Lunching With The Bros: Favourite Winnipeg Eateries Part 1

Favourite lunch restaurants in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Part 1 (A to K)

For more than a year beginning in the spring of 2023, my husband and his brothers had an almost weekly Wednesday lunch date. They tried out different eating spots in our home city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Although there were a few restaurants the brothers visited multiple times, for the most part they went to a different place each week. They avoided chains and chose independent, local restaurants. They were particularly partial to diner-style eateries and places that served breakfast all day (or at least until well into the afternoon). They also sought out ethnic restaurants to try a variety of cuisines.

It all started with a haircut. Nerve damage in my husband’s legs due to a degenerative neurological disease had led to him giving up his driving licence. Instead of trying to work with my schedule (busy at the time with babysitting grandchildren and a project I was working on) to find a date and time when I could drive him, he decided to ask one of his brothers. He offered to take his brother out for lunch after the haircut. After the lunch, they decided they should do the lunch part again the following week. The following week, they decided they should continue and ask the other two brothers to join them. A tradition began.

Some weeks all four brothers lunched. Other weeks, only two or three went out. Frequently, the young adult son of the partner of one brother joined them. And on the odd occasions, so did a spouse or two.

This post covers the first half of the restaurants that received the highest ratings from my husband. Look for the second half in an upcoming post. Restaurants are listed in alphabetical order. 

Al Basha Restaurant & Cafe

1566 Pembina Highway

Al Basha Restaurant & Cafe serves Middle Eastern food. Their extensive menu includes hot and cold mezze, a variety of salads, dinner platters which feature falafel, shish kobab, shawarma, tagine, wraps, panini, burgers, poutine, Manakeesh (Lebanese flat bread), and more.

Their website tells a bit about their name. They say they wanted a name that “was eternal and representative of the entire Middle East. . . Al Basha was a historical title bestowed by the Ottomans Sultans on aristocrats. The basha was, and is, a symbol of sophistication, culture, education and reflects the beauty of the Middle East.”

The brothers happened to visit this restaurant on Eid ul-Fitr. There was a festive atmosphere with many patrons clad in colourful traditional clothing.

Note that there is a Middle Eastern grocery store next to the restaurant.

Atiga Restaurant

329 William Avenue

Atiga Restaurant provides traditional West African cuisine. Located inside a rather drab and nondescript building, the restaurant’s interior is decorated with African scarves, trinkets, and drums.

The brothers specified a price point and asked to have a selection of dishes chosen for them. Their meal included jollof rice (a popular spiced rice and tomato-based West African dish), fried rice and chicken, and moin-moin (also known as moi-moi, a steamed or boiled bean pudding made of beans and onions, red peppers, spices, and often fish, eggs, chicken and/or crayfish).  They also had pondo yam, which is made from yam flour mixed with water and cooked to a dough-like consistency. My husband said it resembled a large boiled egg. They dipped slices into Efo Riro, a thick vegetable soup. For dessert, they were given puff-puffs, a popular West African street food made of fried dough similar to a doughnut. My husband was not a fan of the puff-puffs, but he really enjoyed the rest of the meal.

The menu includes a variety of other African foods.

Bernstein’s Deli

1-1700 Corydon Avenue

Bernstein’s Deli is a family-owned and operated traditional delicatessen in business since 1985. Their menu includes all-day breakfasts and old-fashioned homemade comfort food. You’ll find classic items such as cold sandwiches, grilled sandwiches, burgers, and chicken fingers as well as traditional Jewish deli items such as knishes, latkes, and gefilte fish. Soups are made from scratch. Fresh baking is brought in daily from Gunn’s Bakery and City Bread.

My husband recommended the House Corned Beef Reuben Deluxe. He said the home-made corned beef was soft, juicy, and tender.  I have eaten here a number of times over the years as well and have never been disappointed.

The deli also operates as a small grocery store with baked items, deli meats, frozen soups, and frozen meals for sale.

BMC Market

722 Osborne Street

BMC Market has two locations in the city. The brothers visited the Osborne Street location several times. It was definitely a favourite. The other location is on Henderson Highway.

The Osborne Street location has a welcoming atmosphere with friendly staff. You order at the counter to eat in or take out. There is a small area for in-house dining. They have great tacos and quesadillas. Their potato salad, which has a consistency close to mashed potatoes, is also very good. They have Mexican sodas and Jamaica, an iced tea made with dried hibiscus flower. Horchata, a Mexican drink made of rice, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon, is available when eating in-house.

BMC Market started as a Mexican products store. It expanded to offer tacos a couple of years later and is now known more as a taco place than a store. However, you will still find a variety of Mexican food products for sale.

