Grizzly House - Banff

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

This is a restaurant that you cannot just drop in as you will never get in until about 2-3 hours later if you're lucky.

Everytime I go to this restaurant I'm always afraid that the place will burn down with me in it but I can't get enough of the food. It is a very quaint log cabin feel that used to be a disco club and rumour has it - a swingers club. Everything is made of wood and it's quite dark in there. There are speakers hanging from the ceiling that sometimes produce sparks and almost every table that have candles and flamable oil on the table. Thank god that the table tops are not made of wood. I'm not sure if they're still working but there are telephones at every table if you want to call another table (swingers club?).

The service is good sometimes you get the one off waiters or waitress that is not so great. Also keep in mind this is not an in and out restaurant. A meal usually takes about 2 hrs. The establishment is famous for it's fondue with amazing dipping sauces.

You can get exotic meat for your fondue for the more adventurous souls and beef and chicken for those that want to keep it safe. Appetizers consists of a cheese and bread fondue, a vegetarian fodue among the choices. For customers that thinks oil fondue for the main course is fattening they can choose to cook their food on a hot rock. I personally like the oil fondue as they have flavoured the oil adding another layer of flavour to your meat. If you're not sure how the cook your meat. Your server will give you pointers.

We can't forget dessert! We always have the chocolate Toblerone fruit fondue. I'm not sure what other desserts there are as I never check. :)

I would say this is the best fondue place I've ever been to.

WARNING: Do not where you favourite sweater. This is another establishment that everything you wear into will come out smelling like smoke.

Seoul Korean BBQ - Calgary

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Price: $ 10-15 per person - $$ 15-25 per person Would I go Back: Yes

This restaurant is easily the best Korean BBQ restaurant in Calgary. It's a really large restaurant on MacLeod and even if it's really busy you're bound to get seats really quickly without reservation. It's also a great place for a party as they have seperated areas where they can fit large parties. I mean bus load large!

They have a large menu with pictures in them so you're not half guessing what you're ordering and if you can't decide you can always try their set meals of BBQ or Hot Pot that have a bit of everything for you to try. You may also substitute certain food in the set meals as well for somethng else you like. Do not under estitimate their meals though . It comes with soup, salad, a few appetizers rice, and lots of meat. This is not including the dishes they give with your meal which they serve four different kinds with unlimited refills which the staff is a happy to oblige (I would know cause my dad likes downing them like crazy and he's not shy about asking for more) and sweet soup dessert (they don't always give it to you as not alot of people like it so you may have to ask for it, they also make this themselves so they may have run out of it for the day if you went late). So if you're with a party of 4 even if you're party eats a lot, order the set meal that will feed 2-3 people there is plenty to go around. I also like this when I go with my family because they usually can't decide what to order and my dad will try to order everything on the menu.

The food is always pretty good here even when it's busy. Why I put the two different prices is because if you go there for lunch it would be in the lower price range and if you go at dinner for the set meal depending how you order you should be within the second price range. I usually go with just my boyfriend so we never have the set meals as it's way too much food. If we each order a dish (by the way comes with a bowl of ricer per dish, the 4 side dishes and sweet soup dessert) and nothing else (tea is free) we had been in the first price mark for dinner. Usually though we hit in the second price range because we would order a drink.

We always come here when I crave for Kimchi Stew. They make the best kimchi stew here and lots of stuff in the stew. I gave the food rating a four because sometimes there is a bit of a slip when they're really busy with the other food. You always have an option to bbq stuff at the table or have the kitchen do it. We always get the kitchen do it as it's only a order of beef bulgogi or it's with my family and it's alot easier to feed everyone. They have a really yummy appetizer that is sweet and sour daikon (radish) wrapped in daikon with a pepper.

Service compared to most Korean restaurants can be said amazing. As most of you that been to Korean restaurants in Calgary would know that you'd be lucky if they waiter or waitress knows English. You have to wait a while before they come and take your order because they're behind the counter determining who's going to brave taking our order from our table. With lots of finger pointing at the menu you will finally have your order taken. Then it takes forever for the food to get there (and lots of finger crossing that you're getting what you ordered) and don't say anything in front of the waiter/waitress unless you're planning to order something or just to say thank you or else you will get something on top that you don't want (this had happened to us many times). At Seoul there is almost none of that. Almost all the waiters and waitresses have a firm grasp of English and those that are a bit iffy will just get you to point at the menu to make sure that they are hearing what you said and take you're order with a smile. You can also order by the number as well. :P
All the waiters and waitresses we had are very nice and on the ball of things even when they're busy. It also helps that they don't have a high changeover of staffs. They also acknowledge you when they can't get to you right away.

The atmosphere here is great. The restaurant is high high ceiling that's very industrial  if you look up so they can fit fans over every table to ventilate when you're bbqing. At eye level they have decorated it nicely with Korean decoration and bamboo blinds between some tables to add privacy. You're never too close to your neighbours. They are very clean as well. They have a system worked out to clear up the tables and have it set up for more customers. Quite amazingly fast. Their dishware are always clean. Last time I checked they're in the process of slowly updating the bathrooms. They had installed new sink and they even have a station with toothpicks, floss, mouth wash and disposable cups! The bathroom stalls itself are not done when I last went.

