Banff's Best Private Dining Restaurants
for Weddings & Elopements
You are probably more of a choose your own adventure type of couple if you are planning a private dining reception experience for yourselves and your guests.
Perhaps you are hiking with a handful of friends to a remote spot in Banff for an elopement and looking for a place to dine upon your return or the day after. Or maybe you want to bring your parents and grandparents to an intimate ceremony at Lake Minnewanka and treat them to a fantastic lunch reception after. Or, maybe, you are secretly eloping, just the two of you, perhaps taking a helicopter to Marvel Pass, on a boulder overlooking Peyto Lake, or after a hike that starts at Moraine Lake, and you want to treat yourselves to delicious food. This is for you. For those that want a wedding experience that is beyond the ordinary.
I have selected these private dining restaurants as ideal wedding dinner locations in the Banff area based on how delectable the food is (of course), the ambiance, and the service. They range from pubby to fine-dining, and everything in between. Each offering their own atmosphere and experience.
Chuck’s Steakhouse
You could easily miss Chuck’s Steakhouse if you don’t look up at the end of Banff Avenue near the bridge. Which would be quite a shame, because you’d be missing out on a distinctly Alberta experience. Located on the second floor with neverending windows overlooking the Banff Park Museum and the Bow River, decorated with a bold colour palette with a western flair, it’s a perfect complementary backdrop to a mountain wedding.
Let’s start with experience. I have photographed two weddings at Chuck’s Steakhouse, and both times the couples raved of the quality of service. The waiter was extremely personal and made an effort to learn who each guest of the intimate wedding was. Every dish was brilliantly introduced, and any questions about the items were happily answered. Food presentation was unparalleled (I mean those monogrammed cocktail details!)
They offer three different dining options for weddings. The first is the Sundance Room which is ideal for 14-22 guests. It is the more private room with saloon doors in a recessed entrance leading to the main dining area. Your guests will have the best view of the Bow River as it runs adjacent to Buffalo Street. The tables are set in a family-style fashion, and can be decorated with a few vases of arranged florals, perhaps some greenery runners and candles. The second is the John Ware Room, which is better suited for weddings of 20-40 people. Lastly is a full buy out which allows you access to the roof top patio, bar, fireplace and sound system. Each have access to an outdoor patio for your guests to take in the mountain air.
If being doted upon in a relaxed atmosphere is your vibe, you might just want to stop looking here. Truly, the service is what stands out at Chuck’s Steakhouse, and they don’t falter in any other category. The impeccably decorated space means you can leave it as is, perhaps with some small personalization and table decor. The food, well, your guests won’t be disappointed, and may just come back the next day.
To see a wedding at Peyto Lake that celebrated in the Sundance Room, check out Erin and Matthew’s day.
The Sensory and Wit Bar
Just twenty minutes from the Banff townsite is the old mining town of Canmore, now a thriving sister town, with a whole bunch of local vibe. Canmore’s newest fine dining establishment is The Sensory and Wit Bar. Located just minutes from the Trans-Canada Highway, it is easily accessible and has ample parking, even in summer. With its vaulted ceilings and minimalistic white space paired with black tables, it’s the optimal backdrop for a wedding that revels in simplicity. Or, you could put your own twist on the space with colourful florals, or lean into the beauty of simplicity with simple greenery in copper or glass vases.
Your guests will be treated to a panoramic view of Canmore’s most iconic mountain range, including the Three Sisters. For weddings of up to 40 guests, The Sensory has a Private Dining Room with its own entrance. The room is spacious enough to allow for several table configurations depending on your vision, whether it be a single long table, several smaller family-style tables, or perchance four-tops with you two enjoying a sweetheart table. Likewise, for weddings between 40-90 guests, The Dining Room can be yours.
Their approach is in the name – they offer a palatable experience, inspired by the mountains themselves. Their food is influenced by ingredients that are locally foraged. A unique take and marvellous way to introduce out-of-town guests to this corner of the world.
4296 in Canmore
A local Canmore cocktail joint as a place to host your small wedding or elopement shindig to celebrate. This isn’t your parent’s wedding spot, that’s for sure. 4296 is located just off of Main Street in Canmore and is the place for creative drinks and a hearty yet refreshing meal.
