Camp Cookhouse - Elkwater

Love the food. We tried the smoked rib, steak and chicken burger on the first night. Had to come back to try more. Second night we got pork, and chicken. Still doesn't disappoint us. All are so good. Kids love the Mac on cheese.

Totally knocked it out of the park! Some of the best fried chicken ever. Great service, nice atmosphere. A totally unexpected treat. We were there at the end of the season and didn't know what to expect. We're so glad we tried it.

What a complete surprise! I go to Medicine Hat every summer to visit a friend ever since she married a Canadian and moved to this area. Been to Elkwater before and it 's nice to have this gem in the middle of the flat and desolate prairies. Anyway, we 've mostly run out of things to do within an hour driving distance (there 's a baby in tow and I was a bit reluctant to go back to Elkwater again. She mentioned Camp Cookhouse and how the chef there won some award or was on TV or something. I 'm like, Yeah, sure, and just shrug my shoulders. So we get there and the menu is simple but full of good things. I get the short ribs, she gets a burger, and her mom gets soup. I 'm still not really impressed at this point but the service was very friendly. Well, I get my short ribs, take a bite, and immediately I 'm sold! The taste was just so succulent, amazing, and perfect! I have so many other words to describe it! Not one bone present and they were just full of meat and saucy goodness. Friend 's burger was also amazing and very well crafted. This was the type of food would be expect to find in a big city, not a rural lakeside restaurant. Seriously, everyone...make your way here and enjoy the food! You will not be disappointed at all. If you are, message me and I want to hear all about it :

Great spot for dinner in Elkwater. All food made in house using local suppliers. Laid back old school camp cook shack, food served on metal trays and porcelain or tin dishes, heads of hunted animals on the walls. Had the burger and fries one night, burger buns are made in house, and it was very tasty. Ribs the next night, tasty, but I wish they removed the silver skin off the ribs before smoking. Portion sizes are good, pricing is fair, local beers and wines/Mead's to wash it all down. I like everything they are doing here, you can't complain about much when everything is locally sourced and made in house, far too many restaurants don't do this type of thing and it's a shame.

I had super high expectations for Camp as I had been referred to it by a couple people who were emphatic about the awesome food so maybe I was oversold. I had the Camp burger that upon reflection seemed to try and mimic a Big Mac: two patties, shredded lettuce, some kind of cheesy sauce, and pickles. It failed miserably and the hamburger patties were slightly rubbery and seemed like they were boiled. Those patties definitely weren 't freshly cooked as my burger came out a few minutes after my order. The whole thing was utterly tasteless. I added a baked beans 'side ' to my burger as an extra and those were good. Not great, just good. I don 't think they were worth $4 for the small portion though. The whole meal left my palette needing cleansing. Like with a wire BBQ brush. Did I come on an off night? The John Gilchrist review on the front counter must be old as I can 't see him saying great things based on what I ate. Go support this local restaurant just go in with average expectations and maybe you will come out thrilled.