Open Range

I’m quite disappointed that I have passed by this place for the past couple of years and never gave it a thought to try it out. Perhaps because it looks more like a lounge from the exterior and having young children makes us pass on these types of places. On OpenTable I was looking for a steakhouse and Open Range came up. There was an opening available and we went for dinner. We ordered the 24 oz porterhouse steak, boar chop, field greens salad, escargot, kid’s Mac and cheese, goat cheese cheesecake, and a few glasses of wine. All were very good! The service was professional yet friendly. There were no kid menu foods but they were able to accommodate with a kid’s mac and cheese version of their jalapeño mac and cheese. They offered a high chair for our toddler. After a bit of alcohol we had a little fun with our son who had passed out in his chair, and the staff had a hoot along with the other patrons in the restaurant. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the service was excellent. Our server saw us on the way to our vehicle and thanked us numerous times. I’m pretty sure this will become one of local frequent dining spots.

I’m pretty sure that if I opened a restaurant it’d be something like this. The large lounge area is softly lit and has wingback chairs. The main dining room has a variety of beautiful wood tables, gray walls, agrarian vignettes, and Western animal themed art for sale by local artists. The service was slightly formal but friendly, and the wine menu both well-​stocked & cheeky. The drinks menu was great, we had several inventive cocktails and they were all delicious. They also carry Bríó beer, which is a rare refreshing and fruity Pilsner from Iceland.
The food menu consists of a dozen or so appetizers, 4 salads, and ~20 meat based dishes in the $ 23 – 35 range including everything from elk to bison. We ordered the prime rib, the boar chop, and the duck breast. Each plate was very substantial, coming with a number of tasty sides. The haricots were crisp and tasty, the carrots al dente, the twice baked potato delicious with corn and cotija, and all the meats were great. These are mains worth their price compared to many similarly priced but precious plates at other fine dining spots in town.
I would be remiss not to mention the herbed red fife sourdough loaf baked with fontina and garlic. This appetizer goes well beyond any «cheesy bread» you might get in a lower class spot, using great hearty Sidewalk Citizen bread, an amazing pesto, and a clever presentation wherein the cheese is hidden in the vertical cuts and the whole thing is showered with micro greens. Definitely start your meal with this.
For dessert, I tried the free form goat cheese cake with chocolate lavender sauce. A very unique and adult way to end a meal. If I had any room left I might have tried some of their great dessert drink suggestions, including a Guinness float. Overall, Open Range gets fine fining right with well composed, delicious food that’s good value … 5 stars.

Excellent service. Great portions. A bit too much meat — would have like more salad selection. Lamb was very tender, but bison was just ok.

OK, we started with the platter local game meats… then the Alberta lamb shank with local ale gravy grits and Chorizo closed with a Vanilla Old Fashion. I may never go home, nuff said!

The service was great, they placed us at the back of the restaurant away from the large table that was being served at the front of the dining room.
We had the elk rib eye and wild boar pork chop, both done very well. Even the wild rice pilaf was delicious, where often times it’s easy to mess up on wild rice, this one fared well on my palate.
Price with bottle of wine, cheese plate two entrée’s, two desserts and tip was just under $ 200.
The one miss was the «birthday» request, however our server did bring out a sparkler after the fact and wished a happy birthday apologizing for not bringing it out with the plate.
Go here. The service is great, the food is delicious, from my experience however I can’t say that you can count on any special occasion requests although they’ll certainly try!

This was a great experience! We went here with a few friends and felt right at home. The atmosphere is very relaxed. The staff was amazing and knowledgable. I had the Elk and my wife had the Bison enchilada which she loved. We will definitely hit this up next time we are in town.

Visit the restaurant in my last day of the Banff trip. The Rib Eye was AMAZING, period. Thick cut, more than an inch thick, yet soft and juicy inside. This is really a perfectly cooked steak, maybe by far the best cooked steak I had in my entire life because the thickness of the steak makes it much harder to cook it perfectly. The Rib Eye was covered by caramalized brown sugar, which is different than the traditional salt and pepper. and I like this way on cooking the steak, as it counters the greasiness of the rib eye.
We tried the onion soup, calamari and foie gras mousse. The appetizer were decent, and pleasant to taste bud.

