Summer days, summer nights

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/05/2017 (3415 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Perhaps no one loves dining and drinking al fresco more than Winnipeggers. Our truncated summer season means we need to cram in our outdoor activities — and what better way to while away the sunny days and long, light-filled evenings than with a frosty beverage on a city patio?

Here are some new, new-ish and coming-soon spots where you can soak up the sun and watch the world go by this summer. It’s by no means a complete list — let us know where your favourite new patios are springing up.

● Though it opened late last year, it’s worth mentioning the wee patio at Close Co., 256 Stafford St., since its 10-seat capacity effectively doubles the seating at the tiny pocket lounge. The opening this year has been delayed owing to a licensing issue (the restaurant must install a service window so liquor isn’t being conveyed via the street), but it should be in operation by June. 1. The owners are taking advantage of the slight delay to plan some additional beautification. Once it’s a go, we suggest trying a plate of nachos and the Gardener cocktail (gin, strawberry-jalapeno shrub, ginger, lime and soda press).

● Just a block up the road, Máquè, 909 Dorchester Ave., is also expanding its footprint with a licensed patio at the front of the building on the corner of Stafford Street and Dorchester Avenue. It’s also scheduled to open June 1 with seating for 12 to 14. The restaurant’s full Asian fusion menu will be available.

● Peg Beer Co., 125 Pacific Ave., has a casual picnic-table patio — set into a nook along the side of the building — that’s perfectly suited to the Exchange District brew pub’s congenial vibe. Head down on a Sunday and you can enjoy a family-friendly combo of Faspa (shareable platter of cheese, spreads, preserves and house-made rolls), two 16-ounce beers for the adults and board games for $30.

● Torque Brewing, 330-830 King Edward St., isn’t in the most picturesque of neighbourhoods, but the tap room is making the most of the fact that its industrial location gives it plenty of room to expand. Torque president John Heim says the patio behind the building, which is away from traffic and has a western exposure, seats 16 and features movable cedar planters to prettify the parking-lot ambience (it’s awaiting final inspection but should be open this weekend). Like all local tap rooms, Torque only serves snacks, but imbibers are welcome to bring their own food or order in via Skip the Dishes. Plans are also in the works to have food trucks — including Little Truck on the Prairie, Winnipeg Old Country hotdogs and Little Bones Wings — on site on weekends.

The massive renovation at Brazen Hall, 800 Pembina Hwy., included plans for a new 80-seat patio in front of the former Round Table. However, the theft of the outdoor furniture during the reno put a dent in that plan. Director of operations Kris Kopansky says the brew pub’s patio — which will include a commercial smoker and a huge bike rack — should be completed by the end of June. Until then, the existing 35-seat glassed-in space will be utilized; he hopes to open it up to customers next week. Brazen Hall has five beers on tap — catch the sunset and enjoy a flight (a quarter-pint of each) for $10.

In the Exchange District, Forth, 171 McDermot Ave. — already home to a hidden rooftop patio serving beer, wine and cava (now open Thursday to Saturday at 4 p.m.) which seats 24, with great views of the turn-of-the century buildings — is taking its austere design esthetic to the streets with a beautiful curved wooden bench and wood-topped tables. The sidewalk patio (seating for 35) is licensed with full table service from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Executive director Megan Heke recommends the Fancy Float (Fernet Branca, cold brew, saskatoon-peppercorn ice cream and soda, served in the café and street patio) or one of manager Renée Girard’s house-made shrubs (raspberry ginger cardamom and grape lavender lemon) which can be enjoyed simply as a soda, or with added gin or pisco.

King Street gets two new additions to keep the popular patios outside the King’s Head Pub and Peasant Cookery company. Asian eatery Chosabi and sandwich shop King + Bannatyne (both at 100 King St.) have commandeered a former loading zone for their new outdoor seating areas (30 seats per restaurant). During festival season, these will be prime spots to enjoy the entertainment on the Cube stage in Old Market Square while enjoying an iced Vietnamese coffee or a smoked brisket sammie and a bourbonade. King + Bannatyne’s space, soon to be decked with lights, has a built-in outdoor bar and space for a DJ to set up — head down earlier in the afternoon if you want to catch some rays, later in the evening if you want to catch happy hour (4 to 6 p.m. nightly).

When the Lincoln Motor Hotel became the Four Crowns Inn, 1030 McPhillips St., part of the renovation was a 60-seat outdoor lounge, a nice addition in the patio-starved Inkster area. The glassed-in area at the front of the hotel makes it a little oasis away from the traffic noise. The service is excellent, there are lots of beers on tap (including a couple of crafts), and a selection of burgers that includes the Pinoy Tocino (topped with Filipino-style cured pork, a fried egg and Sriracha) and Le Burger Canadien (cheese curds, gravy, maple syrup and bacon).

Another patio-bereft area is St. James, but Underdogs, 2609 Portage Ave., is planning to rectify that this summer. The sports bar (in the former Dylan O’Connor’s location) is planning a wrap-around space that will run down Thompson Drive, which gets the afternoon sun, and around the back of the building; the restaurant has applied for a licence and is hoping to be up and running by the end of June. Seasonal specialities at the pub include a summertime sangria (white wine, coconut vodka and pineapple, and ginger ale) and an “adult Slurpee” they call the John Daly: tequila, Triple Sec, lemonade slushie and iced tea.

Half Pints Brewing Co., 550 Roseberry St., is hoping to have a permanent patio along the side of its building by next summer, but manager Zach Mesman has come up with a stop-gap mesasure for this year. By installing a service window, the tap room can comply with its liquor licence and still allow patrons to enjoy what “Sunny St. James” has to offer — possibly while enjoying a Texas Radler shandy, made with house-made Texas grapefruit syrup and (what else?) St. James pale ale.

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @dedaumier