Winnipeg’s culinary scene continues to garner national attention, while there are always new and much-loved hidden gems that should be on every gourmand’s radar.
Here’s some sure bets for 2025 to book before you come for your next business event or conference in Winnipeg.
Best new restaurants—as certified by Air Canada’s prestigious guide
It’s official, Winnipeg is home to several of Canada’s best new restaurants.
Landing at number 10 on the prestigious Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants guide for 2024 is the dynamic duo of Crumb Queen/Andy’s Lunch. While it’s the first time a casual, counter service restaurant has made the list in its over 20-year history, it should come as no surprise to Winnipeggers, as everything at this pastry, fresh pasta and sandwich shop will blow your tastebuds away. As head judge Tara O'Brady wrote in her review, “With every bite, we grow more envious of the locals” as she and her table worked their way through dishes like handmade tagliolini with morel butter, eggplant sandwiches on Bianca bread, and the Instagram-famous honey crueller. Given that Crumb Queen/Andy’s Lunch is only open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., from Thursday to Sunday, you should make plans accordingly to fit it in within your conference.
Last year, Petit Socco landed at #5 on the Air Canada list, the highest-ever placement for a Winnipeg restaurant. The intimate two-person operation by chef Adam Donnelly and Courtney Molaro seats just 10- to14 dinners, offering a new Mediterranean-influenced prix fixe four-course menu every week. Given its tiny size and national acclaim, be sure to make your dinner reservations one month out, which is when tables open up on Tock.
Before Petit Socco, the previous highest-placing Winnipeg spot on the Air Canada Best New list was Enoteca, by chef Scott Bagshaw. The acclaimed chef co-owns Passero and has seen many of his former restaurants like Máquè and Deseo Bistro grab national attention, including Máquè making the Canada’s 100 list last year before it closed. This past fall, Bagshaw reopened Enoteca as Né de Loup, with a new Parisian bistro-inspired interior and French dishes that are even more luxurious like savoury gougères, duck and pistachio pâté en croute, and Bagshaw classics like beef tartare with foie gras, and his irresistible fried chicken with crème fraîche and caviar.
Petit Socco was joined by Saint-Boniface’s Bar Accanto on the Best New Restaurants long list in 2023, which saw this charming wine bar following in the footsteps of its flagship restaurant Nola, which made the long list in 2022.
Both Nola and Bar Accanto are part of Burnley Place Hospitality and connected via a hallway. At Nola, the dishes come courtesy of Top Chef Canada alum and Canadian Culinary Championship bronze medalist (2020) Emily Butcher, who garnered a glowing review from The Globe and Mail in May 2022. That same year in December, the publication went even further citing Nola as the best new culinary concept on the Prairies, with Winnipeg’s Hoagie Boyz and Low Life Barrel House also coming in at No. 9 and 10 respectively.
Winnipeg restaurants on Canada’s 100 Best list
On the current Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants guide you’ll find three Winnipeg restaurants: deer + almond (#39), Clementine (#74) and Yujiro (#92), while that same publication’s Canada’s 50 Best Bars features The Roost at #39.
Chef Mandel Hitzer's tasting menu restaurant deer + almond (85 Princess St.) has made the list several times since the inception of Canada's 100 Best in 2015, and has jumped up 20 spots from last year to be the first local restaurant in the top 50. (That said, the 100 Best Restaurant list also features plenty of Winnipeg-raised talent, particularly in the top 10 with chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson’s Published on Main in Vancouver and chefs Ari and Pablo Schor of Montreal's Beba, which are listed at 7th and 8th respectively).
Hitzer’s deer + almond remains a favourite haunt for celebrities when filming or playing in Winnipeg –– most recently it was Elijah Wood and Henry Winkler; while more famous fans include Ed Sheeran and Samuel L. Jackson. The chef is also the co-creator of RAW:almond with architect Joe Kalturnyk, a temporary restaurant built on the frozen Red River that will once again welcome acclaimed and Michelin-starred chefs from across the globe (and local chefs too) to cook in Winnipeg during winter 2025.
Clementine (123 Princess St.) made a bit of history in making the Canada’s 100 list, in that it’s the sole brunch-only spot to do so. Helmed by chef/co-owner Chris Gama, co-owner Raya Conrad and chef de cuisine Paul Eccles, this Exchange District staple has received much love and acclaim since opening in spring 2016, with lineups for brunch a regular occurrence. In a 2018 rave review, food critic Dan Clapson wrote of Clementine in The Globe and Mail, “Can a brunch restaurant also be considered one of the country's best restaurants?” Given that the majority of the Canada's 100 Best Restaurants spots fall under the fine-dining/tasting menu genre, we now have an answer.
Yujiro Japanese Restaurant (1822 Grant Ave.) is run by award-winning chef Ed Lam and co-owner Esther Lo, who also have Saburo Kitchen in Hargrave Street Market. River Height's Yujiro is equally known for its excellent ramen service at lunch, along with its selection of sushi and izakaya-style dishes at dinner and its omakase events. During the voting period last year, the restaurant's dining room also received a stylish makeover, now providing a fitting setting for its beautifully plated Japanese cuisine. Chef Lam is also a past Winnipeg-leg champion (2022) at the Canadian Culinary Championships.
Speaking of the Canadian Culinary Championship, this past October chef Austin Granados of Cake-ology won the Winnipeg leg, showcasing an array of skills he’s picked up in his extensive, worldly chef training, which includes Noma in Copenhagen, VEA in Hong Kong, and Dominique Ansel in NYC. Granados will represent Winnipeg at nationals in January 2025.
It wasn’t the first time The Roost (651 Corydon Ave.) has made the Canada's 50 Best Bars list, having placed as high as #27 in 2019. Located on a second floor above the Corydon strip (which includes a lovely patio) this charming, tiny, small plates bar is guided by Winnipeg's cocktail queen Elsa Taylor, who also illustrates the room's whimsical menus by hand. Taylor and her partners also own and operate Oxbow Natural Wine Bar (which made the Air Canada Best New long list in 2018) and Parcel Pizza.
A few other spots that have been featured on the Canada’s 50 Best Bars lists include Patent 5 Distillery — where the gin, vodka, rum and whisky that’s distilled onsite in its heritage setting are made into incredible cocktails, and Langside Grocery — a hip snack bar located in a heritage building in West Broadway, which were #34 and #49 in 2020.
