7 Tasty Reasons to Visit Winnipeg

The Forks area of Winnipeg, located at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, has been a meeting place for over 6,000 years. The Forks Market has been in business for 35 years, and their Food Hall is home to 24 restaurants, where you can find anything from Sri Lankan curry and Filipino Silog to freshly-baked cinnamon rolls.

Inside the Market, you can also find The Common, a bar with 20 craft beer and 20 wines on tap. Choose your perfect pour to pair with your favourite new and classic Forks Market Food Hall eats.

Nonsuch Brewing is a quick 15-minute walk from The Forks. This Métis-majority owned brewery serves award-winning beer along with a seasonally-inspired menu designed for foodies. As the owners say, “Nonsuch is our love letter to Manitoba,” and everything on the menu highlights local producers and flavours. Try the crowd-pleasing smash burger, sample their house-made charcuterie, or opt for unusual taproom eats such as burrata or steak tartare. 

Clementine Cafe is elevating the brunch experience with a short but mighty menu of gourmet morning favourites that includes mushroom toast and eggs benedict with brown butter hollandaise. If you have a sweet tooth, try the rootbeer pudding with whipped cream and potato chip toffee crunch for dessert!

Resto Gare is a French restaurant in Winnipeg’s St. Boniface French Quarter, home of the largest French-Canadian community west of Québec! Immerse yourself in the Francophone way of life with music from Quebec and fully bilingual service. The restaurant itself is located in the former Canadian National Railway station, while an adjacent train car houses the bar. 

"Bonnie day!" is a double entendre coined by the owners’ late father: it can mean “beautiful day”(a nod to their Scottish ancestors), or “bonne idée” (French for good idea). Indeed, it’s always a good idea to stop by Bonnie Day. Stop by six nights a week and enjoy a menu featuring lots of gluten- and vegan-friendly options that are sure to please everyone in your group.

Feast Cafe serves modern dishes rooted in First Nation foods. Owner & Executive Chef Christa is a proud member of Peguis First Nation, which is the largest First Nation community in Manitoba. Feast aims to harvest, cook, and eat with good intention, and their menu includes traditional foods such as bannock and bison.

The menu at Bistro on Notre Dame focuses on elevated comfort food crafted from local, ethically and/or sustainably sourced ingredients. Owner and Chef Dean Herkert is of Red River Métis heritage, and he sources from local and Indigenous producers whenever possible. The resulting menu includes local bison and fish, and even the coffee is produced by Indigenous people in the Nariño region of Colombia.