1890 Smokehouse

The menu states gluten friendly on items. Being celiac I know there’s always a chance of cross contamination in a non dedicated facility. So when I asked questions the server said well our deep fryer is shared but that little bit won’t hurt you. Right there I knew this establishment does not fully understand how to be as safe as possible. So a warning to all the smell of the smoker is awesome but they do not have safe execution protocols.

Just bad…. Other than the cool Labrador that was on the patio, this place wasn’t great. The food was terrible. The poutine was canned gravy, bad cheese with a trip through the microwave. It was stone cold in the middle. The chicken wings were rubbery, funny tasting, and not even hot. The celery sticks that accompanied them had obviously been frozen and thawed out at some point, and the kitchen staff didn’t catch it. The server apologized but did nothing other than to offer to reheat the poutine. Will never go back. So not worth it.

We went on a day trip to Canmore and my husband google smokehouse and this restaurant came up. Their menu is mainly burgers, wings and fries. The wings were super tiny and were really dry. The burgers were ok, it wasn't the best food but their drinks and the service was the best features of the restaurant.

We Googled this restaurant before going and were excited by the bbq menu. Sadly, the online menu isn't even close to the menu you get once you're seated. Zero actual bbq items. The waitresses were friendly but neither of the burgers we ended up ordering were as advertised and were missing key, pricey ingredients, like brisket. The beef patties appeared to be low quality and spongey. One of them was simply a gross pile of sauce and both were wildly overpriced for what you get. When we pointed it out the missing elements, the waitress lowered the price but if we hadn't said anything, they were going to just try to pass it off. The fries were ok but average. Do yourself a favor: go to Wendy's.

The menu was extremely limited.
The burgers were very tiny and obviously from frozen, and then drown in sauce from a tub. This was compensated by an overabundance of non fresh fries that weren't even salted. The service was sporadic and we were approached by people who didn't know if we had been served at all. The manager seemed to hang around with people trying to dine and openly badmouthed his staff while bragging about himself.
The place wasn't exactly clean and the bathrooms were even worse.
And to top all this off it was priced like a 5 star restaurant.

The old Canmore hotel. The place where locals like to frequent. Live entertainment on occasion! Fun place to hang out and meet some of Canmore's more colorful characters.

My rating is based on the misalignment between this establishment’s online presentation and… well, reality.

I’ll start by stating that 1890 Smokehouse does not exist. In its place you’ll find a bar that thinks it might be a restaurant but isn’t quite sure. Confused? So we’re we.

The space is more of a pool hall than a restaurant — made up of two pool tables and three dining tables but otherwise empty.

When you walk in you might feel like you’ve just stepped foot into a hostel. That’s because you have. The Canmore Hotel/Hostel has reclaimed the space where 1890 Smokehouse once was.

There is a menu and they do serve food.

The food is fine. But anyone seeking to enjoy some delicious smokehouse quality meats will soon find out that the only thing they’ll be filling up on is disappointment.

On a more positive note, other customers were enjoying their beers while shooting some pool or chatting up the bartender. The place was set up for a singalong which could have been cool if the crowd got into it.

Don’t bother to go, under new ownership about 4 months ago. Not even called 1890 Smokehouse anymore. Basically a local hangout for drinking now. We had a brisket sandwich each but they were full of fat and had a tasteless sauce. Told the owner about it and he just said if they don’t like don’t charge them. Good luck to them should be of business by spring!