Tripadvisor’s 2026 Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best awards placed the family-run Balkan Mediterranean Restaurant fourth worldwide for vegan and vegetarian dining and 14th for casual dining. It is the sole Canadian entry on either ranking.
Only three places finished higher on the plant-based list: Organika and Green Point, both in Cusco, Peru, and Thes Greek Creative Cuisine in Athens. On the casual-dining side, the Balkan shares company with establishments in Paris, Rome, Edinburgh and Cancún.
These honours rest entirely on the quantity and quality of guest reviews collected over a full year—not critic scores.
Although the Balkan is best known for its lamb, Greek cuisine naturally supplies plenty of meat-free favourites: spanakopita, dolmades, hummus, tzatziki, classic Greek salads and saganaki.
The kitchen also accommodates vegan & gluten-free requests.
The restaurant’s roots reach back to two Greek families who settled in Banff. John and Antonia Koukouras arrived from Greece in 1958; relatives Jason and Joanna Karlos followed in the early 1970s.
The Koukouras family launched the Balkan in 1984, giving the mountain town its first Greek dining room. Two years later Jason Karlos and partner Tommy Soukas assumed ownership and relocated it to its present Banff Avenue address.
At the time, local diners needed persuasion: “We had to train people to like garlic and calamari,” Soukas later recalled.
In 2006 the next generation—brothers Stavros and Yannis Karlos—took the reins from their parents. A substantial renovation followed in 2008, yet the original recipes and hospitality traditions remained intact. Two decades later, the same brothers find their restaurant listed among the world’s best.
Within Banff itself the Balkan sits at the very top of Tripadvisor’s rankings among more than 130 eateries, holding a 4.7-star average drawn from nearly 3,900 reviews—an impressive feat in a destination that welcomes millions of visitors each year.
Many guests arrive for the food; many more stay for the spectacle.
Greek Nights, held every Thursday, Friday and Sunday, feature belly dancing, traditional Greek dances and the celebratory smashing of plates.
The entertainment is complimentary with any dinner ordered from the regular menu, and the evenings welcome all ages.
For countless travellers, that lively night becomes the lasting memory of their Banff visit.
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