This place never fails!
I brought my Mom here as an out of tower and she was so impressed with the escargot, the duck, and the delicious signature cocktails we enjoyed.
If you want to impress someone with a delicious meal but not a snobby environment this is the best place. Staff was very friend and could still accommodate us being 20 minutes behind schedule (we called and they said they’d make it work– and they did)
Excellent — I can’t wait to go back!

I had high hopes for this place as they state they support local and organic.
The service was just okay. Not very friendly. Snooty hostess and server.
The food was mostly good but when I asked if the items with corn used non GMO corn or GMO corn the server did not know and seemed surprised and annoyed that I would ask this question.
Wouldn’t a restaurant that states they use organic ingredients know the difference between GMO and non GMO?
Eating non GMO is very important to my husband and I. Supporting local growers and eating organic is also important to us.
Not in a hurry to go back to this restaurant. Dissapointed.

We were invited here with friends a few weeks ago, and were excited to try it as we hadn’t yet even heard of it! The wine menu was quite good, and everything we ate was using amazing quality ingredients (which is why our friends wanted to introduce us to this restaurant). My only complaint is that every dish was quite over-​seasoned — and although the food was very good, for the price, I wanted it to be outstanding. The service was great, and the interior itself is gorgeous. I would probably recommend it to others, but there are certainly better places to go in the city.

My friend and I both tried the Porterhouse experience and neither of us were impressed with the quality of the steak. It was a large cut of meat but when I think of a Porterhouse, I’m thinking a thick cut of meat too. I felt like I got a T-​Bone instead. The steak was cooked to Medium Rare, the Filet side was tender but the strip side was not which I’m surprise because this is suppose to be the highest grade of meat Canada offer. It was also over seasoned with what I felt like Montréal Steak seasoning. Mac and cheese was horrible and we barely ate a ¼ of it. 2 Stars because the servers were very attentive.

My parents were in town and I wanted to take them out to celebrate their anniversary, I has been to Open Range once before and had a great experience so decided to try it again — we were not disappointed.
We started with the calamari and pork back ribs — the ribs were so good I might order a couple of servings as an entrée next time! The calamari was also cooked nicely with a light batter.
My dad and I had the blackened New York, my wife had the Beef Tenderloin and my mom had the Arctic Char — all the plates were clear by the end of the meal. I have ordered steak all around the world and this is up there for my all time favourite. Nicely seasoned, perfect medium rare and the chimichurri sauce was awesome. My wife and I shared the Jalapeño Mac and cheese that could be a little cheesier/​creamy but had a nice spice and a little heat.
We finished off the meal by sharing the whiskey devils food cake — an interesting dessert with raspberries and whip cream — a perfect ending.
The waiter was great, knowledgeable of the menu and very attentive.
I will definitely be back, make reservations early as it is not very big and fills up quickly on the weekend.

My husband and I ate here with friends. We had calamari as a starter and it was really good. For dinner, I had the Arctic char which was delicious. My husband had the New York steak and our friends had the bison. We were all really happy with our meals and the server was very attentive. I had the crème brûlée for dessert and it was amazing. Drinks were also well made. The décor is a little rustic so there are a few stuffed animal heads hanging around. I don’t mind looking my meal in the eye, literally. I love that all the meat is locally raised.

My bf’s brother and sister in law know the owners here. In fact, the owners helped cater their wedding. The food here is amazing. I had the alberta lamb shank and it was ‘fall off the bone’. So tender, juicy and full of flavor. My bf had the beef tenderloin and it was delicious. Well prepared and full of flavor. The service was great too. It is a bit pricy here but it was well worth the money. The lamb shank was $ 27 but I took home enough leftovers for 2 more meals. The total bill for 4 adults and 2 kids came out to $ 228 not including tip but like what I said… well worth the money. Bf and I went to Nicks Steakhouse a few days earlier and WAS NOT impressed especially with the amount od money we spent. My bf paid $ 68 for his entrée (they failed to tell us lobster tail add on was $ 30 and prawn add on was $ 12.99) and I paid $ 38 for mine. It wasnt as good as Open Range.

Service was fantastic
Great food
Love the decorations
New York steak was out of this world

Had the Bison steak and it was fantastic. Started out with the French Onion Soup, made from scratch, and had some local craft beers. Ate in the lounge, which had enormous chairs that made you feel like a king. Great waitstaff. Look forward to returning.

