Dated August 11, 1947, this menu is quite different from CP dining car menus. This is a contrast to the Banff Springs Hotel, which used many menus that, on the outside at least, were duplicates of ones used on the trains. This menu not only has a different cover from any train menu, it is a different size: 11 inches tall instead of about 9-3/4.
Click image to download a 1.5-MB PDF of this menu.
The Empress caters to a first-class clientele, so the menu should have been rich with tony foods. To some degree, it is: rockcod Italienne and halibut with remoulade sauce sound interesting. But many items are pretty routine for a late 1940s menu, including broiled herrings, ham and chives omelette, fried chicken, and cold roast turkey. The full luncheons came with an appetizer, potage garbure (a thick ham-and-vegetable soup), summer squash or peas, potatoes and the usual desserts and beverages. Prices ranged from $1 for the omelette (about US$11 today) to $1.55 (about US$16 today) for a broiled chicken.
Curiously, the only beef item on the table d’hôte side was short ribs with noodles. The a la carte side offered a filet mignon that by itself cost $1.85 (a little more than US$19 today), more than any of the full lunches. Other a la carte entrées included boiled salmon Hollandaise, sea trout, cod, sole, lamb, chicken a la king, a mixed grill, and many others. Although the prices were high for lunch, the items available don’t seem particularly special.