen is perfect to unwind in after a long day of hiking and exploring. The portions are generous and flavor profile recommendations between appetizers, mains, and drinks well explored. Highly recommend making an advance reservation to try!

    I ordered: 1. Ginger Beef - Certified Angus Beef, Blistered…read moreShishito, Pickled Onion, Ginger Syrup 2. Roasted Zucchini - romesco, toasted almond Ginger beef was alright - tasty sauce, hardly crispy and tender. A little crispy and tender. Roasted Zucchini was cooked perfectly but bland including the sauce which was surprising. No issues with service. Classy, intimate ambience.

    Photos
    Brazen - Bold Style. Big Taste.

    Bold Style. Big Taste.

    Brazen - Each one of our cocktails are carefully hand crafted to your taste.

    Each one of our cocktails are carefully hand crafted to your taste.

    Brazen - Reimagined classic dishes.

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    Reimagined classic dishes.

    Bear Street Tavern

    Bear Street Tavern

    4.2(558 reviews)
    3.4 km
    •$$

    I visited Bear Street Tavern based off of a recommendation by a coworker. Beer and pizza is usually…read morea winning combination and Bear Street Tavern is a great example of this. Admittedly, I'm not much of a drinker but I'll have some once in a while and Bear Street seems to have a pretty good selection. I tried a Vietnamese Coffee Stout which I enjoyed. I'm definitely more of an eater than I am a drinker and the eats at Bear Street Tavern are excellent. My party got 2 pizzas and a salad and we enjoyed it all. To start we got the Tavern Bowl. It's a bunch of different vegetables with a Tahini Miso Dressing and kimchi on top. All the different textures and flavors worked really well together and the salad served as a nice break between bites of pizza. The Wheeler Hut pizza has mushrooms, ricotta, truffle oil, pesto, and mozzarella. If you're a fan of truffle flavor you'll enjoy this pizza. As soon as it was brought out I could already smell the truffle. The Mediterranean has olives, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, red onions, chili flakes, spinach, mozzarella, and balsamic glaze. A little busier than the Wheeler Hut, but it was equally delicious. I'm not sure which pizza I liked more. Both pizzas had a fantastic crust with some char. Substantial enough to stand up to the toppings but still a little doughy for a nice chew. The char gives a nice crunch as well. Service is quick and friendly and the prices are fair, especially in a tourist area. I definitely recommend Bear Street Tavern.

    Came here twice during our vacation. We sat at the bar both times with no wait for our seats. Our…read moreservers were very friendly and quick. This was our favorite pizza spot in Banff! We ordered the double double pepperoni pizza and the big bird. They offer honey and chili oil to dip the pizza in. They have a full variety of beer and cocktails. This a perfect spot post hike.

    Photos
    Bear Street Tavern
    Bear Street Tavern - The Mediterranean

    The Mediterranean

    Bear Street Tavern - Caesar salad

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    Caesar salad

    Bluebird

    Bluebird

    4.3(159 reviews)
    3.4 km

    Love love love this place. Came here for brunch (and surprised to see that it's a steakhouse…read moreplace...thought we got the wrong place). Great ambience, lovely and (VERY) attentive services. 3 people checked on us to see if anyone is already helping or if we need anything. Ordered the prime rib toast (wich is unexpectedly very delish..favorful..balanced...unlike all those toast i have eaten before...omg, im drooling as im typing). And ordered french omellette (my friend is vegetarian and she said it's absolutely tasty and yummy and she is happy to see quite good options for no-meat dish). We went to 4 other places during our 3days in banff, this is the ONLY place she praised (not simply bc of veg options,but the fact that its delish). That means something! They also generously gave us lemon cheesecake as bday cake (it was my bday and kinda nice to have small sweet celebration considering i was away from home). It was also our last day and we went to airport right after this brunch . What a beautiful end of our trip. Thank you, bluebird team!

    Here's the thing....our service was awesome. The vibes were cool inside. We came for happy hour -…read more50% off fondue and other items. If I wasn't there for that, I would have been disappointed and felt that was too expensive. The broccolini was delightful and my husband really enjoyed the "bacon" for dipping into the fondue. Cocktails weren't our favorite and the overall consensus was it was our weakest dinner reservation of our time in Banff. However, the people next to us ordered various cuts of steak and those looked unbelievable!

    Photos
    Bluebird - Tomato salad

    Tomato salad

    Bluebird - Fire pit on patio

    Fire pit on patio

    Bluebird - Fatty prime rib

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    Fatty prime rib

    Cliffhouse Bistro - newcanadian - Updated October 2026

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