Maria Williston
Dined here on the weekend, I have mixed feelings about our experience. First, I want to say our servers were very polite and attentive, did everything right, so no issues there. The atmosphere was also really great; we are locals to the area and this was our first time visiting Banff Springs.
Before booking our reservation, I communicated with staff to ensure I would be able to order from the Castello menu, as I cannot have gluten, dairy, or raw tomato. Staff assured me that they took note of my dietary restrictions and that they would be able to accommodate me - awesome, we were really looking forward to our meal.
Fast forward, I was choosing my dish, and asked if the risotto could be made dairy free - the kind waitress checked with the kitchen and confirmed that yes, no dairy would be added, but that pistachio oil could be used as a substitute to not lose the creaminess of the dish; so that's what I went with as my safe option.
I received the plate and confirmed with the server "it's gluten and dairy free right?" to which he replied "yes, all of the above" (I've learned to always double check, because mistakes happen). Anyway, let me tell you, this risotto tasted incredible.. we were so hungry after quite a busy day, and it was really hitting the spot - so much flavour, very creamy and cooked just right - wonderful, until I realised there was something on top that looked like a shaved cheese. We immediately got the attention of the waitress, and asked her if it was dairy free, and if that was cheese on top. She looked at it, and said she wasn't sure, that it shouldn't be cheese because she told the kitchen about my allergies, but that she would check. The chef came out a few moments later and when he asked me how it was, I told him it was delicious, but that I was concerned that the dish contained dairy. He proceeded to tell me that the dish was dairy free, and that the cheese on top was a certain kind of "sheep cheese, not cow cheese", and therefore safe for me to eat because there is no lactose or anything dairy in it. I tried to explain to him that I can't have any kind of dairy - dairy is not just from cow... if it's made from any sort of animal milk, it is dairy and I expected a chef, especially at a fine dining restaurant of all places, to know this information, especially if the menu claims to have gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options as this one did.
The chef didn't seem to pleased with what I was telling him, but he did offer to remake my dish or suggested "eat it and find out that maybe sheep cheese is something you can have" after I told him I had eaten goat cheese before and not reacted as badly as I do with cow dairy products - feeling a little awkward at this point and not wanting to wait another half hour for a new dish while my partner enjoyed his meal, I did turn down his offer to remake the dish, so that's on me, I understand that. I ended up scraping the visible cheese off the top and gave it to my boyfriend to eat, but am now unfortunately experiencing a breakout because of it (thankful my allergy is not a severe one).
I'm really not one to complain, but after thinking about this, I felt the need to say something as allergies should be taken seriously - what if somebody with a more severe reaction was to experience the same service I did. Mistakes happen, that's understandable, but to not really understand what "dairy" means when working at a high-class restaurant is what I don't get. The fact that I confirmed my allergies on the phone, then upon first interaction with staff after being seated, again when inquiring about the specific dish, and finally when it arrived at the table, and I still got served dairy, is just sad. For the price we paid to dine here, I guess we had higher expectations.
3/5 because I want to at least credit the waitress, server, and bartender for their job well done.
I'm not sure if we will give the restaurants here another chance out of fear of a similar experience. Waldhaus seems to have more allergy-friendly options so maybe will try in the future.
Celiac friendly
