Banff Ave. Brewing Co. - Banff, Alberta, Canada

I write this with such mixed feelings because the service was just terrible.  I really WANTED a good experience... but it just didn't happen.  I would consider giving it another try with a different waiter to see if I would change my mind...

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We started with two of the crafted beers (after sitting for almost ten minutes, even though we were greeted at the door by a waitress who told us to sit anywhere; she proceeded to walk by us and make eye contact, but never offered to get us drinks).  When we were finally addressed, we ordered a Head Smashed IPA (very full, very flavourful and quite heavy) and a Czuggers Pilsner (HIGHLY recommended).  The waitress who greeted us, was the one who eventually took the order, but then she passed us off to another waiter.


It took some time for the drinks to come as the waiter was quite concerned with socializing with some people at the bar.  As for the food - hit and miss.  I ordered the turkey club on naan bread, which was excellent - quite light actually.  My husband ordered the meatloaf buttie and only ate half because it was so heavy.  Heavy filling + heavy bread = too heavy.

The service really effected our experience and not in a positive way.  They have a great patio that faces the main avenue, and it's a little tight.  They have tv's, but you can't see them from many of the tables.  I think if you are just in for a beer - this isn't too bad.  And my guess is - the best service is up at the bar.

Note: I did not want to spend the whole review talking about the service - it was just not good and we weren't the only ones who felt it.  At one point the server left a table with their drinks sitting on the bar while he did merchandise for a table he wasn't even serving.   On top of that, the bartender was doing nothing.  By the time he got to the drinks, he had to top up each beer because the head was gone.

I TRULY believe that the steps of service need to be executed within a reasonable amount of time and your staff needs to work together.  I have never seen a restaurant so stuck on only one person serving a table (and at their leisure).  On another note, as we were leaving, a new waitress walked in, bussed all the empty dirty tables, took two orders and bussed the non-empty tables that needed things taken away... so maybe we just got stuck with a bad server, but it wasn't acceptable service.