This weekend I took a drive to the Rocky Mountains – specifically to a little town called Jasper, Alberta.

For dinner we wanted somewhere casual and not too pricey, and after some research on my part we decided to grab some pizza and burgers over at Lou Lou’s Pizzeria. Unfortunately for us, Lou Lou’s was closed and the lights were off, although through the window you could see working coolers holding bottles of pop. We later found out that they had moved down the street to a new location. It was disappointing that they did not place a sign on the door of the old location to notify people where they were.

With our first choice gone, we decided to head to the L&W Family Restaurant; partially because we could get a 10% discount because we were staying at a certain hotel, and partially because it seemed like a place that could accommodate a relatively large group.

The L&W is one of those restaurants that try to be everything to everyone. From pizza and pasta to burgers and steaks, as well as a large Greek selection, their menu is fairly large. The restaurant was very busy, but we were seated relatively quickly. There were so many people  that they took chairs from the waiting area and placed them at tables to create additional seating. I bet if the fire marshal had walked in there would be fines galore.

Despite the overcrowding, the inside of the restaurant is actually somewhat charming. Large trees scattered throughout create intimacy in the large restaurant, and lots of windows let in plenty of light while the sun was still up.

We were first served warmed multigrain buns. Too bad that the buns arrived at the table 45 minutes after we had been seated and probably 30 minutes after we had placed our orders. Also, we were not given any plates so by the time the entrees arrived about 15 minutes later, our table was littered with crumbs (see the next picture – crumbs were everywhere). We were so hungry that I’m surprised we hadn’t resorted to gnawing on the table.

I didn’t take photos of everyone’s food because we were such a large group. I also stopped because they said “Uh oh, she’s taking out her camera again” and people were starving – I didn’t want a revolt on my hands.

In particular, I had a taste of three different dishes. One was the dish that I actually ordered – the lamb souvlaki. The lamb was tender and lightly spiced, the tzatziki sauce was perfect, the pita was fluffy but tasted a bit bland, the greek salad had way too many onions and contained lettuce (which proper Greek salads are not supposed to have), and the rice was too soft.

The moussaka tasted good but was a little mushy for my personal preference. The Greek salad that came with the dish had too many tomatoes, as opposed to my problem with too many onions.

The last dish that I had the opportunity to try was the Greek cabbage rolls. These tasted like Ukrainian cabbage rolls except there were a few additional flavours that were distinctly Mediterranean-influenced; flavours such as lemon and herbs. The lemon potatoes and salad were fine.

The majority of the entrées were priced in the $15-20 range. A few people ordered pop, and were dismayed to receive it served in small whisky glasses. At $2 per glass and no free refills, this was pretty pricey pop. The general consensus of the food was that it was ok – not fantastic but not bad either. While this place would certainly do in a pinch, I think I’d prefer to go somewhere else for my food next time.

L&W Family Restaurant
Corner of Hazel Ave and Patricia St.
Jasper, Alberta