Summer dining in Winnipeg
Winnipeg’s culinary scene is red hot, so come find a patio seat, get yourself an ice cream and enjoy some shade.
The interactive maps below will point you to our very best restaurants, along with where you’ll find our top al fresco experiences and ice creams.
Nationally noted & new
Winnipeg’s celebrated culinary scene has always punched above its weight. Below you’ll find our Canada’s 100 Best contenders, award-winning chefs, Air Canada best new restaurants and newbies that are about to get some national attention.
Looking for more options? Our Best Eats site lays out all our favourites by category and this 2025 guide (opens in new window) brings you even more spots while going in greater detail on all the places below.
Note: Most of the restaurants below should be booked approximately three weeks out, while some don’t take resos with lineups often being a thing starting around 5:30 (you can of course leave your name and number and will get called when your table is ready).
Andy’s Lunch/Crumb Queen
Owned by chef couple Cloe Wiebe and Andrew Koropatnick, this bakery and Italian lunch counter landed at No. 10 on Air Canada’s best new restaurants list in 2024. The pastries are a dream, the Bianca-bread sandwiches are moan-inducing and the pastas are expertly crafted. Wait in line; it’s well worth it. Lunch only.
BabyBaby
By the same crew who own Clementine (Canada’s best brunch spot), plus the addition of two young chefs with a world of experience, BabyBaby has become one of the hottest tickets in town (no reservations) for dazzling cocktails and showstopping dishes like whole grilled seabass, walleye beignets and scallop XO noodles. Courtyard patio too!
Bar Accanto
Burnley Place Hospitality (King+Bannatyne sandwich shop; Nola) opened this wine bar beside Nola in 2023. It made the Air Canada best new restaurants long list for its minimal-intervention wine list and adventurous share plates by award-winning chef Emily Butcher, while the intimate room features an open kitchen along with a small streetside patio.
Nola
Chef Emily Butcher’s self-professed maximalist plates have seen this hip Saint-Boniface joint land at #86 on the Canada’s 100 Best list. The multiple award-winning chef, and Top Chef Canada alum, is known for her bright flavours, abundant textures and odes to her Chinese roots and West Coast upbringing. Great cocktails, wines and vibes as well.
Clementine
Cited as Canada’s best brunch by The Globe and Mail (2018), along with being the only strictly brunch spot to make Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants (#74 in 2024) –– simply put, Clementine rules. Everything is rave worthy, from the legendary fried chicken toast to the smoked steelhead with crispy potato cakes to the unstoppable fried cauliflower salad.
deer + almond
A perennial on the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list (currently #34), chef Mandel Hitzer’s tasting menu restaurant defies genres while receiving rave reviews from locals, visiting chefs and celebrities alike. Reservations are a must, although the al la carte bar top can often be booked last minute, or as a walk in.
Feast Cafe Bistro
Celebrity cook (she refuses to say chef) Christa Guenther is a local treasure. A member of Peguis First Nation, she’s been covered by every notable national publication (along with making multiple Food Network appearances) for her inviting West End gem where bison ramen with house-made wild rice noodles and bannock in many forms always hit the spot.
Nonsuch Brewery
Arguably the city’s most aesthetically pleasing tap room was named the #2 best new restaurant on the prairies by The Globe and Mail in 2019. The award-winning beers taste like luxury goods, Le Burger is the city’s best burger while indeed all the food is great and the patio is primed for people watching.
Patent 5 Distillery
The Exchange District’s only distillery was named one of Canada’s 50 Best Bars (#34 in 2020) for “Playing with a palette of its own award-winning house spirits to create high-concept seasonal menus with true craft cocktails.” There’s a patio, plus the reclaimed oak room is a stunner. Petit Socco The city’s smallest restaurant –– it seats just 10-12, and is run by two people, chef Adam Donnelly and partner Courtney Molaro –– was named Canada’s 5th best new restaurant by Air Canada in 2023, while also winning dish of the year. The four-course tasting menu changes frequently. Reservations are a must.