It is worth mentioning that the take-out menu includes a family pack special.

Deen’s Caribbean Restaurant and Patio

205 Marion Street

Deen’s Caribbean Restaurant and Patio has been serving Caribbean food in Winnipeg since the 1970s. You can get Caribbean curries served either on a plate with rice or in rotis. Their menu also includes Jerk Chicken, doubles, and Jamaican beef patties. My husband was partial to their chicken rotis.

Dug & Betty’s Ice Creamery

309 Des Meurons Street

Dug & Betty’s Ice Creamery serves small batch gourmet ice cream creations, but it also serves a lot more than ice cream. Its food menu includes soup, artisanal hot dogs and sandwiches, and a variety of main dishes that include shepherd’s pie, mac and cheese, beef bourguignon, spaghetti, and quesadillas. The Parisian-inspired setting offers a more upscale diner vibe.

Habesha Ethiopian Restaurant

594 Ellice Avenue

Some Tripadvisor reviews suggest Habesha Ethiopian Restaurant may be the best place in Winnipeg for Ethiopian food. Ethiopian food is typically served on a communal platter designed for sharing, accompanied with injera, a spongy slightly-sour pancake-like bread made from teff flour. The injera is used to scoop up the various stews, curries, and vegetables on the platter. The brothers sampled a variety of dishes this way. My husband enjoyed the food as well as the décor of the place.

A particular highlight was the Ethiopian coffee served at the end of the meal. Served and poured in a ritual manner, it was strong and delicious.

Garwood Grill

435 Pembina Highway

Garwood Grill has been serving home-cooked meals for decades. It is well-known for its pizza. It also serves burgers and a wide variety of classic dinners, which include steak, fish and chips, spaghetti, chicken fingers, souvlaki, hot turkey and hot beef sandwiches, veal cutlet, pork chops, and more. There is an extensive breakfast menu. Although the brothers only made it to this restaurant once, I (and my husband) have eaten here a number of times over the years and enjoyed our meals. Note that the restaurant closes for two months during the summer.

Hoagie Boyz

513 Osborne Street

A hoagie is a bread roll sandwich piled high with deli meats, cheese, fixings and dressing, and is usually at least six inches long. 

The sandwiches at Hoagie Boyz are served on 10-inch Italian sesame rolls from Gunn’s Bakery. You’ll find Italian deli meats, turkey, breaded eggplant, ham and cheese, and Montreal smoked meat among the fillings on their sandwich menu. The sandwiches are filled with a lot of other garnishes as well. Examples include shredded lettuce, sub sauce, pepperoncini, onion, marinated fennel, and Ceasar dressing, to name a few.  You can also pass on the roll and make any of their sandwiches a salad.

My husband had a large turkey hoagie, which he said was excellent.

JC Taco’s And More

187 Henderson Highway

The family-owned and operated Latin American restaurant JC Taco’s And More is located in a brick and stone structure that was a former post office. It is a lively and colourful place. The family relies on decades-old family recipes. The menu includes tamales, empanadas, pupusas, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas, tostados, taco salad, and soups.

You order at the counter, but the food is brought to your table. My husband sang the praises of the tostados.

Johnny’s on Marion Restaurant

382 Marion Street

John and Georgia Andromidas, who immigrated to Canada from Greece with their family in 1972, opened Johnny’s Marion Restaurant in 1977. Today their three sons carry on the tradition.

They have a very extensive menu of breakfast options (including eggs, omelettes, pancakes and French toast), burgers, sandwich platters, wraps, and diner-type meals.

The brothers appreciated the breakfast selection. My husband enjoyed the atmosphere and the food.

A Favourite In Limbo

Eddy’s Place at 669 Selkirk Avenue has been a long-time North End institution. It was one of the few places the brothers visited more than once. The old-fashioned diner, open for breakfast and lunch, dates to the 1950s when it was a combination barbershop/pool hall. It started serving food in the 1970s and the décor took you back in time to that era.

The menu included a variety of breakfast dishes, home-made soups, burgers, piled-high sandwiches, and perogies. My husband especially recommended the corned beef. The place was worth going to for the food alone, but the atmosphere made it especially welcoming. There was a tangible community atmosphere that you felt part of.

In fall of 2024, new owners took over the restaurant. A comment on their Facebook page said New owner wants all the same….some tweaks in future. However, the restaurant closed for “restructuration” on October 21, 2024 and, as of the writing of this post, remains closed. I hope to visit when/if it reopens and find out whether or not it has retained the essence of what made it a favourite.

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This post is dedicated to the memory of my husband Rick, who passed away August 27, 2024.