Jasper Getaway 2011, Day Four: The Inn Restaurant & Lounge Review

It seems like only yesterday we were anxiously awaiting our departure for our fall getaway... Now, it's four days later and we are all snuggled up, waiting for bedtime.

This morning, we had breakfast before heading out. There are some amazing places to eat in Jasper but for convenience and simplicity, we opted to try the restaurant attached to the hotel.

The Inn Restaurant and Lounge is the dining room attached to the Best Western Jasper. It's decor is semi-formal with plush chairs, a warm and inviting interior with touches of whimsy like the rice paper clad, iron hand rails that work to divide the different levels of the dining room. We were seated this morning by the nice, large gas fireplace. The restaurant is being closed for renovations so I'm excited to see what they've got coming - the chairs are probably the most comfortable I've ever sat in when dining!

They do not have a breakfast menu. The offer a buffet - a continental as well as a hot buffet. The entire buffet is offered for $13.95 per adult and includes juice, coffee or tea. Because my husband is a long standing Best Western rewards member, we received a coupon to eat for $9.95 per person.

I am not really a buffet fan. I have "issues" - mostly the idea of sharing common foodstuffs with other people. However, the restaurant is very clean and each item has it's own set of serving tools. The buffet is set up in their atrium, it is well light and is flooded with natural light.

I started with a glass of orange juice - it was pulp free so it was all good!

Wanting a hot breakfast on the cool, rainy morning, I tried the pork breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs and my personal favourite, hash brown potatoes. I also selected several pieces of fresh fruit - pineapple, strawberries and plump red, seedless grapes. A small croissant and some butter and I went back to the table. My husband chose bacon, scrambled eggs and French toast.

I loved the sausage - they were cooked perfectly and void of any grease! The potatoes had potential, however, the majority of them were uncooked in the middle - and if there is one thing I dislike, it is uncooked potatoes! The eggs were typical buffet fair - squishy, mushy and slightly under cooked. Dousing them with a generous helping of fresh ground pepper did help to mask the texture! The croissant was fresh and light and my husband said the French toast was good but the syrup was lacking...

Keep in mind, we eat 100% Maple syrup that we import from Maine so our expectations of syrup are likely a little high!

For a quick and convenient breakfast, this restaurant fit the bill. They did have a fantastic selection of fruit, cereals, pastries, yogurt and toast. Their hot buffet was less than stellar but as far as hot buffet breakfasts can go, it was likely better than most. The pastries were adequate - cranberries seemed to be the fruit de jour so they had many little specialties prepared with them - which was fine as I am a fan but the muffins should be skipped as they are greasy and flavourless.

Breakfast (with coupon) was $25 including tip. We'd give The Inn Restaurant and Lounge:



Although our time away has ended, I'll be sharing another food review, hotel review and a couple pictorial posts detailing the high points of "things to see"! Thank you for sharing our love and wonderment of Jasper National Park - one of my favourite places on Earth!