Spring is springing… and so is the 72-hour cold fermented pizza dough in Winnipeg’s castle!
The Oval Room Brasserie, which beckons you from the regal lobby of the Fort Garry Hotel, always provides a space that is equally stately and snug when you are looking to dine, relax and unwind.
This recently revamped century-old room flaunts plush seating, gorgeous windows and mirrors to let in all that sunlight, glass oil lamps for added romance at night, and the most stunning ceiling with its intricate plaster details and chandelier. Plus, this atmosphere always comes with some of the city’s best service.
As of fall 2024, the Oval Room has also been home to a pizza program that rises above, while the seasonal craft cocktail list alone is worth the trip.
The pizzas
Let’s start with the dough, which baking aficionados should note is fermented for almost three whole days, while the hydration level (this is the level of water to wheat), is 78 to 80 per cent. This means that the raw dough is more difficult to handle, as it will be stickier, so the Oval Room chefs have to move fast. Once it’s out of the oven though, you’ll have a bubbly, pillowy crust (here’s an insightful explanation of pizza dough hydration).
The hotel’s dough is made of a mix of local organic wheat from Prairie Flour Mills and a super fine semolina from Altamura, Italy, and the recipe was developed by Vida Cucina Italia’s chef du cuisine Fabrizio Rossi, the Fort Garry Hotel’s owner Ida Albo, who also happens to be a certified pizza chef trained in Italy, and Oval Room Brasserie’s chef de cuisine Kyle Lew.
So, what we’re saying is: this dough is airy, with a slight tanginess like a sourdough, along with a crisp exterior and soft interior that holds up to the ingredients. The longer fermentation time also makes the pizza easier to digest, particularly for people who are sensitive to gluten.
To honour that crust, along with providing some interactive fun, the pizzas are all served uncut (like you’d find in many parts of Italy). In this, the pizza will stay hotter and saucier longer, while each pie comes with a huge pair of gold handled scissors so you can cut your own slices to a size of your choosing.
On the current FGH Signature Pizza menu (which changes seasonally), a few notable pies include the “fancy Margherita,” the “ colazione per cena” (”breakfast for dinner”), and a classic pepperoni.
As you’d expect with the name, the “fancy margherita” goes beyond a few dabs of fresh mozzarella and basil leaves. You get five mounds of fresh Italian buffalo mozzarella that ooze out over the pie, with a further bit of Pecorino Romano (also from Italy) underneath to add saltiness to cut through the mozza’s ripeness. For acidity, aside from the San Marzano tomato sauce base, there are also confit cherry tomatoes that have been roasted to a chewy texture (like a sundried tomato), while the herbaceous element comes from basil microgreens.
The “breakfast for dinner” is the heartiest of the bunch, with soft chunks of potato and house-made pork sausage all covered in Pecorino Romano cheese. Underneath there’s a parmigiano cream sauce, and to top it off a Nature’s Farm egg is baked into the middle. The classic pepperoni features Brooklyn-style little pepperoni slices from De Luca’s that are crisped until they concave, all sitting atop a base of Fior di latte (fresh cow’s milk mozzarella) and a San Marzano tomato sauce.
All the Oval Room’s pizzas are currently also available for takeout and room service.
Current cocktails
Given spring is the melty season here in Winnipeg, the current cocktail menu at the Oval Room fittingly leans toward warm and wintery.
Highlights include the hot buttered rum, made with Gosling’s Family Reserve Old Rum that has been warmed with a base of butter and spices and hot water, topped with a cinnamon stick and star anise. This one has après ski vibes, with plenty of premium rum flavour and a velvety texture.
For all you espresso martini fans out there (which we assume is a lot of you, as that drink sure made a comeback after a seemingly decade-long absence), there is a classic carajillo. Served in a rocks glass with one massive ice cube, this one is simply Licor 43 (Spain’s popular custard liqueur that has notes of citrus and vanilla) shook with a shot of De Luca’s espresso. It’s a traditional drink for a reason, as the Licor 43 is so much more complex than vodka and standard coffee liqueurs.
Then there’s a classic mulled wine using the German Starling Castle Glühwein (a blend of Merlot, Sangiovese and Tempranillo), delicately warmed and served with a cinnamon stick, star anise and a dehydrated orange. It’s the perfect little pick me up should you be entering the Oval Room on a chilly spring day.
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Of course, the Oval Room is a lot more than fantastic pizza and cocktails, and chef Lew’s menu has so many crowd pleasers for dinner from warm house-made sourdough pull-apart buns (the hotel’s baking department is impressive, and they supply several of the city’s top restaurants with sourdoughs and various breads); an excellent smash burger with super crispy fries; a chilled seafood tower for sharing; oysters on the half shell; and moules frites using Salt Spring Island mussels. The hotel's award-winning wine director Christopher Sprague also has countless bottles to suit your mood or pair perfectly with your dish.
Brunch is served every weekend, and the weekday breakfast menu is full of indulgent classics like stuffed brioche French toast with maple pecan butter and strawberries that have been roasted in balsamic, and buttermilk pancakes with Chantilly cream.
Oval Room Brasserie is open for dinner, Monday to Friday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. It is also open for breakfast 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and lunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday, with weekend brunch service from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For reservations and more info, go here.
