The walk from the parking lot to the Ranche makes you feel like you're in a fairy tale. The path was brightly lit, and the building was bathed in a soft light that just brought out enough of it's intricate details. A friendly hostess opened the main door for us as we walked up the steps.
It was not busy when we went on a Sunday for date night. We were lead into a gorgeous dining room that was decorated with a buffalo head on the mantle, and antlers for a chandelier. The Buffalo head scared me a bit because it looked like it could come alive!
The price is reasonable for the amount of food you get. Our server was attentive and was a helpful guide to the Canadian fare. We started with the elk carpaccio and charcuterie board for starters. The carpaccio was soft and wonderfully flavored. The crunchy shoestring bits (probably from a root vegetable) offered a great contrast to the soft elk and micro greens. The charcuterie board had interesting items, such as beet relish and venison salami. As our mains, we had the venison wellington and lamb shank. The venison was cooked to a perfect medium rare and the lamb shank fell-off-the-bone yet was succulent and juicy. We finished off the meal the Canadian way with s'mores, and boy, we really wanted "s'more" by the end.
Bow Valley is far away from the usual downtown trendy restaurants. The drive is like going to Grandma's house, but the warm ambience, wonderful service and the out-of-this-world food makes you feel right at home.