Peacock Kitchen & Drinks
Chef Ed Lam and Esther Lo transformed their much-acclaimed Yujiro Japanese Restaurant (Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants #92 in 2024; #65 in 2025) into Peacock in early 2026, and let us tell you, these dishes can fly! Each luxurious share plate takes cues from across Asia, while new Asian cocktails will also have you chirping in delight.
Passero
Chef Scott Bagshaw has wowed local diners for years with nationally celebrated restaurants like Enoteca and Máquè. Passero, his Italian flagship on Corydon, is always a sure bet with gorgeous dishes like Canadian tuna carpaccio with lobster aioli and the hand-cut tagliatelle with roasted mushrooms of your dreams. There’s a little summer patio too.
The Roost
Frequently found on the Canada’s 50 Best Bars guide, The Roost is an enchanting little small plates bar guided by Winnipeg’s cocktail queen, Elsa Taylor, who also illustrates the room’s whimsical menus by hand. Excellent rooftop patio, open late, with nice vegan dishes.
Shirley’s
Chef Renée Girard, who’d been cited by The Globe and Mail as one of Canada’s next top chefs in 2019, opened this 35-seat Italian cafe in 2025. It’s such an effortlessly cool restaurant, with knowledgeable friendly staff and delightful dishes that run from the best buns, salads that slay and house-made pastas with such toothy noodles. Courtyard patio too!
Sottobraccio
Yet another hot new addition to Osborne Village, Sottobraccio (meaning “under one’s arm”) is by the same owners and team behind Bellissimo and Harth Mozza and Wine Bar. The modern Italian dishes run from fresh pastas, to whole grilled sea bass and a few bright antipasti dishes primed for summer. Chefs and co-owners Brent Genyk and Brady Palmer have assembled a notable team, including Aaron Crawford (opens in new window), while the restaurants current charcuterie was made by Tyrone Welchinkski (opens in new window). Learn more in this article (opens in new window) by Eva Wasney in the FreeP.
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For that perfect patio
The Peg is a patio city, so it’s best to check our official Peg City Grub Patio Guide to find more extensive al fresco options.
At a glance, here’s a few thematic gems:
Riverside retreats
529 Wellington
If you’re looking to dine on serious steaks within a riverside garden setting, look no further. The city’s classic tony steakhouse, located in a converted circa-1913 Tudor mansion, always combines excellent service, a phonebook sized award-winning wine list, and classic a la carte dishes. Reservations recommended.
The Beer Can
This seasonal pop up has become the spot for summer with its wooden benches and tables scatted amongst the light-strung trees. Spend some time savouring local beer, margaritas and zany dishes from the Hoagie Boyz (who also run the excellent kitchen at Next Door).
The Common at The Forks
The Forks is home to one of Western Canada’s largest patios, all serviced by an outdoor bar flaunting a curated selection of 20 unique wines, beers and ciders by the glass. For food, you have your choice of all the inside kiosks, while the views of boats going up and down the Assiniboine are postcard perfect.
Juneberry
One of the city’s best brunch spots features a patio that looks right down the Red River. Straddling the sidewalk on St. Mary’s Road, here you can dine on divine egg dishes like short rib hash and souffle pancakes as you watch the waters head toward downtown.
Sit streetside
Bonnie Day
This inviting Wolseley spot’s courtyard-like patio is super charming as it spills out onto the Westminster Ave sidewalk with overhead string lights and ever-climbing vines. With a focus on classy comfort food, staff and owners that are oh-so-affable, and fab craft cocktails, you’ll love it. Be sure to check out the Mazcel Damzan illustrated bathroom.
Capital Grill and Bar
Chef Wayne Martin keeps us coming back for airy popcorn shrimp, West Coast fish cooked just right, and local walleye made even more summery with its accompaniment of ricotta gnocchi, grilled corn and lemon-thyme butter sauce. Its patio is right on the bustle of Broadway, making for a great spot to do some people watching in the afternoon sunshine.
Pizzeria Gusto
Academy Road’s top choice for visiting celebrities (they often rent houses in the area) and Jets players, Gusto excels at wood-fired pizzas, rustic-yet-refined mains, Italian cocktails and wines. The patio is sophisticated, and the restaurant is owned by Academy Hospitality, whose executive chef Jesse Friesen has won multiple awards.
