The chill is gone Winter dining options help Winnipeggers embrace the snowy season By: Eva Wasney Posted: 3:23 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025

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This article was published 28/01/2025 (237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ah, January. The coldest, darkest time of the year. A period ideal for hibernation, for staying indoors, for eating bowls of slop underneath piles of blankets while catching up on this year’s Best Picture nominees.

And yet, there are many reasons to leave the house right now. The winter dining season is in full swing, with a growing number of local restaurants and all-season patios offering novel outdoor experiences — frostbite be damned.

Winnipeg has always been a city defined by winter. Call it trauma bonding or communal identity, there’s a sense of camaraderie that comes with carrying on through months of drifting snow and biting windchill and scant sunlight.

Our climate is a source of hard-earned civic pride, whether you like it or not.

But it wasn’t until recently that Winnipeg started acting like a “winter city,” one in which the season isn’t merely tolerated, but celebrated by wide swaths of the population. And by enticing diners out into the cold, intrepid restaurants have played an important role in that shift.

Bundle up for a frosty tour of Winnipeg’s evolving winter dining scene.

Raw:Almond

Mandel Hitzer and Joe Kalturnyk were early adopters of cold-weather positivity.

Much ado was made in January 2013 when the local chef and designer opened their first fine-dining pop-up at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers.

The Forks had recently created a world record-breaking skating trail and its warming-hut competition was gathering steam. While the rivers were becoming a new winter hot spot, Raw:Almond was met with skepticism.

Free Press coverage at the time questioned the hows, whys and economics of the concept. Who in this city of renowned cheapskates would spend $85 for a five-course meal in a glorified tent on a frozen sheet of ice?

Hundreds of people, it turned out.

Raw:Almond sold out every night of its inaugural 16-day run and has since become a seasonal local gem, attracting chefs, diners and acclaim from across the globe.

The pop-up is on now until Feb. 16, with this year’s restaurant located in the greenspace east of Blue Cross Park. And despite tickets now selling for nearly $300 a pop, most seatings are sold out.

Cheap who? (Although you’d be forgiven for balking at those prices in this economy.) Visit raw-almond.org for more information.

The Den

Billed as “adventure dining,” The Den is the larger, colder, snowier cousin of Raw:Almond.

Opened in St. Adolphe in 2023 by Clint Masse, owner of A Maze in Corn, this massive cave-like restaurant is carved from 500,000 pounds of packed snow with tables hewn from slabs of river ice.

While impressive, the natural materials also make the concept more finicky. The Den failed to open last winter, owing to lack of snow.

It’s back this year, with nightly seatings Thursdays through Saturdays from Feb. 13 to March 15. Tickets are $244 per person for a five-course meal, cocktail, gratuity and optional entry to the onsite snow maze.

The menu comes from chef Luc Jean of WOW Catering and includes warm flatbread, red curry bisque, a salad with warm bacon vinaigrette, braised beef ribs and molten s’more cake — vegan and gluten-free versions available.

Notice the heat radiating from the names of those dishes? The interior of The Den is well-insulated from the elements, but since heating isn’t an option, the ambient temperature remains below 0 C. Full outdoor attire is recommended.

Visit thedenrestaurant.ca for reservations. Tickets must be paid in advance.

Cargo Bar

Thanks to pandemic-era changes to Winnipeg’s patio policies, local restaurants and beer gardens can keep their outdoor drinking and dining spaces open year-round, so long as a heat source is provided in the winter.

Cargo Bar has gotten creative with the latter by partnering with the Backyard Barrel, a roving sauna company.

Located across from the duck pond at Assiniboine Park, the bar and barrels are open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays for weekly pop-ups throughout the winter.

The saunas need to be booked in advance at thebackyardbarrel.com and are priced hourly at $40 per seat, $65 for a pair or $150 for a private rental for up to eight people. Bring a robe, swimsuit and sandals; there are change rooms onsite.

If you don’t feel like donning a robe in public, you can sip your beverage while warming up around the Cargo Bar fire pits. Cross-country skis and skates are also available to rent during the pop-ups, courtesy of Winnipeg Trails.

Boujee Restaurant and Bar

If you’ve ventured down Main Street recently, you may have noticed some super-sized orbs on the patio at Boujee Restaurant and Bar.

Located in the former home of Earls at 191 Main St., the restaurant has stepped outside the box — and into some plastic geodesic domes — during its first winter in business. The heated translucent tents are kitted with a low table, love seats and twinkle lights.

The domes are available to reserve for two-hour time slots most nights of the week from 4 p.m. to close, with a minimum $150 spend. Visit boujeerestaurantandbar.com to pick your spot: the oddly named Love and Family domes can accommodate six people, while the Country dome fits eight.

Fair warning, the domes (understandably) don’t operate in extreme cold. Call to confirm your booking if the temperature seems suspect.

Raw Bar

Winnipeg’s travelling seafood bar has docked at The Forks this winter for weekly outdoor oyster nights.

Every Thursday from now until the end of February, you can find Raw Bar Oyster Co. (no relation to Raw:Almond) on the patio overlooking the Assiniboine River.

The menu features a selection of East Coast shellfish — sold by the half or full dozen for about $3 per oyster — curated by local chef and oyster specialist Aaron Crawford.

The events run from 5 to 8 p.m., or until sold out, and include DJ entertainment, drinks from The Common and fire pits. Find Raw Bar on Instagram (@rawbaroysterco) for updates.

While you’re in the neighbourhood, toss on your skates or rent a pair for an oyster-fuelled toodle around The Forks Winter Park or the Nestaweya River Trail, both of which are fully open and in fine form this year.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com