This is a chef-driven restaurant with a heavy focus on foraged foods (Chef Tracy Little and her team go out and forage together). They mainly rely on the ingredients to speak for themselves, and therefore don’t add any spices other than the occasional spruce ash or charred onion powder.

Little’s vision for her menu is to use the freshest possible ingredients, locally grown, self-foraged or as closely within reach as they can. She wants it to be more of an interactive experience where the flavours excite, bringing the “outside in” for her guests Her tasting menu is a play on nature, “The Hike” that walks you through progressively from the base of the trailhead to mountain top.

We began with the Scallops. Delicately pan seared in brown butter, sprinkled with Maldon salt over locally foraged stinging nettle and lovage purée, pearl barley arancini, carrot soubise with a wild mustard, lovage and shamrock garnish.

Continuing with the Rabbit Tortelli, hand rolled pasta dough stuffed with rabbit confit, accented with aerated caramelized yeast foam, heirloom carrots; shaved, purée and tops with brown sumac and chive flowers.

The Brome Lake Duck Breast is brined and then sous vide at 125° to maintain a perfect pink, served with sunchoke soubise, sunchoke purée and BBQ sunchoke chips, kombucha squash, cloves, chive flowers and locally foraged dandelions and fireweed, with an aged cabernet demi.

The Tenderloin, smoked in-house then pan seared, offers a nice crust and is fabulously tender. Served with foraged pine flour gnocchi, slightly bitter resting on a purée of stinging nettle, lovage and clover honey balancing the bitter with sweet.

Owner Terry Jensen strives to have a unique, upscale dining experience upstairs, with amazing views and elegant decor in an environment that delights and impresses, enlightening the senses of sight and smell. Downstairs is an approachable bar, offering a more relaxed atmosphere, with shareable plates, creative cocktails, and a vast wine collection. A place to feel at home in the Bow Valley.

Our experience? We enjoyed Haute Cuisine combined with the quintessential flavours of nature we didn’t know existed.