I have a new favourite place. I was in Winnipeg, preparing for a move there, scoping out properties, etc. My realtor had to meet with another client, so I asked her to drop me at McNally Robinson/Prairie Ink. I ordered the French Onion soup and the Brie, Date and Bacon sandwich. Both were INCREDIBLE. The seasoning was perfect, just the right temperature, and the cutie who served me was an extra nice touch. SO friendly and when I told him I was moving to town and didn't have a readers card yet because I was waiting to join the Writers Guild, he applied the discount anyway, because he knew they'd be seeing a lot of me in the future. For dessert, I ordered a piece of carrot cake for later. It turned out to be MASSIVE, with delicious whipped cream, mounds of cream cheese, and chock full of pineapple, nuts and carrot. I'm still dreaming of that cake. I can't WAIT to hit town so I can come back! read more

I had lunch today at Prairie Ink Restaurant in Grant Park Mall with my client ... it is in McNally Robinson Booksellers, which has a lot of cool things in addition to books. I ordered Bake Mac n' Cheese (minus the parmesan crust). I swapped the salad for the soup of the day (chicken and barley). When my meal arrived, I was surprised to see the salad but started eating some of it. When Joseph, our server, realized that I'd received a salad instead of the soup, he offered to make it right by bringing the soup. I'm not a fan of salads but said not to worry about it. The mac n' cheese was delicious ... I don't order mac n' cheese very often and this was the best mac n' cheese EVER!! I could have eaten more more more of this! Joseph was friendly and nice and took good care of us. read more

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I love the atmosphere of being surrounded by the book store. We stopped in for a post-movie snack and it was not cheap. I went for the Reuben and it was okay. Nothing special but also nothing wrong with it. A reasonable portion and the meat was tender. The others had some soups and salads and it was all pretty much the same feeling, okay but nothing that catches your attention. read more

The bread they bring out first was deliciously soft and doughy. The bread was a 5 star! This restaurant is very trendy and the vibe is cool. The Caesar salad was creamy but a bit too vinegar-y and that's why I am rating it 4 stars. I loved how easy it was to make an adjustment to my meal though, I asked the waitress if I could add feta cheese to the salad and the waitress said "we can do it, no problem!" I enjoyed eating it. The salad was big, great portion for the price. Waitress was polite and nice, she smiled and greeted us well. read more

Prairie Ink Restaurant - Cranberry juice and bread - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

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We often stop in here before a movie in the mall for a quick coffee and dessert and we still can't figure out why. While we love the Friday and Saturday night live music in the evening, it's the service we always end up complaining about. This may be the last straw for us when it took 40 minutes to get two coffees and cakes. Not to mention we had to chase down our bill in half-full restaurant to make sure we weren't late for our movie. Service is always slightly off. This time included when the server showed up to our table and didn't even greet us. She opened her notebook and flat out asked what we're having. It was incredibly awkward. We had to ask another server to see if we could get our bill and that again was awkward when she gave us the bill and just hovered without saying a word. It's too bad because the atmosphere is lovely but awkward situations make you quickly forget how nice this place can really be. read more

This is McNally Robinson bookstore's casual restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. It's always busy but the best part is that you can you spend your time perusing the books and magazines in the store after you leave your name with the host/hostess and they'll page you when your tables up. It's a cozy place to drop in for a meal or just a coffee. There's a lot of comfort food and a good number of lighter choices too. It's sort of similar to Stella's. I like that everything is made from scratch here. Many of the dishes are pretty standard run of the mill cafe stuff you'd expect like quiche, soups, salads, pastas, pizzas but there are a number of internationally inspired dishes like West African Peanut soup, samosas, teriyaki beef stirfry to name a few. Also, a lot of the dishes are gluten-free too. The West African Peanut soup ($5.25) is rich and delicious vegetarian soup. Quesadilla ($9.95) is okay..nothing special. The pear and blue cheese salad is actually pretty good considering that I have a love hate relationship with blue cheese. The blue cheese goes well with the pears and the nice berry vinaigrette. The Bison Burger ($12.95) comes with BBQ sauce, lettuce, onion, tomato, cheddar cheese, mayo and is served with a side of tangy coleslaw, sliced pickle and a side of baked potato wedges. I love bison burgers since they're so lean - I feel less guilty on a caloric level! I don't like BBQ sauces on burgers so I opted for none on mine. The potato wedges were seasoned well and cooked perfectly. The vegetable lasagna ($14.50) is a very generous portion of ooey gooey goodness. I love meat but I didn't miss it in this vegetarian dish. I loved that they roasted the vegetable fillings - it provided a more layered flavour in the dish. Lots of ricotta cheese and mozzarella! And the marinara sauce was rich and robust. It also came with a mixed green salad on the side. There's beer, wine, liqueurs, cocktails, juices, and smoothies. Also, there's lots of desserts to choose from but I'm not a huge fan of sweets so I can't comment. Sometimes there's live jazz in the evenings and readings by authors in the cafe. The crowd leans to the older set but the place can get pretty loud once it fills up. read more