Sunset Terrace at Fort Garry Hotel
This très chic patio is decorated with ample plants, green walls that block out the bustle of Broadway and two shipping containers –– one for the bar, one for live music –– that frame it all in. The cold fermented pizzas are so airy, the drinks by award-winning beverage director Christopher Sprague are aces, and a chilled seafood tower beckons.
Tabula Rasa
Sous Sol’s sister restaurant on South Osborne has a nice little dog-friendly patio with the most delightful pink and blue netting above for shade. Sip accomplished craft cocktails (the menu shows what kind of glass it will come in, which is fun) to accompany chef Graham Peltier’s dishes that traverse the western Mediterranean.
Hidden Gems
Oxbow Natural Wine Bar
With a focus on locally grown ingredients and natural wines, you’ll feel great when diving into classic Oxbow dishes like patatas bravas, cauliflower with romesco sauce and the gnocchi cacio e pepe. Its courtyard patio sits behind the restaurant with white tables and overhead lights for added ambiance. There’s a summer patio guest chef series too.
Langside Grocery
This idyllic patio is hidden behind their handsome heritage building facade, all enclosed with red brick with trees growing right out of the seating area. It’s a peachy spot for craft cocktails and snacks, along with meeting locals.
Small Mercies
Not only is Small Mercies one of the best stores for jewellery, flowers, decor, ceramics and stationery – it’s also home to Saint’s Cafe. After shopping, get a coffee then head out into its hidden courtyard area; it’s like entering a magical little world that wouldn’t feel out of place within the winding alleyways of Tangiers.
Next Door at Good Neighbour Brewing Co.
Who doesn’t love a laneway patio, particularly one where every hour you’ll hear chimes from Westminster Church? The food from Next Door is deceptively refined, while Good Neighbour’s award-winning beers always hit the spot. Behind the main patio on artificial grass there’s a counter service bar and games like cornhole and a massive Connect Four.
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Ice cream
All these ice cream spots make their own ice cream, often using single-sourced local dairy because here in Winnipeg, we’re fancy like that.
Of course, this place has so many ice cream shops, so find our guide with the full scoops (and soft serve) here (opens in new window).
Bridge Drive In
A classic, specializing in super-rich soft serve since 1957 with a riverside location that allows you to stroll across the bridge. Go for something outrageous like The Sleeping Beauty – a half pineapple with a mountain of ice cream on top, or the signature Goog – a totally original concoction with blueberries, bananas and hot fudge.
Chaeban Ice Cream
Joseph Chaeban and Zainab Ali have racked up awards including Western Living Foodies of the Year and Canada’s Best Ice Cream and Best in Show Grand Champion at the 2022 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. A dairy scientist and cheesemaker by trade, Joseph uses all local milk to create ultra-creamy flavours that often pay homage to Lebanon and Syria.
Dug & Betty’s
From the locally famed food family the Kirouacs, Dug & Betty’s specializes in house-made ice cream and sorbettos that are daring and delicious. Strawberry balsamic with honey and black pepper, vegan cookie dough, and cassis and yogurt share billing with all your standard flavours, with many gluten-free and dairy-free options too.
Fête Ice Cream & Coffee
This elfin spot located beside a dog park excels at super smooth ice creams and all manner of cool treats. Owners Élise Page and Teri-Lynn Friesen creations are often gluten and dairy free, using bases like oat milk and coconut cream. They also have a kiosk on the Esplanade Riel.
Milksmith
This colourful spot on the Corydon strip knows how to work dairy, often in creative and crazy ways. Mixologist/owner Siuleen Leibl and her team are known for Insta-ready molecular gastronomy-style creations like ice cream tacos, mochi Hong Kong-style bubble waffle cones, foam-topped milkshakes and so many kinds of rolled ice cream.
Sargent Sundae
Since 1984 Sargent Sundae has been a St. James staple, with one peach of a location adjacent to the Assiniboine River Park Bridge to boot. The regular menu has 24 hard ice creams, soft serve, so many shakes, sundaes and novelties too, while come fall the pumpkin ice cream is legendary.