eden - rimrock resort hotel

i went there for a christmas dinner a few years ago as a personal get away.  it was a nice experience but not worth the $350 it cost me for my dinner and few drinks.   the food was extra ordinary but small portions.

recently we were there for a wine experience,  a friend is the president of a local wine club and had invited me as a guest for the weekend.  they had gotten a deal for a reception on friday and the dinner on saturday so it was a much more palatable experience dollar wise.  

if you want to experience a five diamondrestaurantthen go for the experience.

never have i ever. 

well actually yes i have, but i had to go all the way to joel robouchon in las vegas to have a dining experience like this. 

had the tasting menu paired with wine and was blown away, all the details that went into each course was met with incredible  flavors and textures. the meal included oysters 3 ways that took us on a tour to the kitchen and wine cellar. the sommelier was vibrant and fun, not too stuffy. 

i look forward to having something so special to celebrate at thisrestaurantagain.

horrible. november 9th 2014.

my fiance and i took a group of 10 dinners up the the famous rimrock restaurant; eden. all of our party live in banff and have for a number of years so we have heard the hype regarding therestaurantand finally had a great reason to go...to celebrate our engagement.

our greeting was good, we were sat in the private dinner room. great views and a good feeling. as locals we partook in banff's 'bon appetit' we ordered from the set menu, everything was fine....until it became clear we weren't big drinkers. we had a gentlemen in our party who didn't drink at all, we had members of our party that asked for advice on wine within a certain price range.....and thats where we lost any professionalism.

seemingly being local and not partaking in shockingly over priced wine meant we were not a priority and were not worthy of the 'show'. our servers then began making jokes, flicking light switches on and off, joking about where we could 'buy pills' later that night and generally 'goofing around'. so disrespectful; assuming that all locals in banff are drug users or generally not seeking a tasteful evening...for our engagement dinner!

as noted with a number of reviews on tripadvisor the portions are extremely small. my fiance asked the server about the origins of the olive oil they used; he kindly went back to the kitchen to find out the details in the meantime she asked our sommelier; he rambled on about the olive oils backstory in italy...our server returned and let us know it was from winnipeg. we wanted to know the name of the oil for future reference, our befuddled and annoyed sommelier got frustrated and merely wandered off without an answer....this was symptomatic of his entire attitude.

a couple within our party had to leave and so asked for their desert to be packed up along with their bill...no action; my fiance asked again...no action; i asked again! 30mins passed so they left, went and paid up at the front desk and their desert, included on the menu never made it to table.

after finishing desert at 23:45, exhausted and disappointed in the experience we asked for our bill. after a full hour, not an exaggeration, and 5 attempts at the correct charges, mis-billing and frankly embarrassing and ridiculous mistakes (we were 4 couples and 2 singles) my fiance and i had to ask for our bill as the sommelier had completely failed to recognize that we hadn't even paid, we genuinely could have walked out having not paid for our meal!

we managed to get out 00:45.

i called the management the next day and the excuses were laughable and the customer service was weak. i was told that the drug references and the 'buddy' service was part of eden's unique way of catering to their clients....to mould to each dinners expectations; how insulting!

truly a waste of over $1,000. we will never dine at eden again or recommend. amongst our party were department leaders for the fairmont banff springs and delta kananaskis.

what an embarrassing engagement dinner. we don't mind paying eden's prices for food and service that are appropri

so disappointing. my wife and i both love food and have visited the vast majority of the best dining establishments that alberta has to offer - and it has a ton quite frankly. to be clear - best doesn't always mean most expensive; price should be a reflection of quality and creativity - ascribed value. eden is one of these restaurants which is grossly out of touch with how therestaurantindustry works, but manage to stay afloat based on the merit of the hotel in which it is located.

our meal cost 510 dollars. in six years, across the province we have never spent this much on a meal. particularly, we have never spent this much on a meal that lacked both culinary skill (in relative terms - it was still good, but not exceptional) and ingenuity. service was fine but lacked real connection with the food and wine that was being served. the sommelier brought out flat wines - some from eastern canada (sorry - no offense but the quality ones are far and few between) that were so run of the mill it was astounding.

the bottom line - was the food good? - yes it was for all intents and purposes good. was it worth it? - not by the furthest account. with the perspective of half of a four figure number buried into this meal - take your hard earned and eat somewhere that offers great food, real character and more importantly value. in banff alone there are so many other great restaurants. we had a great experience atrestaurantle beaujolais. knowing what i know now i would move on and not bother with eden (which even as a name goes is weak).

so i had a sexy little date weekend lined up with the new girlfriend i decided to stay at the rim rock and impress her with a fancy dinner at eden. reviews are good for this spot.
i'll be honest therestaurantis beautiful but the food and service that evening was below average at best

the chef/server needed worry more about serving the food at decent/warm temperature than the fancy plate presentation. plus a little better portion would be nice. after purchasing $100+ worth of food i shouldn't be wanting to hit up mcdonald's for a classic big mac. which i probably would've but was a little to tipsy to drive from consuming some delicious but over priced wine.

as for the servers they were very attentive but i don't need a loud mouth guy wheeling around cart full of booze interrupting me everytime he would open his mouth from across the room or the 20 some year old stoner kid bringing my food then sticking his greasy fingers an inch away from every piece of food pointing and explaining what exactly everything was. i know what i ordered get your hands away from my food.

anyways maybe it was just that night but i will never eat there again.. the cost was way to much for the quality.

finest food and service in canada. they said eden is an experience everyone must try, well they are so right. what an amazingrestaurant- with incredible views and unbelievable service and food.
the chef is very creative using slate plate ware and wooden logs to showcase some of his food. the sommeliers are very engaging and really seem to want you to experiment with wine pairings.
the evening was an absolute blast, there are no pretentious servers in thisrestaurantonly fun knowledgeable staff who seem to really enjoy their jobs. can’t wait to go back!

for a tour of canada's local meats, produce, and flavors in an upscale setting with impeccable service, edenrestaurantis the place to go in banff.

utterly sublime, this was one of the most memorable, tasty, fascinating, and gleefully satisfyingrestaurantexperiences of my life. i highly recommend their fullest-courses menu option. it is, unfortunately, very expensive (very-very), but you'll probably never forget the rarely paralleled, exquisite gastronomic experience that can be had here. it's not just inspiring food; it is art.

truly special, highly recommended. i am worthy! i dined at the edenrestaurantat the rimrock hotel this week and am so happy to be able to write this review. the food was unbelievable, well prepared, spiced and presented. everything was just done so perfectly. my palate was perfectly pleased. i don't know that i will ever have striped bass as good again, so moist. and the service, spectacular. the staff is very pleasant and professional. i will never forget this meal. definitely worth it!

wow. i've never had a dining experience like this. you've been warned - this is a real treat and a real splurge so just enjoy it! well worth it. therestaurantis laid out in an intimate fashion (long, narrow, and wraps around a bend) so you feel as though you are the only diners in the place. from 6-6:30pm they cater to special requests for a window table/mountain view. setting the tone: you may be tempted to try the champagne cart - $50+ per flute! the food is impeccable (interesting techniques and flavors, little touches like burning pine sprig for aroma on your plate, an imploding white chocolate topped 'apple pie', lovely plating, tasty palate refreshers in between each course), the wine pairings were spot on, and the level of service was ridiculous. and you will be stuffed like never before. we were served by an entire team, all well versed in every detail of your meal and dining experience. i was even escorted to the washroom...which may have been a bit over the top but contributed to the overall tone of the night!