What a joke. They seated us with no menu and ignored us for 20 minutes. Lots of restaurant staff loitering around. We left and someone thanked us for coming in. Puzzled, I told her we weren't served. She just said "sorry about that". This place really needs a manager. read more

Over a year later and nothing has changed. Went here for coffee and a sweet. Was seated quickly, but then nothing happened. Waited, waited, waited.... Waitresses cleaned tables around us and ignored us. A lady at the table next to us had to get up and go behind the servery to ask for a coffee refill. We left after 10 min and went to Salisbury house where we were served right away. If I could give zero stars, I would. read more

I like the unique options and break down of what your getting in terms of gluten free, the spice level and vegan options. The food is mainly very healthy. I love their smoothies and desserts. The prices are not too bad. Whenever I go to a restaurant I expect to pay more than fast food dining. The service can be snail slow. The servers are not the most accommodating. Even when ordering at their to-go cafe just outside the dining area. Sometimes you have to wait to be seated, other times you seat yourself. The restaurant tends to be booked for parties or some other event, so call ahead and make sure it's open to everyone that day. The view is odd as it's just the mall's parking lot. Décor is mainly photos of some popular Canadian authors. There is a big tree type of plant and the tables are ink colored. Hence, Prairies Ink Cafe. The size of the tables are small. The coffee is delicious and so is the food. The food tends to take a long time getting out. Sometimes the host won't seat you due to the restaurant being full. There has been times we were turned away. read more

Staff very rude to delivery drivers (DOOR DASH) DELIVERY DRIVERS I suggest you STEER CLEAR from this restaurant of you want to save yourself from a headache and rude snobby experience. Clicked arrived when I was walking in from parking lot had about 5-7 min to spare before actual pick up time. Came in with 5 min to spare for pick-up. All three staff members were behind the counter giving me a stare down like I just killed their cats. The woman behind the counter asked me why I clicked arrived when I wasn't in front of the 'actual restaurant' (which located in the McNally Robinson Bookstore) and that it's been a couple minutes when there was still a lot of time for pick-up on my app. Gave me crazy attitude and told me all of the drivers have been doing this all day? Oh well that's nice so all of her frustration was taken out on me. The bookstore shares the same address as the restaurant if the driver arrives on location it'll be lot when they get to the bookstore. Please specify in your instructions if you want the driver to NOT CONFIRM until they are right in FRONT OF YOU. Also, be mindful and know that we can't just zoom into the building there's a lot of foot and vehicle traffic in front of your bookstore. I've eaten here before the food isn't even that great. 2-3 out 5 at best. When you walk in there they act like it 529 Wellington what a joke. read more

Delicious specialty coffees and teas and a large selection of fresh baked sweets. My faves: strudel and fruit flan-style cups. Personal pizzas for the kids (or the kid inside!) are quite good. A fave of mine is the African Peanut Soup. Very, very good. Service has always been excellent too. Try hitting Prairie Ink when there's some music, like the Burtons! Smooth tunes and cool eats. :) read more

This is a neat little restaurant.. I've never dined in a bookstore before. Some friends had a craving for the sweet potato perogies so we made the trek over. Apparently they were amazing just like last time. I ordered the grilled Veggie sandwich. It had zucchini, eggplant, roasted red pepper, cheese and I can't remember what else exactly. It was decent. Not the best I've ever had because it wasn't the most flavourful, but I'd still order it again I think, if I were to come back. The service was good but for some reason we got stuck in the back and surrounded by senior citizens. Maybe we're really obnoxious. read more

This is my place when I come to Winnipeg. Sooooo good. Great atmosphere and yummy yummy food.

