Palliser Hotel The Oak Room Afternoon Tea - Calgary

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Price: $$$ 25-35 per person       Would I go back: Yes    Reservations: Recommended

Afternoon tea is held in the Oak Room on the main floor of the Palliser Hotel. They only have afternoon tea on Saturdays as on Sunday is when the have their brunch. Like all afternoon tea places, I would recommend booking ahead especially if you have a food allergy so they can prepare the food to your dietary needs. Plus they don't advertise afternoon tea on their website so sometimes they may not have this service available call ahead to make sure they have afternoon tea available.

The Oak Room is a lounge like the Rundle Lounge in Banff Springs it is nicely furnished with dark wood and old Victorian style decor which sets a nice atmosphere. I've been here twice for afternoon tea and they've seated us in nice big comfy arm chairs. Unfortunately, unlike the Banff Springs Hotel, Rundle Lounge it is lacking a view of ..... anything really. But also unlike the Rundle Lounge they don't have busy resorters going in and out of the establishment so it's all afternoon tea goers that are there during the afternoon tea time slot. This is still an upscale bar lounge though so one will see a bar area in the Oak Room where one is having tea.

Unlike the Rundle Lounge though the service here are on the ball of things. Both times I've been here they knew the reservation name right away and already have a table ready. As mentioned in one of my reviews I have a peanut allergy and both times I went they remember right away that one of the member of their guests have a peanut allergy. Which the chef had made a special tray with peanut safe delicacies. On one occasion they had only one tray as it was a small group the server informed of which on the tray I can have and brought me a separate dish with some pastry and treats specially made for my peanut allergy. The waiting staff was friendly, attentive to our needs and walks through those that are first time experiencing afternoon tea. Since the Palliser does not advertise they have an afternoon tea there was not special blend made for that hotel but the the waitress had a full selection of teas and can recommend types of tea based on a person preference in flavours.  There is no being forgotten here after the three tier tray comes out the waitress comes to check on you to see if there is anything else you may need, bring you more hot water or a fresh pot of tea.

The food on the tray was good. In fact I would say it's better than the Banff Springs Hotel. There weren't just finger sandwiches, there were other savoury pastries as well.  There were scones with yummy devonshire cream and jam but there weren't a big selection of types of scones but more than at the Rundle Lounge. The pastry and treats were not lacking in creativity like at the Rundle Lounge and there weren't all nanaimo bar like treats, in fact I was quite impressed with their selection they had and the attentiveness to my food allergy that they made me special treats that were safe. As I mentioned earlier since it's not an advertised afternoon tea with Fairmont they don't have their special Fairmont blend tea but they still have a nice selection of tea available. Which you can try a different tea when the server comes to refresh your tea.

In all the food was good and much more creative than the Rundle Lounge in Banff Springs Hotel and the price of $25 you pay for this afternoon tea experience is more worthwhile than to trek all the way to Banff unless you want that scenery. This is no fine dining top of the class afternoon tea but you have attentive servers, good food, and it's worth the amount you paid.

Banff Springs Hotel Rundle Lounge Afternoon Tea - Banff

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Price: $$$$ 35-50 per person      Would I go Back: Yes      Reservation: Recommended

Afternoon tea is held in the Rundle Lounge, I would recommend booking ahead especially if you have a food allergy so they can prepare the food to your dietry needs and they'll reserve a table for you by the windows if they can.

This lounge area is on the second floor and is nicely furnished with old victorian style decor which can set a nice atmosphere. If you get a window seat to have your afternoon tea it can be quite breathtaking looking at the mountains while sipping your tea. Unfortunately the Rundle Lounge doesn't just serve afternoon tea at the afternoon tea time slots. There is alot of others ordering off the lounge menu looking for a quick bite and you may end up with some noisy groups as the Rundle Lounge is an upscale bar lounge. For this I did not give it full stars as it would be more enjoyable to have afternoon tea in a more peaceful environment.

The service is not quite on the ball of things. We've been a few times for afternoon tea and they always seems to be a little confused with our booking. The waiting are nice and friendly but not quite on the ball of things sometimes like the teas, we would ask about the flavours of the tea selection they just read the name of the tea. In fact sometimes when we go there seems to be a bit of confusion going on. Since having afternoon tea is a slow process and the tea goers like to enjoy and relax with their company, a few times there was a feel of being forgotten. They do bring the food and take away the dishes promptly but once you have your pot of tea and the three tier tray comes, after they go through what's on the trays their attention is elsewhere. I had to ask for some more hot water or fresh tea as we only had one pot to share.

