FEAST CAFE BISTRO
Neighbourhood: West End
Address: 587 Ellice Avenue
Phone: 204-691-5979
Entrees: $15 – $38
At the hands of chef owner Christa Bruneau-Guenther, Manitoba regional ingredients speak with added significance. Feast Café and Bistro opened in 2016 as Canada’s first Indigenous cuisine restaurant serving Metis inspired cuisine. As she continues to bring Indigenous cooking to the forefront of Canada’s food scene – winning attention of local newspapers and national food media – Bruneau-Guenther is at once putting health, culture and the stories of her people on the table, educating and empowering as she goes.
The narrow dining room at the corner Ellice Avenue space remains distinct on the west end’s Asian food corridor. A stunning piece of antler art and large black and white photos of prairie scenery and traditional symbols—a canoe, a tipi, bannock cooking over a fire—add meaningful intimacy to the lively space.
On the menu are homey staples, like bison chili—twists on comfort fare that would be at home in many kitchens—alongside preparations that have spanned generations, like the pillowy bannock that forms the basis of many dishes. And though taco and pizza toppings piled on the airy frybread are exemplary mainstays for regulars, dishes have evolved, reflecting expanding tastes and global culinary exploration.
Food is beautifully presented, filling and well executed. Wild rice noodles, bison sirloin, corn and sweetgrass infused spicy garlic ginger oil add distinct depth to an exemplary and robust Japanese inspired ramen bowl that may possibly outshine the classic. Similarly, local flavour is added to a bowl of Thai inspired red curry with the addition of bison or pickerel to a wild rice, squash, beans and carrots mix.
Hearty entrées stay on point, casting aside supermarket staples. Wild lake fish sourced from local Indigenous people and Manitoba bison are the preferred main ingredients for a selection of dishes. Bison short rib is perfectly braised, and shines on a plate garnished with mashed potato and squash, carrots and beans. Sliding a forkful through the wild blueberry, juniper demi-glace garners blissful bites.
A slice of homey strawberry rhubarb pie and scoop of sweetgrass ice cream makes a lasting impression, representing a celebratory reclamation of First Nations food.
