Tooloulou's, Banff (Canada) by Bureaucrat

Having had the chance to wander through downtown Banff, we were able to pick a nice spot for dinner - Tooloulou's a restaurant with a Francophile-bayou vibe. It wasn't hard to chose this place as the promise of deliciousness such as crab cakes, jambalaya and seafood was hard to ignore. While it was easy to pick the restaurant, it took longer for us to pick our meals as there were plenty of options. 

The Lawyer picked the seafood and sausage gumbo - a rich seafood stew w shrimps, clams, scallops, Andouille sausage served over Cajun "dirty rice" (which is white rice cooked with a range of seasonings to get a dirty appearance).  It came with a nice slab of warm, fluffy cornbread and pickled chillies.  He loved this dish, although, it seemed to resemble jambalaya than a true gumbo (which is meant to be soupier).

To ensure that I ate some veggies during my trip, I chose the mile high stir fry but opted to get some blackened scallops as an extra on top.  To my delight, the stir fry was pretty damn good.  A great mix of different chunky veg (zucchini, broccoli, onion, caps and mushrooms) that were nicely al dente, fresh and flavoursome (it was tossed through a savoury sauce) and served over white rice.  The small but plump and plentiful scallops were cooked just perfect (not over cooked) and sweet.  There were far more than I thought I'd get for the seven bucks.  It also came with the cornbread, which was sweeter than I imagined cornbread to be.

Verdict

Food – 8.5

Ambiance – 7
Service – 7
Price - 7.5

Overall

Really great food - pretty good serves, flavor and freshness.  If we had stayed longer, I'd definitely go back there for food.  The only minor quibble is the slightly odd staff who can be a bit standoffish with a hint of surliness.

Address

Tooloulou's

204 Caribou St  

Banff AB T1L

Telephone: (403) 762-2633