The food on the tray was good. The finger sandwiches were cute but not very inventive (cucumber sandwich, carrot sandwich, egg salad sandwich and smoked salmon with cream cheese). There were scones with yummy devonshire cream and jam but there weren't a selection of types of scones ( I remember only some raisin scones and plain scones). The pastry and treats were a bit lacking in creativity as well. There was a lot of nanaimo bar like treats (Which I barely ate as I have a peanut allergy and they were kind of iffy. Even the server was not sure. And I called ahead for reservations and notified them of my allergy), lemon tarts and chocolate covered strawberries. They bring a box of the complimentary tea you can choose from or you can have the Banff Springs special blend tea.

In all the food was good for what was served but totally lacking in ingenuity and a disappointment for the price you pay for this afternoon tea experience (this is off the other afternoon tea experiences I've had). If they improve on the atmosphere like having an area that's just for afternoon tea, more attentive service, and more creativity for their selection they can make it a 5 star afternoon tea experience as no one can beat that beautiful scenery outside of that window.

If you're looking for an afternoon tea experience you don't need to go far as Banff for a Calgarian. The Palliser also serves afternoon tea although it's not listed on their website. (see review)

The Waldhaus - Banff

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Price: between $$$$ 35- 45 per person and $$$$$ 45-55 per person    Would I go Back: Yes    
Fine Dining    Reservations: Highly Recommended
 

The Waldhaus is situated on the Banff Springs Hotel compound but is not attached to the hotel itself. The restaurant calls itself a “House in the Forest”.  It is Swiss and German fine dining at it's best. I've had other German cuisines that have more variety of selections but this restaurant defines fine dining.

As mentioned above do make a reservation as this is a very popular restaurant. It's also a good idea to call ahead because even though their website says open daily it does have seasonal closings.  If you are planning to go do try to book as early as possible. Like the Grizzly House it does get booked up weeks in advance. Also allow yourself time to relax and eat as most German cuisine goes it's not a quick bite affair, let alone this is a fine dining restaurant so everything is going to be paced.

The Waldhaus is built in 1927 and was used as a club house. It's on the hill right next to the golf course and Spray River. The atmosphere of the place is of an old hunting cottage with dark, rich wood paneling and a large fireplace. With the fireplace it has a cozy cottage feel if you go during the winter. This building is full of atmosphere with wood paneling, candles on the tables, dim lit dining area, and a big cozy fireplace it's sure to transport you to a more rustic time.

The service here is excellent. It is a prime example of fine dining service at it's best. When you arrive you are met promptly by the maitre d' confirming your reservation and takes you to your table. He/she also pulls out your chairs and sits you down. They also put your napkin on your lap, give you a run down of the menu and specials are suggested. A soummellier (wine steward) will come around as well to give you a run through of the wine selections and suggestions of wines to pair with your dinner.

The food is well presented and flavourful. The menu has a fondue section (Swiss cuisine) and a a la carte menu. I usually go to the Grizzly House for fondue and tend to go for the German selection of the menu at this restaurant. I like the Rocky Mountain Smoked Meat platter which has game meat and cheese pairing. The menu also changes along with their specialties. All of their selections are really delicious. You can see what their most recent menu by going online along with their wine selections. They also have a yummy dessert menu that is not available to view online though. :(


Aftermath: Really full, satisfied, and happy as it was a very stress free environment. That's how good the service is.

The Evergreen Restaurant at Delta Banff Royal Canadian Lodge - Banff

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Price: $$$$ 35- 45 per person  Would I go Back: Yes   NOTE:  Fine Dining

This restaurant is in the Delta Banff Royal Canadian Lodge in Banff. It's not really big restaurant but despite that it's not very busy both times I went. Once on a weekend in November and once during the summer during the weekday. So no reservations is required. As it's a ski resort style hotel their dress code is really lax so you can wear whatever you want really but I don't think they appreciate ripped jeans.