Convenient location but can be very loud . Prices are somewhat expensive . Can be very busy at times but service is good - just a little crowded and noisy . read more

Favorite Restaurant This is my favorite because they make all the food there in their own kitchens and pay close attention to nutrition, flavour and general appeal for the public diners. I eat here often when shopping at McNally Robinson, the best book source in Winnipeg. If you like good music, art, literature and fine food this is a must try. I just wanted to update my review. I was at work today and we had catering by Prairie Ink! I didn't know they catered too. read more

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Lovely atmosphere. Our server was very friendly. I ordered breakfast with basted eggs. The first eggs were way undercooked so they took them back and when they brought them back they were completely overdone. I ate them anyway because I was hungry, she kindly offered to redo them but I had already eaten some do I said it's ok. When I got the bill they had taken my breakfast off. I was very pleased at that kind of service. I would definitely go back and try again. read more

Not too bad here. Kinda seems like a hipster place OR a place for elderly people. I tried the Bison Burger, it was great! The bun was amazing, the food was amazing, the staff was great. There are 3 reasons to go to Grant /Park Mall, is this is 1 of the 3 reasons. Keep up the good work, but please get some better desserts. read more

French Onion soup too salty. African Peanut soup way too thick. Service very slow and had to practically beg for more water.

This place is so overpriced and the service was rude and my vegan burger was so so so dry

Great relaxing place for a nice lunch. Food has never disappointed but can be pricey. Though the friendly staff, great tea menu and atmosphere make it worth the price. Can be fun browsing around the bookstore after dining too! read more

My wife and I always come here for lunch and have had the tortiere the last few times. We lobe it and we always buy the African soup to take home. Also a favorite of ours. This was our first dinner at Prairie Ink in many years. We had a couple of bad experiences in the past but things have much improved since our last dinner visit. The menu has changed quite a bit. It used to be more burgers and sandwiches but now it's a full on dinner menu. We started with crab stuffed prawns. A winner for both of us who love seafood and we also had the ribs. Beef short ribs bathed in a tangy barbecue sauce with just a hint of grilled smokiness. Dare I say the best in the city? They were topped with mini onion rings that I would like to eat a plate full of. Our server suggested the sangria and we enjoyed it very much. Refreshing and fruity and ice cold. It was hot out so our drinks went down with ease. The hostess at the door informed us that there was some kind of musical event going on this night but we didn't really catch what it was. We were heading out to a move after so we didn't pay much attention. I had the steak and mushrooms for my main dish and my wife had one of their feature summer salads, the Thai Peanut. We shard our food and shared our sangria when the music began. This was a show made up of armature songwriters that were performing their music for the crowd. Despite the place being full we got excellent service and sat and enjoyed the show. Both of us were amazed at the talent that we saw and heard. We had no idea there were so many singers and songwriters undiscovered in Winnipeg! One after another they just kept coming. I'm not sure how many we saw but before we knew it we were too late to catch the movie but we didn't care. W stayed right until the end and closed the place out. It was a great evening of food and music. We also loved the art that was hanging on the walls. We are also art lovers and this has always been one of the things that we look forward to seeing when we come to this restaurant. The art changes from time to time so we are always interested to see what's new. If you're looking for a great place to dine inside or on the patio they have one of those too. Prairie Ink is an oasis in the city of fin food, wine and many other things. We will be back soon. read more

This is a great place for lunch and has a number of very unique menu items. The food is always great. The only downside is that it is always very crowded and the service can be a tad slow as a result. read more

We came at 11:00 AM and after ordering the African Peanut and Pumpkin soups, I read the Yelp reviews and found i disagreed with all the slow service comments. The soups were unusual and delicious, the waitress with the unique name, Milan was friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is relaxing and pairs perfectly with the MacNally bookstore attached. A great mental health stop. read more

