It’s been a hot summer… for new restaurant openings!
If you’re looking some stoner-food subs to slam, Caribbean in East Kildonan, and pizza and veg-forward sides courtesy of the city’s most darling hospitality group, then you’ve been in luck these past two months. On top of that, we’re going to start the guide below with one of Winnipeg’s biggest name chefs taking over its smallest room, so we can’t put those post-Segovia blues behind us.
Dig in!
New restaurants
Petit Socco (256 Stafford Street) – If you’ve been looking to join a Segovia support group these past two years no worries–this new spot has you covered. Chef Adam Donnelly is officially back in a kitchen with Petit Socco, a new small plates space that’s been created with his with his partner, the ever-so gracious Courtney Molaro.
As many locals will know, the former head chef and co-owner of Segovia, Winnipeg’s famed and most nationally acclaimed spot (it always made the Canada’s 100 list, while garnering rave-reviews from all) has been making bread for various restaurants since he closed the restaurant in 2020 while constantly being asked, “when are you going to open up a new spot?”.
Well that time has come, with the couple taking over the former tiny home of Close Company—which had just made that aforementioned Canada’s 100 list this year. The space holds just 12 diners inside, with a few patio seats outdoors, making reservations a must. The seven-dish menu will change as the seasons progress, with Donnelly operating out of the open kitchen and Molaro (whom locals will recognize from serving at so many great restaurant in the city) running the front of the house. The current menu has much in the way of Mediterranean flavours (Petit Socco is a district in Tangier, Morocco), so you can expect simplistic-seeming dishes beautifully executed and bursting with flavour. It just opened last night (Wednesday, Aug 17) and we have our resos ready for next week and simply can’t wait.
You can book your table by calling 204.306.7522. between 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., while the restaurant will operate Wednesday to Saturday, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Read our full review here (updated on Aug 26).
Hoagie Boyz (513 Osborne Street) – The team behind the popular pandemic ghost kitchen Kosmo’s Space Cowboy Food Cantina now have their own shop on South Osborne. Having opened earlier this summer in the former home of I Heart BBQ, chef/owners Nyk Bielak and Stefan Lytwyn (whose credentials also include deer + almond) and Nick Luchak and Jesse Angers have been celebrating shredduce, sauces galore and shaved meats on Italian buns baked fresh each morning from Gunn’s Bakery. Their creations are piled high (which here might be a double entendre) with fitting sides like macaroni salad and a crunchy chips/cheezies/cornuts combo. Don’t let the tongue-in-cheek menu fool you–as you’ll read in this fab piece by Eva Wasney, anincredible amount of work goes into these glorious creations.
Open Tuesday to Saturday, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m, but do try to get there well before close as they tend to sell out. Full menu here.
Parcel Pizza (221-A Stradbrook Avenue) – Our fondness for The Roost/Oxbow crew is no secret, so we were super stoked when they ventured into the pizza realm earlier in June with Parcel. Much like their first two rooms, this one is a charmer too, as the team looked to Fireside Design to create this space that sits on the street level of a brand-new building just outside of downtown beside the Winter Club. Like everything Fireside does, the results are stunning, with a ground floor bar/lounge featuring plush blue banquettes to service four-tops, and an upstairs dining room featuring rich red booths that invite you in. The attention to detail is all there, from a checkerboard second floor, apropos lights including Tiffany-style shades above the booth, to the use of wood, rails and rich dark colours. It’s like a chic homage to retro pizza joints.
As to the 16” pies, lovely stuff. The crust is both airy and chewy and our faves so far include the vegan Magpie—a celebration of richness with gorgonzola, fresh mozza and a medly of mushrooms on a white sauce, and the Cheeseburger with its red sauce, fennel sausage, dill pickle (which works brilliantly at adding acidity to the pie) and “gold sauce” drizzle (get a ranch to dip too.) The sides are no afterthought, with a radicchio Caesar with blitzed croutons; simple garlic scapes that shine with horseradish aioli and truffle oil; and jalapeños stuffed with smoked goldeye, cream cheese, lemony chermoula smothered in a ravigote sauce for extra acidity and creaminess. This place is busy, so order your takeout early in the afternoon to guarantee your pizzas that night, while you should reserve ahead for the time you want in the dining room.
Open Sunday to Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to midnight. Here’s the website so you can book a reso or order pickup.
D&M Caribbean Flava (885 Molson Street) – Mardel Maduro is our main man for Caribbean recommendations and right now this fellow from the British Virgin Islands is all about D&M. This Jamaican joint opened in June in and it has all the staples, including curried goat, a number of jerk dishes and pepper shrimp. Have a group and can’t decide? The family dinners offer rice, salad, festival and plantain along with your choice of jerk chicken, fried chicken or curried goat with fried chicken. They also do breakfast starting at 7 a.m., with a menu that includes ackee and salt fish with fried dumpling and plantain.
Open Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday until 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Here’s the website.
*Stay tuned on Monday for our follow-up on September food festivals!
