While we didn't see as many splashy restaurant openings as we are used to in 2024, a number of Winnipeg spots did scoop up some well-deserved national acclaim. Crumb Queen/Andy’s Lunch made Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants top 10, plus, we were so pleased to see both Yujiro and Clementine finally make the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurant list, joining deer + almond.
Like many local diners, we’re also stoked about the opening of Ne de Loup in November. The former home of Enoteca has undergone a handsome makeover with a new French-leaning menu by chef/owner Scott Bagshaw that retains a few classics like the city’s best fancy fried chicken (now with osetra caviar). It’s already a hit, with reservations booked for December as you can see.
Early 2025 will see the much anticipated openings of Shirley’s and Baby Baby in Osborne Village (full story coming soon), along with Select Start in the East Exchange District which looks close to completion too.
RAW:almond also returns soon for its 10th anniversary with heavy hitter chefs from across North American and many local chefs too. This temporary tasting menu restaurant built on the frozen Red River (weather permitting) will run from January 23 to February 16. Tickets to RAW always sell out fast, even with the hefty price tag, and will be available at The Forks on December 15.
Now that we’ve covered some news, we’re finishing up the year with our sometimes annual, ‘best things we ate series.’ whereby we ask Tourism Winnipeg and Economic Development Winnipeg staff to find out what dishes and spots they couldn’t get enough of this year.
Here’s part one from Mike Green (who has so many picks) and Robel Berhane, who both would like to see the words foodie, elevate and handhelds binned for 2025, please and thank you.
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Stating the obvious: Every staff member is going to say Crumb Queen/Andy’s Lunch (see Part 2), and how can you not? The Bianca sandwiches alone should be celebrated in song, and seriously everything on the menu –– the fresh pastas, the breads, the pastries, the cookies –– are at a ridiculously high level.
Another new spot I’ve been loving is Sassy Thai in Charleswood, particularly the rich khao soi, that chefs Thon Muensuk and Nan Thorsteinson attribute to their home cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
As to the best two best local meals I had this year, those were at Yujiro and Petit Socco.
The June menu we had at Petit Socco (their four-dish set menu changes regularly) was dynamite, with a few odes to Segovia, chef Adam Donnelly’s first Winnipeg restaurant. It started with a light tempura asparagus and was followed up with such a simple yet insanely flavourful albacore tuna with sauce vierge that could shoot laser beams into space it had so much zing.
Next was an update on the pork belly and nectarine panzanella, which Air Canada critic Amy Rosen named the Dish of the Year in 2023 when Petit Socco was recognized as the 5th best new restaurant in Canada. This version replaced the pork belly with grilled pork neck that occasionally could be found at Segovia. It has this paprika-forward spice blend and barbecue sauce that you just can’t get enough of. The dish was rounded out with cherry tomatoes, stone fruits and basil, making all your sourdough salad dreams come true. Dessert was a strawberry and rhubarb sorbet with elderflower cream and crunchy bits of short bread. Just a delightful progression from start to finish, plus eating in this intimate space is always a treat as Courtney and Adam are such kind and gracious hosts.
Yujiro’s new design and menu (both updated in December 2023) paid off handsomely, with Winnipeg’s top Japanese restaurant finally getting the national recognition it deserves.
In October, we had a meal there that had us moaning in our seats. Amongst a long list of highlights were the interactive king salmon tartare, where you get to scoop a mixture that includes ikura (salmon caviar), crispy garlic and micro-planed egg yolk onto crunchy taro chips; the new shrimp gyoza, where the whole shrimp is simply wrapped and pan fried (my kids’ new favourite, and they love Yujiro’s traditional gyozas); toro sashimi that nearly melts in your mouth; the aburi-style Otaru roll (the combination of torched scallops, soft shell shrimp, avocado and XO mayo is so luxurious); and perhaps my favourite Winnipeg dish this year, the hamachi ceviche with coconut sauce and pickled red onion.
For more individual dishes, wow that barbecued short rib they were serving at Next Door this summer was nuts. Accompanied by a heaping mound of sauerkraut, the meaty-yet-tender short rib had a char siu like quality of sweet, salty and so much umami, with a just a crunchy enough bark. My young kids, who worship Clementine, Nonsuch Brewery and Parcel Pizza (and who doesn’t?), also have Next Door as their favourite dinner spot, as they love the burger, chips and dip, and the vibes –– particularly as no one cares about them dancing on the patio or in the dining room at 5 p.m. before it gets busy.
