St James's Gate Irish Pub in Banff

Vibes were all good and fun! Came for a few drinks with friends after a sub-par experience at Earls next door and so glad we came. Very good prices, everyone is so friendly and the energy is so fun! Fast service for a busy Saturday night. Cant wait to come back when Im in Banff next 😊

This place is a real melting pot of European cultures, namely British, Irish, Scottish and of course Australian (among others). Its a real taste of home because our Irish pubs are largely the same with very similar feel, atmosphere and food fare. The online menu might not be current (there were a few things missing from it on the menu in the pub), but its likely theyll be re-added seasonally.

We stopped by here for some drinks before dinner. I love the layout and how old fashioned everything is. My husband had the whiskey flight and I enjoyed the Strawberry Smash.

Great Irish pub! Lots of room and yet it has that cozy Irish pub feel! Food was delicious though on the pricey side!

Service lovely, drink options plentiful, food not consistent. They have cheapened out on ingredients. Still ok, been going to this place since early 2000. Not sure if we will go again.

Nice atmosphere, lots of seating, and not too busy for a Wednesday with school in.A little disappointed in the hostess,Enjoyed the Irish nachos, made with diced potatoes.

Came here twice! Very authentic Irish and UK cuisine. Dishes are tasty and you can taste the difference. Guinness on tap Is recommended.

Great Irish Pub atmosphere. Lovely traditional items on the menu. Guinness on tap!

Just to say thanks and hallo especially for an employer of yours so kind and professional, don’t know his name unfortunately…he looked like a perfect irish! I was there on 14th august with 2 female friends of mine, they drank beer and i got a glass of irish whiskey adviced by that guy, great choice!Came back on 15th august but you were closed…then we kept going through Canada…Great place, great time, great people, thanks from Italy.

This was our second visit to St James Gate and we were very happy with our return visit. We once again ordered the Cottage Pie & Steak and Guinness Pie because we enjoyed it so much, during our January 2022 visit. My parents, visiting from Newfoundland, ordered the Liver & Onions and Cottage Pie and thoroughly enjoyed it. The serving sizes were perfect. There was a great selection of Irish beer! Our server was pleasant as well.

Quaint pub, located in downtown Banff. The waiter was excellent. Food was really good: I had the steak and Guinness pie. The pie was not the traditional pie, but rather encased in a pastry crust. Still very tasty. Of course, I had a Guinness to accompany the meal. Yum!!!

Fantastic food, my partner and I went here for our anniversary dinner as we had never been to Banff before. We loved the atmosphere and live music. All though the host and the server we’re terrible. I own a business in bc as well as have worked in a restaurant since I was in highschool. My partner and I will not be returning as well as telling all our customers going Banff not to go here for supper. A correction of the attitude and customer service skills would bring this place up to four stars easily.

This was a great place to stop for a late supper. We sat out on the patio and the atmosphere was good! We ordered fish and chips and also a burger with fries. Both were tasty. Lots of food and good value.

Ashamed to be Irish going to this bar. Brought our parents from home and felt like we were keeping the waitress back. Could hardly get our orders in but she was trying leaving the table. Feels like new management, used to be fun and a little piece of home for us but not today. Lamb stew was good as was the curry sauce with the sausage n chips. Worst Irish bar experience we have had.

Had a very uncomfortable experience after my fiancé and I were seated at the bar, when the bartender came up to us to take our drink order. After we told her our orders, she became very blunt towards me and very critically asked how old I was, not even asking for my ID. I feel like she was so caught up in my age and in assuming I was a minor that I became extremely uncomfortable. After showing her my ID, however, she tried to be very sociable to make up for the initial interaction. Overall, the drinks were good and kudos for her to trying to fix her initial mistake, but the bad impression was already made on me and my fiancé and I will not be coming back.

Service was very slow and seemed as though they forgot about us. Ordered the fish and chips and it was decent but I’m not sure If I would visit again.

This place is a must visit! The food is great! The live music was so fun! And service was fast and friendly! Would definitely come back!!

In every corner of the world you can find an Irish Pub. Good beer, good food, and for a place in Banff it was pretty decent on price as well.

This place makes me with there was a six star rating. It was an experience I’ll never forget. We got a table right next to the music on a Thursday night, which is when they do live Irish music at 8pm. The musician was so kind and funny and really talented. It was my sister’s birthday, and he got the whole restaurant to sing happy birthday to her. I really enjoyed myself. The beer here is really good too. There are lots of Irish food selections on the menu, such as the potato nachos. I ordered mac and cheese, which was really good. Our waiter was extremely friendly and nice too. I 100% recommend St. James Gate Irish Pub, you won’t find anything like it.

My partner and I came in for a quick whiskey before our dinner reservation. It took quite a while to get served at the bar. The bartender poured our drinks out of sight and had upsold us with the cask strength without telling us. It was a stronger drink and higher bill than we would have liked and came off as dishonest.

Make sure you ask how long your food will take BEFORE ordering!! We waited 40 minutes only to be told there was only 1 chef on and our food had not even been started yet. As we had tickets booked for the Gondola we had to leave. The waitress was very rude about it. If they had explained before we ordered it would have been helpful!! We were not the only people to go hungry, 2 other tables left while we were there.

Cool place and the Scotch Whiskey Flights were great. Would highly recommend checking this place out after a fun day exploring Banff and the surrounding area.

5 stars for the steak and mushrooms pie. 5 stars for the chicken burger...probably the best chicken sandwich I have had. Get the crispy. The place definitely made me feel like I was back in Ireland. Our server, from Northern Ireland, was fantastic!

