Alberta road-trip restaurants worth the drive

Summer's here, and Alberta's backroads are calling. If you're looking to pair a drive with a proper meal, the province has plenty of restaurants worth the trip.

In Banff, The Fat Ox opened in 2024 and already made waves with its Alpine Italian cuisine—think Northern Italian traditions with mountain ambiance. Head south to Okotoks and Big Sky BBQ serves authentic Texas-style smoked meats in one of Western Canada's largest patios; the Caesar cocktails come loaded with smoked meat, and the space practically demands you stay for an afternoon.

Drumheller's Last Chance Saloon does smoke-house classics—brisket, St. Louis ribs, pork shoulder smoked in-house with cherry or apple wood. They've got salads and handhelds too, even dishes for your dog.

In Red Deer and Lacombe, Cilantro & Chive, a family-owned spot, twists old favourites using locally sourced ingredients across a big menu of starters, handhelds, and entrees. Bragg Creek's The Italian Farmhouse brings rustic Italian—antipasti, pasta, pizza—with a forest-view patio when the weather cooperates.

For steak specifically, Longview Steakhouse near Longview is notoriously hard to book (there's even a Facebook group for swapping reservations), but the Alberta foothills views and commitment to Alberta beef justify the wait. Canmore's Änkôr showcases contemporary Canadian cuisine with a six-course tasting menu and award-winning wine list.

Diamond Valley's Chuckwagon Cafe rounds out the list—cozy, welcoming, famous enough to have hosted Shania Twain. Steak and eggs, burgers, freshly baked pie. The kind of place people drive hours to revisit.