For the elopers out there, 4296 would be my personal spot to pop in during the day or evening for a post-ceremony cocktail. In the summer to visit their sister ice cream shop of Sweet Revenge next door.
The Radiant
Banff’s newest space located in the historic Harmons Building on Main Street. On account of the current happenings, I haven’t yet had a chance to experience The Radiant in person, but oh my, from what I have seen it has all the wonderfulness of art deco design matched with modern decor.
A unique space with a wonderful ambiance. I’ll add more details about small events when they are available.
Park Distillery
Have you ever been camping, and stared at your campfire hash and asked yourself why no one has elevated it for fine dining? Well, Park Distillery is the answer to your curious thought process. It’s all things wonderful about your childhood summer camp mess hall food and your adulthood summers of drinks and delight under a cool night sky. With an onsite craft distillery and commitment to locally sourced ingredients that draw on the camp experience, it’s a fun way to harken the outdoorsiness of the Canadian Rockies, while celebrating in space that feels part lodge cocktail lounge, and part backcountry cabin.
Park Distillery can be found on Banff Ave. With two floors, they have ample room for weddings of 15 up to 175. My particular favourite is the Guides Room which is upstairs and has a private patio, and a full-service bar all your own, and early 1900s cabin decor. The Guides Room can host up to 40 guests. It’s one of those spaces where less is more when it comes to additional decor – some touches and florals here or there, but it comes complete.
There are a variety of menu options to chose from, or for a more casual affair, numerous food station options (hello Mac n’ Cheese station!) You can treat your guests to a wonderful wine selection or perhaps hand-crafted cocktails made with in-house spirits.
For a camp ambience, and camp food, and all-around delightfulness of camp times, Park Distillery is a marvellous mountain wedding reception choice.
High Rollers
Okay, if you chose to have your wedding at High Rollers in Banff, may I be your photographer? Oh, and if there is an opening, how does close friend sound as well?
You descend a flight of stairs of of Banff Ave under a retro-esque neon light to enter the fabulousness that is the sprawling bowling alley/beer hall/games space with mid-century vibes. If you are going for a memorable wedding experience, well, this is it. Whether your guests are keen to hang in the billiards hall, play foosball, put on some bowling shoes and try their hand at bowling, or just enjoy the copious selection of beer and a flight of pizza, the choice is their’s. Throw out formality and introduce a whole bunch of fun.
Smaller weddings may opt to book the Billiards Hall with seating for 24, including arcade games, pool tables, and a private bar, in addition to adding some bowling lanes that are adjacent for part of the night. Larger weddings may opt for a private buyout, allowing for 48 guests to bowl at a time, and seating between the Beer Hall and Billiards Hall for a total of 84.
So if a traditional reception isn’t your jam, and you’d rather cheers with beer and enjoy pizza on your wedding day, consider High Rollers – because dang, can we say best wedding ever?
See an elopement where they honoured their first date of bowling by ending up at High Rollers here.
The Bison
This space is less a private dining space and more of a full restaurant experience, but I would be much amiss if I didn’t mention it on account of the deliciousness of their food. The Bison can be found above The Bear Street Tavern (speaking of pizza, our favourite post-hike lunch spot in Banff) and provides farm to table dishes with beautiful views of Cascade Mountain from the expansive second-floor windows and the quaint patio.
Capable of accommodating up to 82 guests, The Bison is a perfect wedding reception venue in Banff for those weddings that aren’t quite small, but also not large for venues that typically hold 120+. With a well laid out space for dining, and room for a dance floor, this is a spot for those who dreamt of a more traditional wedding evening, with a focus on ambience and treating their family and friends to an unforgettable feast.
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Seven restaurants that provide unique wedding reception experiences in Banff and Canmore. Some ideal for quaint weddings, others for a post-elopement ceremony cocktail stop, and others that can accommodate more traditionally-sized weddings. Each offering their own take on design and of the mountain experience. All with delectable food and a memorable day to celebrate by yourselves, or with your closest crew. If you are looking to book a photographer for your Banff wedding I would so love to chat with you.
Looking for a wedding venue in the Banff area that can host your ceremony and accommodate your guests? I put together a list of lesser-known intimate wedding venues in Banff, Canmore, Kananaskis and Yoho.
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