This is a good place to take your mom for lunch.The food is normally pretty good but I went their for breakfast this week and my eggs were totaly raw inside it was gross. The service this last time was quite slow, she was the only one on and didnt seem to be in a rush to go anywhere, but she was nice enough about getting my eggs re cooked. I would eat here again but its not one of my favorites. read more

Valentines Day Dinner: Last night my girlfriend and I went to the Grant Park Mall for dinner and a movie. We are both lovers of books and we often browse the McNally Robinson bookstore attached to the mall. They have a great restaurant ton the corner of the bookstore called Prairie Ink. We thought we'd go for dinner there before our movie started but were not sure if we'd have time but decided to go anyway. It was lucky for us that we called and booked a table ahead of time becaise this place was jumping! Every table was full and the smells and sounds of the restaurant were amazing as we got close to the entrance! We told our waitress that we were in a rush and she said that she would let the chef know. We were in and out in 45 minutes. Awesome! There was a fixed menu with options so we thought we would try a bit of everything. I ordered the full five courses and my Valentine chose three. The food was beautiful, hot and fast as requested. We were given a complimentary apetizer that was followed by soup, salad, sorbet. We chose lamb plus the surf and turf for our main entres and one of each desert. We had a few drinks and ended with a great cup of coffee. (we love the coffee here). We left full and our bill was quite reasonable. The service was excellent so we left our fine waitress a healthy tip for a job well done. The movie turned out to be a bust but the dinner more than made up for it. They gave us a great Valentine evening and we will be back soon! Thanks Prairie Ink! From CJ and Roger read more

My wife and I love this restaurant. We eat here all the time. We always have excellent service and the food is great! We love the Caesar Salad. It's the best in the city. Last weekend we saw the Shuckers. They're a great band and we ate dinner by candlelight. It's a romantic setting hidden in the corner of the Mc Nally Robinson at Grant Park Mall. For dinner we had our favorite salad. I had the Steak and mushrooms and my wife had the chicken. We always share and both entrees were fantastic. My steak was done to perfection and the chicken was flavourful and juicy. We also has a slice of a to die for chocolate cake for dessert. We were full, happy, and didn't leave with empty pockets! This place is a gem. We stopped at the little bakery kiosk in the bookstore and took home some treats for later. We'll be back soon! : ) read more

I love McNally Robinson and I really enjoy the food at Prairie Ink. I've used it as my mom escape night for years. Tonight will be my last time though. I have put up with the slow and rude service for too long. Hostess made me feel like an idiot for dining alone. Made a show of trying to find a table even though most of the place was empty. Tons of big tables but they put me at a small one, even though I had a fairly large book I just bought in my hands. Had to try to find a place to rest it to read. Brought soup and salad at the same time. Would have been nice to have a break between the two. Table was packed with plates and it was hard find a place to put everything. Had to keep asking for water. She came to check on my meal as I took my last couple of bites. Took forever for plates to be cleared. Had to ask for more hot water for my tea. Waited and waited for my bill. Finally got up to pay at the front. There are serving staff walking around, chatting in the back, watering flowers but nobody seems too worried about serving guests. I was a waitress for years and find this kind of lazy service inexcusable. read more

While shopping in Grant Park mall today I went into the McNally Robinson Bookstore. I had never eaten in the restaurant inside there before so I thought I'd try it out. Being a Tolkien fan I had to try the Second Breakfast.(I laughed when I read the name). I was surprised that they served breakfast so late into the afternoon too. My waitress told me that they serve breakfast until 2:00 pm on Sundays for those that like to sleep in. This was no typical breakfast. I got a triangular platter with eggs, hash browns, farmers sausage, homemade bread (toasted) and an apple pancake and a good sized portion of fresh fruit. Second breakfast indeed it was! I love to eat and breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. The food was delicious and the pancake was definitely the fluffiest I've ever had. I 'm not sure what kind of spices they use in their pancakes but it was so good I had to write in about it. The service was friendly and the coffee was hot and fresh. I'll go to bed tonight dreaming about hobbits eating apple pancakes and sausages. I wonder if they'll come up with a Thirdsies? read more