I really enjoyed eating here. The service was good, they were prompt in refilling our waters but our server didn’t go over the specials with us. We ordered the porterhouse project and it was amazing with the chimichurri sauce. The bison short ribs were a bit dry and definitely needed the sauce.

As a lover of all things meat, most steak houses are on my radar in one way or another.
Unfortunately, Open Range had eluded me up until recently. Honestly, I didn’t know it existed.
A friend suggested we give it a try because it was nearby. No preconceptions, no real knowledge of the menu or the quality. Just a random recon visit.
Now, as this was more of a casual get together, we opted for a table on the «lounge» side of the restaurant. But as it turns out, the lounge could suffice as «the restaurant» at most places. Nice ambience. Quiet, and intimate. Perfect for couples to sit and talk.
The server made a good first impression by being quite wine-​knowledgeable, choosing an excellent pairing for our meals. Also, of note, they offer free corkage on Wednesdays. .. .
Additionally, she pointed out that the restaurant has a «Porterhouse Project» underway — in which they have resurrected this magnificent cut. Most restaurants would much rather carve it into two and sell the cuts separately. I say «most restaurants,» but I mean I can’t remember the last time I saw it on a menu.
I can respect that Open Range chooses to sell this bad boy as God intended it. And they have now made it a permanent option, apparently, so THANK YOU Open Range!
I WAS intrigued by the «Stuffed Sirloin» on the menu, however, so I had to try it.
My friend went tenderloin.
A couple of appetizers including their take on escargot (which was outstanding) and we were underway.
Start to finish, the plates were very good. They stood out because they weren’t exactly what I was expecting — they were better. Unique and delicious.
Absolutely, I will return. And next time, the porterhouse is going down.

Open Range with me, scores high points for the idea (high quality meats with unique game-​type meats) and ambiance. It is without question, a cozy space with beautiful artwork on the walls and a classy, yet rustic feel.
Believe it or not, where it lost a star for me was on the food. When I read other reviews, I feel guilty for sharing my honest opinion.
Really what we went for was the wild meats that they served. When the appetizer platter came out (almost $ 30) it was all cured meats. I don‘t know if I missed that fact on the menu, but that is not what we expected. All of the meats looked like deli meats on a platter, and were smoky (as cured meats can be), so we didn‘t actually get the experience we hoped for. Was it tasty? Absolutely! However, the disappointment set in that we were not able to experience the meats in a more genuine way. Also, there was a mango-​type chutney that was good, and the crackers? Rainforest. lol. I know rainforest crackers anywhere. I think most people buy them as a fancy cracker. Available in the deli at Safeway.
We also ordered Sage Grits to try. Similarily, it was unique, but it was quite bland for my palate.
What I do need to say though, is looking around me, I hate plate envy. There were many folks who ordered steaks, and their meals looked OUTSTANDING. In fairness to Open Range, I need to go back for a proper meal. At that time, I can update my review. However, for me, going in to sample the different game meats was a disappointment.

I’m a big fan of Open Range’s sister restaurant Big Fish, and so had been wanting to try Open Range for a while. The space is decorated with a sort of a rustic, home-​on-​the-​range type feel that you might expect. It’s tasteful and not cheesy.
My wife and I were able to get a table on a Friday night by just calling 15 minutes ahead of time. Our server was very friendly and attentive. To start, we had a romaine and baby red oakleaf salad with chipotle dressing. It was good but not amazing.
I was tempted by the fish on the menu, but I decided I had to stick to Open Range’s speciality — land-​based meat! The menu had a new special for a 24-​oz porterhouse steak. It explained how rare it is to find a real porterhouse because there are only 2 per cow when cut correctly (IIRC). It was meant to share, and luckily my wife and I were both in the mood for some Vitamin M (meat). We ordered that, and it came with a delicious chimichurri sauce and a couple of set side dishes. We weren’t in the mood for potatoes so they happily swapped them for no charge, with some tasty asparagus with shaved manchego. We also got jalapeño jack mac & cheese which was hot, gooey and delicious. The steak was cooked nicely and extremely tender.
Overall, a solid meal in a nice setting with very good service. I will be back.