Dropped in as we had gone to another restaurant in the area where we stood for 7 min waiting for someone to greet us before leaving. Ordered the lamb stew which was amazing. KIERA is an fantastic server, very friendly, great service and was able to provide answers to my touristy questions! Five out of five.

Ash recommended lager and beef dip...really good and huge servings!! First time trying poutin...ok, but not for me!!

Had some cocktails. The night we visited there was SO busy. It was too hard to call the server. When we got first cocktail, it already past 40 mins after we entered the pub. 😣 We just had some nachos and chips with cocktails. It was okay to visit there, but just want to avoid the overcrowded.

Have loved this place for years. Beer on tap menu is not as large as it used to be, but still a good selection. Lots of seating. Old world charm with the well loved and well worn furniture and decor. Food is a pretty typical pub food menu. it is however very large portions, hot and tasty. Service is friendly and attentive. Lots of regulars and local go here. a block from the main street so a little quieter than other place in Banff. A definite must visit for some great food, beverages and company.

We stumbled upon this place looking for a quick lunch. The beef dip we ordered was in the top 2 ever.Wings were excellent as were the fries.Server was Tash....a delightful young lady with a wonderful Australian accent. Service was fantastic as well. We WILL be back.

Phenomenal whisky list with great food. Great atmosphere and live music. What more could one ask for.

Sweet little Irish pub easy to get into , food was great, amazing wings decent size great coating and hot wings actually had kick. Drinks were lovely and thrilled to have a local server with a real personality .

Been here a couple times now -- once on a live music night, and once not.The food is good from what Ive had. They do have some gluten-free options as well, though you may want to check ahead of time. Their menu has been updated from whats on their website, so thats something to be aware of when planning ahead.The atmosphere seems pretty nice. The staff seem busy and friendly. The place seemed quite busy both times Ive been.Its a nice spot to go on a visit to Banff.

A fantastic pub with great atmosphere and even better food and service, we found by our luck and so glad we did. Will certainly come back again before holiday is over and will come back again when we next come to Banff!

Really nice vibe here. Music is a pretty decent volume for visiting with folks at the table during happy hours.I really like the atmosphere here, a lot of nice woodwork makes this place really feel like you are in a real Irish pub.

Dropped by here just for a dessert while waiting for a movie at Lux, and the Fried Mars is an absolute must try. Will definitely go back to try their other food.Order right away as you may need to wait a while for your food.

Both cottage pie and fries were extremely salty. It took three attempts to get a glass of ice and mayonnaise out of our waitress—the time in between each interaction longer than what’d you’d expect. Didn’t bring water either until the end. She was nowhere to be found when it came time to get the bill and not a single visit during the meal to check on us. Overly disappointed.

Proper pub! Excellent Pints with savoury food. Staff are wonderful. Looking forward to visiting again on our next visit to Banff.

If you are looking for some nice classic irish food and drink. It never disappoints!

Service wasnt as good as other Banff restaurants but we were there before the usual supper hour so it was pretty empty. The steak and Guinness pie was pretty good and we really enjoyed the Squeakers.

Food was so good! Great atmosphere and service was top notch. Highly recommend

Excellent pub!!!! Great music, awesome beer selection, friendly staff, and to DIE for beef dip and fries. The deep fried Mars bar was incredible as well. Will definitely be back next time I’m in Banff.

incredible food! had the burger and the deep fried mars bar - one of the best burgers ive ever had!very friendly staff and was an overall pleasant experience

Great food , great vibes , very authentic Irish pub style food , a very very yummy leek and potato soup and classic F & C served on newspaper like the way they do it in the old county

Just picked up some takeout from St James, what a great atmosphere with all the deep woods from floor to ceiling. The bartender was very friendly and took my order right away. Offered for me to sit at the bar while i waited. When we got the food back to our Hotel it was still very hot and looked fantastic. When we tried it we were amazed at the deep authentic flavours in the Steak and Guiness pie and the Bangers and Mash. All round a wonderful experience and will definetly be back in the future.

So sad the bison burger is no longer on the menu. Ordered the standard beef burger w/ fries and it was still amazing. Will still come back. Staff is also very kind. And helped us move from the patio to inside due to the rain. Bathrooms are also quite clean! Excellent local place to visit in Banff!• Check out my new food page on IG @yyc.foodadventures

Authentic Irish build/decor, reliably wonderful food, Magners cider on tap. What more could you want :D Oh yeah, in a beautiful mountain setting! Heaven!

Great food, good service, disappointing prices and portions.Service was casual and quick, as expected of a pub. Food was admittedly delicious. However prices are too high for the portions. The solitary piece of fish with my $20 fish and chips order was a little upsetting and the $20 Potachos appie order was also smaller than expected.Not sure Id return.

Amazing food and a good time. We actually stated off having the worst service possible in that there was no server that helped us and then a series of individuals kind of helping but we still had a. Great time and the servers picked up on the problem and then all the individuals all continued to to be amazing. And, again, all the food was amazing.

Great food and family friendly! We had delicious pub food and the kids ordered from the kids menu. Beautiful old Irish decor makes you feel like you are in Ireland. Excellent service as well!

Great Canadian dishes available at an Irish pub! Got to have authentic poutine (according to a Canadian friendand a beautiful bison burger! Different happy hour specials every weeknight (but unfortunately, we were overchargeduntil 7pm, and I loved Mondays Moscow Mule. The Australian waiter made me feel right at home!

Awesome Irish pub! The food was exceptional, and I loved the beer. I got the steak and Guinness pie, and a delicious IPA. The decorations were and feel were really cool, too.