Haida House at Tllaal Dining Room

This was our third visit to Haida House over the course of as many years (if you discount the year of Covid). Our first visit was spectacular. Second visit was quite good, but with poor seating. I recall the gift shop not being open so...we missed that. This visit was a bit disappointing. The staff were welcoming and attentive. We reserved a window table, which overlooked the parking not the river. The sense was that lodge guests got the good tables and extra TLC. Wine by the glass was limited to one choice, red or white (nothing special). The menu has changed from a fixed three course price to starters, mains and desserts priced separately. There is no complimentary bread or equivalent nibbles. I asked about a starter called Elote, and the server was completely at a loss to explain what it was, only that it involved corn and dry salmon. We settled on Salmon Rilettes with taro chips, since I am gluten-free. This was a sort of potted cream cheese with bits of salmon, calling for some lemon and salt. The taro chips were flavourless. For the main dish my DH picked Duck with Cassoulet. It was a crispy, dark brown, really salty affair with tasty beans and fresh peas as a side. I chose Mushroom Risotto. What a mistake. It was bland, not at all brimming with mushroom umami as I expected. The dish had a bright green tasteless oil drizzled around the edge of the bowl. I salted and peppered it liberally, and ended up scooping half of DH's peas to give it some oomph. Halfway through doctoring it up, I discovered a big lump of (mozzarella cheese buried at the bottom of the bowl, that refused to be stirred into the rice, but came up in long unmanageable strings. I will say, the rice was perfectly al dente. For dessert, due to the GF issue, our choice was limited to two of a three part dish (skipping the chocolate cake) of mousse and sorbet, quite delightful. I asked what kinds of cognac were on the drinks menu. Our server did not know what cognac was, so I said a good brandy. She didn't know what that was either, and went to the bar and returned with a bottle each of B&B and VSOP for me to look at. It was served in a short drinks glass, and arrived after dessert was over. With the parking lot view, there seemed no reason to linger. We are both music lovers, and the canned sound did nothing to create ambience, not did staff engage in chit-chat or cultural stories. Based on our first experience at Haida House and the innumerable stellar reviews, I am sincerely hoping we hit an off night. There are really no other fine dining choices on the island. It is a minute drive each way to get there from Queen Charlotte, so one really expects to take away a memorable experience.

Let's start by saying Brodie Swanson is a genius! The local ingredients he uses in the dishes add to the experience. The steak was done to perfection and the Maple glaze he made for the chicken was outstanding! The first wild chantrel mushrooms topped off...the meal. We were seated in the lounge and had a beautiful view of the river. Watching the river change directions was an interesting experience. This is a must if you crave amazing food on Haida Gwaii.

I visited Haida Gwaii in September and it was a wonderful experience. Booked Haida Lodge twice for dinner. It was spectacularly good! Best steak we’ve ever had. Great service and friendly helpful staff. I highly recommend if you ever travel to Haida Gwaii.

We visited in September on our way to Port Clements, but unfortunately the restaurant was closed on Labour Day. However, we made a reservation for the day we planned to do the Petsuta Trail walk and it was a great decision. The food and service were excellent, rivaling that of a top restaurant in any major city. It was one of the best dining experiences we had during our time in Haida Gwaii. We enjoyed our coffee/tea and dessert outside, which was a nice touch. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone in the area. We also heard from some gallery owners that they had reservations there as well.

This hotel is a hidden gem in the wilderness. The dining room offers some of the best food you can find anywhere. The bed and breakfast breakfast is top-notch, and the dinner menu features excellent salmon.