It is a pricy restaurant but what isn't in Banff. I always suggest to tourists if they can afford it to go to the fancier restaurants and not the usual large chain restaurants all glammed up. Mainly because they're so busy so I sometimes find the price is still the same but the food might not meet your expectation as well as the service. (see Banff - Food and Service)

The service at this restaurant is quite consistant, both times I've been there I had good service and the staff was very friendly. The staff knows what they're doing and have knowledge of the menu, specials, and can make recommendations. One of the waitresses I've spoken was from Australia and have been there for three years now. That's some working holiday! I gave them a 5 star as far as service goes in Banff their staff are quite good. The restaurant is really clean, the table settings are appropriately placed and the silver ware are really clean. Hint: Those that are scared of more than one fork or knife work your way in from the outside. The bread knife is sometimes placed above the plate though. I can't comment on the washroom as it's in the hotel and not in the restaurant.

What I like most about this restaurant is that you can see the chefs at work as the kitchen is in full view for the diners. When you sit down they provide you some fresh made bread along with oil and vinegar and a paste that's really good (can't remember what it is) If you can't decide what to have for appetizers because everything looks good they have Chef Sampling for Two in the appetizer section which consists of Chilled spicy prawns, Albacore tuna, marinated bocconcini, air cured bison, prosciutto,garnished with kalamata olives & marinated artichoke hearts which are all really yummy. When I went the first time they also had a main course sampling dinner but since they do change their menu slowly the dinner sampling platter no longer exists. I would recommend the Paddle River Elk Medallions which is marinated in espresso & maple syrup, dauphine potato & chanterelle mushroom, seasonal vegetables with sage & port jus. It's really good and I would suggest to take the chef's recommendation to have it on the rare side as the more the elk meat the tougher it gets. Their raviolis are amazing as well. They are fresh made pasta by the chef. Something that is becoming rare with fine dining that this restaurant still do is between course they serve a palate cleansing home made sorbet. They have a really nice dessert menu as well or if you're like me and is absolutely in love with their sorbet you can ask if you can their sorbet as a dessert. The chef will be happy to accommodate your request and he'll even top it off with some spun sugar decorations. The chefs really put alot of effort in making the food good along with good presentations. Don't expect to be in and out really quick either, the chef paces the food coming out. This is definitely not a dine and dash restaurant.

I really like the atmosphere of this restaurant it's not big but well decorated and not too stuffy. As mentioned previously I love the open concept kitchen. One thing you'll notice and I did mention earlier is that it's not busy even during the peak season. Reason being is that it's of higher price range so the students that spent all their money to get on the hill usually won't be able to afford to come here. So no loud teenagers. Another reason this restaurant is not as well known as the Waldhaus and along the strip of where all the hotels are and most visitors head into the core of Banff to find food, it is a hidden gem in plain view.

The restaurant indicates their dining experience as "Dine in an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere, and enjoy an inspired menu highlighting the best of Canada." pretty much sums it up. The chefs take pride in their culinary skills and do their best to make everything perfect. A truly enjoyable Canadian Rocky Mountain cuisine.

Snow Palace - Calgary

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Price: $$ 15-25 per person for both lunch and dinner  Would I go Back : YES

This is a place that my family go to quite often. It's located in Crowfoot in NW Calgary. When we don't feel like cooking or going to far from home this is a go to place for us. 

They serve a lunch dim sum, congee, noodle menu that they make on order so your dim sum is fresh. The selection isn't big for dim sum but the congee, noodle, fried rice, chow mien, and noodle soup menu is quite substantial. They even make food that is not on their lunch menu but is on their dinner menu. 

The staff on the most part are really friendly and the owners are working with the staff.  Their service is usually good and you get your food at a decent time. If something is a little slow they will let you know. You usually see the same staff working here all the time so it says quite a bit about how the owner treats the staff. Occasionally there is a new staff or temperory staff and may not be friendly which the senior staffs corrects quite quickly. 

They serve set dinners for western Chinese style dining as well as the Chinese style set dining. Both types of dinners are not "set" as you can make substitutes for a price if the item you want to substitute is priceier. They also have a la carte menu and specials on whiteboards. They accomodate certain requests even if it's not on any of their menu as long as they have the ingredients and the chef knows how to make it. 

In saying that we go there often it's not the best of the best Chinese food we had. Sometimes as well depending on the time of the day and the how busy they are the quality of the food may slip. Take out with them can be a bit up and down as well. By all means are the food bad even when they slip but if you had their food when it's really good you can tell it had slipped a bit. They also serve a variety of beverages and amount of food are a decent size.

