harvest room

great night and greatfoodat the harvest grill. everything was perfectly cooked and tasted exquisite.
they brought us a variety of bread and honey lavender butter as well as a smoked duck amuse bouche.
we started with the lobster chowder. delicious and generous pieces of seafood. the scallop served with a broth. original and so good.
we had beef tenderloin and duo of lobster for our main courses. amazing.
the desserts were delightful. spice peach crème brulée and the chocolat fondant served with caramel popcorn. my god!!!
the chef created a really interesting and diverse menu. loved it.

i just had the opportunity to visit the harvest room and i personally loved it.  my husband brought me for our 20th anniversary and everything was top notch - service spectacular,foodastonishing, view breathtaking.  afterwards, being at the hotel macdonald (which is one of the nicest hotels in edmonton), we enjoyed a room and each others company.

some friends and i came here for my birthday lunch last month. the service could have been a little more on point but all of the staff were very friendly and thefoodand view was amazing!!!

this review is almost a month overdue...hubby and i celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary here. it was a warm evening and we sat outside with a spectacular view. service was perfect.foodamazing. we were even treated to an anniversary dessert and a glass of champagne before we left. we had the 3 course meal with the added suggested wine pairing...highly recommend this. we even started the evening with some fun cocktails. a delicious chicken amuse-bouche started our dinner. then hubby had beef carpaccio with pickled strawberries and i had the beetroot & soy marinated salmon with a light fennel and citrus mousse for our appetizers. our entrées were the alberta beef tenderloin & oxtail with herb gnocchi (hubby felt the gnocchi was more like potatoes...his only minor complaint) and slow roasted duck breast with an amazing rhubarb chutney. for dessert hubby had the trio of sorbet (raspberry, mango and lime) and i had the chef's crème brulee inspiration which was vanilla strawberry that night and served with mango sorbet. yes, it was expensive, but for a celebration you cannot beat this restaurant!

i love coming here for brunch, especially in the summer when you can sit on the balcony and overlook the beautiful river valley.  thefoodis nothing short of amazing.  no matter what you choose, you cannot go wrong.  personally, i love the french toast.

came here with my family for christmas eve dinner. the hotel was dressed up for christmas and it was really beautiful. our dinner was at 8pm and we were seated promptly.

our server was very professional and knew everything about the menu. there were three choices for the main dish, venison tenderloin, turkey, and prosciutto wrapped monk fish. this was a five course meal that started with a canapé of cheese covered grape and a small portion of cranberry jelly. it was a nice way to start the meal, really tasty. next was butternut squash soup which was really delicious. everyone loved this soup. in between soup and our main course was a little palette cleanser sorbet of passionfruit and blackberry. it was a nice light and citrus flavour. 

with six of us ordering dinner we saw each of the three dishes at our table all were prepared beautifully. i had the turkey and it was really delicious. it came with truffle mashed potatoes, stuffing, brussels sprouts, and carrots. though it was a traditional meal it was definitely prepared in a way that elevated it to a fine dining experience. the turkey was very nice and moist, flavourful dressing, truffle potatoes were delicious, carrots and brussels sprouts were cooked perfectly. 

desert was a dulce de leche cheese cake ice cream and a vanilla lavender bomb covered in chocolate. these two desserts were so rich that i couldn't make it through them after all thefoodfrom the previous four courses. they were both very good but i was stuffed!

really good experience overall. we all enjoyed our dinner very much!

the quality offoodhere is an exact representation of the fairmont hotel macdonald; delicious, rich, and wonderfully presented. i had the 'express 45 minute lunch', which i started with a caesar salad, then the wild mushroom ravioli, and finished with the chocolate pistachio cake. no complaints about anything. the service could have been more attentive, however they were coming off brunch rush so there was a lot of clean up. will be back.

everything was perfect except for a big crowd next to us who were very loud but nevertheless enjoying themselves.  i felt happy for them but i wasn't all too happy myself, but you just gotta let things slide and enjoy the wonderful view andfoodright? :)

the outdoor patio view was magnificent and it was just a perfect day to be seated outside.  i didn't make a reservation (called in 15 mins before to make sure there was a 2-person seat though) too far ahead of time and got lucky.  the menu was not insanely expensive but it was on the higher side.  the harvest room was thoughtful enough to offer an express lunch though, which was of great value and perfect for people who aren't real foodies and have difficulty choosing something unique and specific and adventurous.  as for me, i'm the crazy foodie who likes weird things, so i picked the foie gras burger (yes i condemn force feeding of ducks but just let me go this one time ok?!  stone me later!).  i shouldn't say good things about this burger to encourage others but for once i can actually taste the foie gras (since my paris trip).  the bacon was crispy and the beef patti was juicy and succulent.  the foie gras, i believe, was just smothered on top of the patti and blended in with the bacon and mushrooms.  best burger ever.  well worth my hefty $25 on that one.  the fries were a little thick cut for my taste (lacks flavour) but it was nevertheless light and crispy.  the sorbet was pretty light and refreshing as a summer dessert too so i enjoyed that too.  the quiche was kinda just meh in comparison to my burger so i didn't give it much thought.  other than that, this was my hidden gem of the year in edmonton.  never knew this place existed until our friends went and raved about it.

i can't complain about the service.
thefoodwasn't bad.

but it doesn't live to the fairmont's standards.
and it should!


id love to dress up and feel like i'm headed to a bespoke brunch, but this is very family friendly.

after an hour of sipping tea and sharing bites, a tour of the historic hotel is offered to all guests at high tea. it's a great way to learn about this landmark in the city, and you can even visit the grand queen elizabeth ii suite (subject to availability). at at $39 (+ tax&tip) per person you can expect to have greatfood(the scones are my absolute favourite!) and even better service. it can be fun to indulge in a fancy tea service from time to time, especially when they have special themed menus. reservations are required so make sure to book ahead of time!

excellent service. went to the harvest room at the fairmont mcdonald for the first time having purchased a groupon. the service was absolutely excellent as one would expect from the fairmont group. we enjoyed a number of appetizers including lobster chowder (which is more like a lobster bisque) with seafood, boar bacon and potatoes in it, seared scallops, waygu beef carpaccio, rabbit and truffles and we finished with a cheese, fruit and nut plate. all of thefoodwas very good as were the wine pairings.

with the groupon this was a very nice meal for a reasonable price. however, without a groupon, they have a price fixe menu that i think is extremely reasonable. it's $59 for your choice of appetizer, entrée and desert. with most appetizers ranging from $16 - $21, most entrees from $41 - $48 and $12 deserts this is an excellent option. we will return to try this.

uninspired food. service was good. environment was good. but we came here for thefoodso that's what i'll comment on.

this restaurant is the perfect example of uninspired high end food. lacklustre. a bunch of cooks executing dead ideas. didn't taste like they had a head chef.

i had the lobster ravioli mushroom main. the lobster was over seasoned and it was hard for me to get over that aspect. the ravioli was firm in texture, but didn't burst in flavour. mediocre is the best word to describe it.

the sablefish was nicely fried. again, mediocre.

forfoodof a similar style around the same price range, but with much more creativity and mind blowing flavour and presentation, i would recommend the red ox inn.

not impressed at all. had a really bad experience at this place. service was bad and thefooddid not meet our expectations either. i was very disappointed with both the service and food. i would not recommend this place to anyone.

overall, a wonderful ostrich dinner with excellent service at the hotel mac, proving that you're not coming here just for the history and ambiance... its all about thefoodtoo!

fantastic. very attentive to guests withfoodallergies. greatfoodin lovely surroundings.