Aftermath: Overstuffed, satisfied and smelling like Korean BBQ.

WARNING: If you go here or any Korean BBQ do not wear clothes that absorb smell. Even if you don't bbq at the table you will always come out smelling like Korean BBQ. So warn all attending parties. You also might not want to go anywhere with anyone after that has not eaten with you, they will smell you all night. :D

Vittoria Trattoria in the Market - Ottawa

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Price: $$$ 35-45 per person    Would I go back again: Yes if I have to

Located in the Byward Market it advertise itself as  one of Ottawa’s premiere dining spots, Ottawa City Magazine Best Italian Restaurant and that they go above and beyond to create a personal and truly unique dining experience.

The atmosphere was really nice. A really good location for a romantic or intimate, cozy atmosphere. 

Other than being greeted by a friendly hostess and immediate direction the table the service was left to be desired, although it could be just the waiter we had but it was not acceptable customer service standard. My boyfriend and I were the last ones of the party to arrive for dinner. Everyone already had their drinks and I arrived first as my boyfriend had to go to the vehicle to retrieve something. From the time I arrived to my boyfriend arrival and to the time we had our orders taken not once did the waiter come by to greet us and ask us for the order for our drinks. In fact when he was taking our order for our meal we had to point out that we would like to order some drinks as well. He did not once ask for our drink order, we had to tell him we wanted drinks in which his response was "sure what would you like". When it was time for dessert we did not even get a dessert menu we had to pass the three that was given to one end of the table to the other end of the table. There was a bit of confusion as well because some of us weren't even done eating our main as not everything arrived at the same time at our table as most restaurants will do even if it's a larger group.

The food was okay. It wasn't the best as they had advertised it but it wasn't bad. Going by the restaurant's self advertise and claim of reviews their presentation of the meal was quite random. Some had some sort of presentation and some doesn't have any at all. Prior to the food coming they had bread with oil and vinegar dip like all Italian restaurants do. I ordered the Prosciutto & Pear  for an appetizer to share with my boyfriend, for main I had Veal Marsala ("Veal scaloppine in a Marsala wine and mushroom sauce accompanied by roasted potatoes and grilled Mediterranean"), and my boyfriend had Chicken Breast ( "Oven fired chicken supreme drizzled with gorgonzola and walnut sauce, accompanied by parmesan mashed potatoes, snow peas and carrot"). Starting with the appetizer (antipasti), I like to go to restaurants and order something different and it had promised me a unique experience, I had ordered the Prosciutto & Pear thinking it would be a unique combination of flavour that would be yummy (like those weird combinations that you put together and they turn out to be really yummy). The dish was not anything amazing to make it was just as it says in the menu a few "Bartlett pear wedges and brie wrapped with thin slices of prosciutto" leaned on a small pile of green with balsamic reduction drizzled on it. Eating it was not anything amazing either, the combination did create a new yummy blend of flavours, in fact it took all my will power to not disassemble the thing and eat each individual ingredient by itself as it would taste a lot better that way. It also didn't help that some of the balsamic reduction got onto the wraps itself and it did not complement at all.

The main meal what can I say...The veal was cooked okay. It might have been a bit overdone as I trouble cutting it into pieces. There was no presentation for my dish. It was three small pieces of veal piles on top of each other veggies, 3 half of potatoes spread around, and the whole entire plate was swimming in the "marsala" sauce. Why in quotations.... well it wasn't a flavourful marsala sauce it was lacking in taste and what you can taste will be all of a sudden over powered by explosion spiciness and numbness as you bite into a whole black peppercorn which once you bit into one you can't taste anything afterwards.  My boyfriend’s meal was a small pile of mash potatoes and a chicken breast was put on top of with a sprig of rosemary stuck in it standing like a tree. I normally would try his dish as well but it looked like and tasted like (in his words) “a grilled chicken breast and mash potatoes".  It was not anything special. I didn't even see any sauce on his chicken, maybe it all grilled off.

So overall it was kind of over rated especially with their advertisement and claimed review. It was not the worst Italian food but not the best, as well not a really fully traditional Italian culinary cuisine. I would say it's heavily Italian influenced, but was a really expensive Italian restaurant with so so food. It seems whoever made the menu kind of put things that would look good written on the menu but not as great or complementing when it comes to the reality of eating it. For those that have been to the Cheesecake cafe that's the quality of the food you'll be getting at this restaurant but at a much more expensive price range. By my opinion the Cheesecake had a better Marsala dish than this restaurant did. 


Those that have been here and gotten a different experience please feel free to comment as we all know sometimes restaurants can have their bad days.

Palliser Hotel The Oak Room Afternoon Tea - Calgary

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Cleanliness

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)

Snow Palace - Calgary

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Service

Atmosphere

Cleanliness 

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.