The restaurant does not have a fancy decor, nor is it a big restaurant. They have booths, tables and mirrors on both side of the wall to make the place look bigger. There is no fancy wood or fancy decor, in fact it's almost borderline cafeteria like. In fact would be cafeteria like if they hadn't used table clothes to soften up the cafeteria look.

This is one of the most cleanest restaurants I've been in. The tableware and utensils, seats, and bathroom are all very clean. In fact I don't even remember drinking from a chipped cup or eating from a chipped bowl. 

If you're there during the evening you might get a chance to meet some of the owner's family. It's a very much a family runned restaurant with some staffs.

Aftermath: We always go home overstuffed and satisfied. 

If you are to go there during the weekend for lunch reservation is recommended as they can get quite busy. Especially on a Sunday. 

Mandarin Ogilvie - Ottawa

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Price $$ 15-25 per person     Would I go back : NO!

At a first glance of the name of ths restaurant and after googling it one might take this restaurant part of the chain Mandarin Chinese Buffet. They have used similar font for their sign and using the name Mandarin Ogilvie which the Mandarin Chinese Buffet chain use to differentiate the different locations (ie. Mandarin Burlington). Do NOT be mistaken, this restaurant has no affiliation the Mandarin Chinese Buffet Restaurants, one can say it's far from what the Mandarin Chinese chain is trying to represent.

We came upon this restaurant hoping to look for a place that will accommodate a party of 12 that are not too adventurous but want to try ethnic food for a future event (a favour for a friend). Being new to Ottawa and not knowing many people we decided to test by tasting. The restaurant was large enough to accommodate the amount of people we have in mind but everything else was left to be desired.

The service was awful, not the worst I had but was dreadful enough. It took awhile for them to get our drinks and take our order. We were served by at least 15 different waiters (exaggerated) that cannot answer any of our questions. We ordered a set dinner for 2 (western style Chinese food) as I had tried to ask if they have a set dinners for more traditional Chinese food the waitress just stared at me blankly then told me "no".  It was almost comical when we asked if a dish we had ordered have any peanuts in it (I have a peanut allergy), the waitress said "I don't know" and proceed to stare at us blankly instead of going into the kitchen to check. In the end she did not go and check but asked another waitress who said "I don't know" and proceed to stare at us as well. Seeing that we were not getting anywhere my boyfriend had end up eating all of the dish by himself as they do not allow substitutes.

As an observation I noticed that the whole entire dining room was filled with westerners and all eating the set dinners. The menu did offer a variety of food but it seems that their westernized Chinese food was a hit. Later on a Chinese family walked in and I noticed that beside the standard menu, a white single page menu was given to them as well. Curious as we were leaving I got a glance at the white menu and it's a menu for more traditional Chinese food! Although I'm Chinese, my boyfriend is a westerner and seeing that they had automatically assumed that we would not want the white menu as well.

Now to the food.... what can I say about it.... nothing good.  The set dinner came with hot and sour soup, spring rolls (if you call cabbage, potato, and carrots wrapped together a spring roll, that's right I said potato) imperial chicken (a spicy chicken of some sort that has peanuts), shrimp with vegetables, chicken fried rice, and a dessert (I had lychee in syrup, my boyfriend skipped it as he couldn't take it anymore). The hot and sour soup was not good at all, in fact it borderline stinky because they had used so much vinegar. It had no taste but vinegary and spicy. The shrimp with vegetable dish had baby corns in it and they were sour, it also had snow peas in it and I couldn't even chew them as they were so tough and stringy. The fried rice was very chewy with barely any chicken in it but it had lots of oil (not normal).  The only thing that was good was the tea and the lychee in syrup (which is out of a can so one cannot screw that up unless it's expired or tried to open the can with a knife).

Price was not cheap it came to $46.44 for the two of us. They charged us for tea and since there was the two of us they automatically charge for 2 although my boyfriend had ordered ginger ale. 
It wasn't horribly dirty. The dishes were clean as far as I can see, but the floor the chairs, the bathroom, and the kitchen was dirty. Yes, the kitchen... you can look into the kitchen on your way to the bathroom and it did not too look good.

Aftermath: We're both suffering from gas, stomach pains and really thirsty. My boyfriend said he bit into something that tasted funny from the imperial chicken and his mouth is now numb. That's right I said numb and no he does not have any food allergies.  My boyfriend said it was by far the worst food he's had and I agree.

So why the two star...I've had worse for all the other ratings.

I was told that this restaurant used to be good but not anymore. So beware of the reviews you read and make sure they are really recent.