Dining at 7,700 feet isn’t an option for most people, but luckily for us, we have this unique dining experience available to us less than 30 minutes away. Dining at the Eagle’s Eye Restaurant, at the top of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, is a pretty extraordinary experience, even for us locals. It’s hard not to appreciate where we live when you’re dining with such a breathtaking view! Which is why, I take advantage of every chance I have to enjoy a meal up there.
Getting to the Eagle’s Eye Restaurant
The gondola ride up is the perfect start to the experience, an approximately 15-minute scenic tour up the mountain. You even ride over the Grizzly Bear Refuge and, if you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of Boo wandering around the habitat. We went up on a clear day, with great views all over the valley. One of my favourite sights is when you enter “Bowl Over” and get a great view of Terminator Peak (where the Via Ferrata runs).
Once you make it to the top, you can either head straight to the restaurant or take in all of the various views. If you are interested, there are a couple of different hiking trails from the top of the mountain you can check out before grabbing a bite to eat.
We had a reservation and were promptly seated at the southwest corner, with a great view of the Dogtooth mountain range located to the west of the resort. It’s hard not to get distracted by the views while trying to browse through the menu, luckily, deciding on your drink is an easy choice to start with. We opted for some mocktails off of the beverage menu; the Alpine Lemonade and Pomegranate Spritz. The lemonade was on the sweeter side (and very pink!) and the spritz had a fresh taste to it, both beverages were perfect for a hot summer day!
Next came the hard decision of what to have for lunch, especially when there are so many great options. After reviewing the menu, we went with the Summer Salad and Mountain Top Reuben. I was intrigued by the cantaloupe in the salad and I always love a good Reuben, plus you can’t miss out on an opportunity to have truffle fries!
We arrived right at the beginning of the lunch service, so our food arrived quickly. The Summer Salad was a good choice, and I thought it had a great blend of ingredients; artisan greens, a maple dijon vinaigrette, cantaloupe, bocconcini, prosciutto crips, cherry tomatoes and pumpkin seeds. A salad isn’t always my first choice, but this one was too enticing to pass up!
Next to try was the Mountain Top Reuben sandwich, a classic menu item, with a side of truffle fries, of course. The Reuben was everything I expected; corned beef on sourdough bread with house-made sauerkraut, signature aioli and Swiss cheese. I appreciated that the sauerkraut was just the right level of tang, perfectly blending with the sandwich without overpowering it. Same with the truffle fries, while I enjoy truffle flavour, some do find it overpowering, so I found it to be just right!
We luckily left room for dessert, and my eyes immediately gravitated to the Strawberry Almond Shortcake. There’s just something about strawberry shortcake that makes it a great summer choice, and not something you generally see on a dessert menu. When it arrived at the table, it was almost too pretty to eat! The vanilla shortcake (made with almond flour, making it gluten-free) was topped with Chantilly cream and strawberries with a drizzle of balsamic syrup on top. It was an excellent ending to our lunch!
Check out the Eagle’s Eye Restaurant for Yourself
Even though I am a local, I always enjoy dining up at the Eagle’s Eye Restaurant. We usually only go up once every couple of months, usually whenever the seasonal menu switches over so we can try the new menu items. The service is always great, the food is delicious and I never get tired of the views! You still have a couple of weeks to check out the summer lunch menu for yourself.
The Eagle’s Eye Restaurant is open daily during their summer season (June 21 to September 2) from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Reservations are highly suggested during the summer months. You can call (250) 439-5425 ext. 1 to make a reservation or book online. Depending on what you plan on doing during your visit to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, you’ll want to review the various types of passes available.