I also need to single out dishes like: Harth’s mainstay tuna crudo with so much citrus and a squid ink crisp, and their tortellini (the service is always fantastic too); the smoked goldeye at deer + almond that you cheekily spread onto a Goldfish-shaped potato rösti; Pho Hoang’s bún bò huế features a marvellous spicy lemongrass broth that I love on cold days; and the wagyu pastrami at 529 Uptown is every bit as outrageously decadent as it sounds.
Also, the housemade Campanelle cacio e pepe at Pizzeria Gusto, and really all their new fresh pasta dishes. As a rule, I rarely would order a sauce of cheese and pepper, but the Campanelle here is so toothy. The Nola burger, available only at lunch, is giving Nonsuch a run for the city’s best burger as the patty itself is near perfect, while the three sauces –– sweet pepper relish, smoked aioli and romesco ketchup –– bring sweetness, acidity, smoke and creaminess that every great burger deserves.
Passero’s beef tartare and fried Brussel sprouts somehow taste even better in the new Corydon dining room, and the how-do-they-make-it-that-pillowy(?) sourdough sandwich loaf from Gâto Bakeshop is my new go-to for making breakfast sandwiches for my family
My Visa also tells me that I ate the Arabi shawarma from Danook nearly every week (our office is just across Portage and Main from it), so there’s something to be said about that. It’s delicious and a pretty solid bang for your buck. The fries are great, I love the garlic and hot sauce, and being greeted by co-owner Karwan Kahil’s smiling face is always a treat.
On top of chef Austin Granados’ extremely ambitious gold-winning dish from Canada’s Great Kitchen Party Winnipeg (the regional qualifier for the Canadian Culinary Championship), I also need to single out Bar Accanto’s chef, Colin Naylor, whose dish from the competition took local heritage corn on a culinary journey. Although it didn’t make the podium, the story behind the dish was something else. Chef Naylor used local Assiniboin Rainbow Flint corn from Bloom Bakery and Mill, with ingredients all sourced within 57 kilometres of Winnipeg. There was a velvety sweet corn and rainbow flint miso ice cream, cantaloupe granita, cherry curd, and chicha (a fermented South American drink) that he infused into a flint corn tamale. The work that went into making and sourcing it was more than commendable.
For local drinks, I became a big fan of Low Life Barrel Houses’ dry-hopped sour, while winemaker Jesse Oberman’s fun and just funky enough Fizzy Rose was a treat in the summer sunshine (just make sure the bottle doesn’t get any extra shakes before opening — say on a bike ride to a park, or boat ride to a dock — as you’ll end up wearing a bit of it).
-Mike Green (head writer at Peg City Grub; senior judge for Winnipeg for the Canadian Culinary Championship; the guy they never showed on MasterChef Canada, Season One).
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My favourite meal this year was at Borgo Antico, which was a complete surprise, as the only thing we knew going in was that all the pastas are hand-rolled or extruded in house.
We had a number of dishes, but two have stayed with me that I need to share. First, there’s the orecchiette Pugliesi –– absolutely incredible! It has sausage, rapini pesto, EVOO, and 'nduja crumbs, and every bite just worked perfectly. What really stood out was how rich and flavourful it was without feeling heavy or oily, which is rare for a pasta like this. The pesto and sausage were the stars, but they didn’t overpower anything — it was all so well-balanced. And those 'nduja crumbs? They added this light, crispy texture that tied everything together. Plus, the pesto is nut-free, so it’s something everyone can enjoy.
If you’re a cheese lover, the “bruschetta” di mozzarella is for you! It’s like bruschetta, but instead of bread, they use thin slices of breaded and fried mozzarella — genius! The contrast between the warm, crispy mozzarella and the fresh tomato, basil and arugula was just amazing. Every bite was this perfect mix of crispy, gooey and fresh. Honestly, it’s one of those dishes you can’t stop thinking about after you’ve had it!
-Robel Berhane, EDW corporate communications/one of the city’s coolest restaurant industry veterans.
