The second restaurant I tried out this year was Buchanans, an original chop house and whiskey bar. Since 1988, the family run restaurant has been open for 31 years. I have always wanted to come back to Buchanan’s since the last time I was there for a champagne and whiskey tasting.

For the Food and Drink Experience, Buchanan’s offers a $40 three-course dinner menu. What really attracted me to the menu is the triple A Alberta grade New York Striploin.

We were given warm cheddar biscuits with herb butter to start off the meal.

For the appetizers, you can choose from the Beef and Barley Soup or the Caesar Salad.

The flavourful Beef and Barley Soup has chunks of beef and onions but I thought the barley was overcooked. Personally I like my barley chewier versus mushy but my parents enjoyed it.

At first when I saw the wasabi cilantro dressing, I was unsure about it but a steakhouse’s salad is classic. The dressing had good acidity with the right amount of wasabi to give it a nice kick. I really enjoyed the salad!

The star of the show was the Triple A Alberta Grade New York Steak (the other choice was Cajun Crusted Rock Fish). Although it looks underwhelming, it was charbroiled perfectly. I was afraid to get an overcooked steak because somehow it always happens to me. The black silk truffle demi-glace was perfect for the steak but the truffle was not prominent enough. Overall the steak definitely met my expectations.

To end the meal, you were able to choose from the Sticky Toffee Pudding or the Apple Crumble. If you have a huge sweet tooth, these are the desserts for you! But we all found both desserts to be too sweet and heavy. However the apple crumble had a crispy crumble and apple/raisin filling, the vanilla ice cream balanced the dessert out.

I would definitely come back to Buchanan’s for steak or even check out their happy hour, I mean they do have one of the largest whiskey selections in North America!

Recommend: AAA Alberta Grade New York Strip

Price: $$$$$

Taste: 4/5

Environment: 3.5/5