Visited on a weekday for lunch with a work colleague (we were visiting from out of town). Was pretty empty when we arrived around noon which was surprising. The restaurant had lots of tables and a big bar area in the middle, the decor was fun/arty. Our server was nice and checked on us a couple of times which was appreciated. We both ordered the KFC sandwich and it was delicious. Lots of other items on the menu sounded good, I'd return to try more. read more

The Merchant Kitchen - Fried chicken sam so good!! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

A great place to visit before a jet's game make a reservation sit at the bar top excellent service and a unbelievable tasting menu

Overall we enjoyed our meal at The Merchant Kitchen. The atmosphere was cool and laid back. Lots of seating at the bar and also as the back around the kitchen area. The calamari was good but lacked some flavour. The chips and dip was plentiful and the guacamole had a nice kick to it. The Cuban sliders were incredible... so flavourful. The pollo tacos had a great combination of slaw and pico but the chicken needed some more moisture. The service was good and we would definitely go back. read more

See all

Heading to the Jets game tonight and decided to grab dinner at The Merchant Kitchen. This place is phenomenal, from the food to the service they are truly amazing! We started with carnitas tacos- wow!!! The flavor and quality of ingredients will blow you away. Dan Dan noodles were out of this world! Cooked to perfection and the mix of spices gives you an unbelievable flavor. This will forever be our go to place, pre-Jets games as well as any time I'm in Winnipeg! Highly recommend, must try! read more

The Merchant Kitchen - Carnitas Tacos- WOW! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Excellent food & service. We had the Carnitas & Dan Dan Noodles and enjoyed both dishes. Parking is not great when there is an event downtown. read more

I spent a couple weeks in Winnipeg for business and ate/drank at the Merchant Kitchen at least 5-6 times. The food was great and well prepared; the chips and salsa were especially awesome. However, what makes this place special is the staff. They were not only knowledgeable but very friendly and inviting as well as attentive to all of their customers. Great menu and great drinks. I'll be back on my next trip. read more

Smoked Jerk Chicken tacos were unreal! Travel to Winnipeg a lot and The Merchant is going to fall on my short list of go to places! Good beer too! read more

Definitely a 3-Star option. The Merchant kitchen is adjacent to the alt hotel, which looks like an awesome place to stay. Went to the merchant with a colleague for a light dinner and some drinks. Was only about a 10 minute wait after we arrived; we hung out in the Alt hotel lobby next door looking at all their awesome kitschy things. Got a great seat for two and were offered still or sparkling water. Happy that they provided a bottle of each for the table. I'm a still water gal, while my friend is sparkling. The vibe was a bit loud and raucous as it was hockey game night. Once the game started and the noisy patrons left for the game, the ambiance was much improved. We ordered a bottle of wine for the two of us--better price than the single wine glass options (wine prices in Winnipeg are no joke!). We also ordered the half Korean fried chicken dish (5-pieces) and corn on the cob to split. This was more than enough for the two of us as we didn't have a large appetite to start with. I'm glad we didn't take the waitresses advice and order another dish. The food was decent, sure. But when you've had very good fried chicken, the Merchant's rendition doesn't cut muster. There was too much breading, and the fried bits were somewhat soggy. If you're not a fried chicken fiend such as myself, it may suit your needs, but I wouldn't order that again. The corn was good, I'd recommend this dish. Having them cut it off the cob at the table is a bit unique, so that was cool. I don't think I'll rush back here the next time I'm in town, but it served our purposes for the evening and was a decent option for the area. read more

See all

This is the new restaurant attached to the new Alt Hotel near the MTS Centre. The entrance to this place is just north of the hotel entrance in a not so obvious door but you can enter from the hotel lobby. The place looks pretty funky inside, I would say it's an open concept bar with dining tables splashed around. The place is loud even when it's half full. The concept is Latin and Asian street food so lots of small plates to share and some sharing plates that taken from NYC's David Chang's Momofuku's concept of shared fried chicken platter. But here's the thing, it's not authentic Latin or Asian but of an inspired by concept. Between the two, I would lean towards the Latin dishes as the Asian ones are a disappointment. Our server even told us that some of the Asian dishes will not be what we expected so we opted not to order them. Thai style wings ($14) - garlic, chile, ginger, lime, tamarind with salted mango and lime dressing. Now all those flavours definitely make me think back to my time in Thailand but this dish didn't. All those flavours blended into each other and I just couldn't figure out what I was tasting - same goes for the dipping sauce. Grilled corn ($8) with mayo, sour cream, cotija cheese, chili powder, lime and cilantro. They should probably rename this as "grilled corn on the cob" because that's how its presented so a bit difficult to eat with all the dressing on there and harder to share so you have to cut the niblets off. Overall good flavours but a bit overpriced for one ear of corn. Tuna tacos ($15) - grilled rare tuna, asian coleslaw, charred jalapeno salsa and red onion. This one tastes similar to all the other tuna tacos you've ever had but it was missing some acid which would have helped pull this dish together. De Montano salad ($15) - butter leaf lettuce, radishes, corn, jicama, cherry tomatoes, avocado, fried tortilla chips, cotija cheese and garlic lime dressing. This was probably the best dish overall, a nice refreshing salad with good flavours and enough to share between 2-3 people. Best part of the place were the cocktails at $9- $12. Recommend the capel pisco and the margarita picante which were $12 each, a bit pricey but they were good. Service was informative from our server but food and drink service was pretty slow considering the place was not full at all. I'd come back for drinks and an appetizer but not for dinner as the overall food doesn't deliver on expectations plus it takes a lot to get full so the bill can add up quickly. Just as a comparison, for the same price for two people we would have been full at Segovia but here we didn't feel like we ha had a meal. read more

See all

Ordered take out -- it was ready on time and everything was packaged well for travel. I had 3 kinds of tacos and the yucca fries. All the food was excellent! read more

Loved this place! Really great atmosphere, open and high ceilings, fantastic service and a wonderful wine selection. We ordered a Vino Verde Wine from Portugal, the entire bottle was well priced at $38. The corn is a must, and the table side prep is really cool. I had the tortilla soup...this is more of a meal than just a soup - it's unreal, my other half had the boar tacos and wanted another order. I will be headed back soon as the table next to us had these DanDan noodles - I must try. My favorite place in Winnipeg! We were full but not stuffed and exploding. Try it. read more

The Merchant Kitchen - The boar tacos! Yum - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

This place is a fast and reliable restaurant before any downtown events. Went here with a group before a Jets preseason game. The staff was very accommodating for our large group, and the service was fast. And our drinks were always full! Only giving them 4 stars because the food was a little underwhelming. The food was good, but there was nothing very unique or exciting about the recipes. read more

I absolutely reccomend this restaurant! I have had quite a lot of tacos in my time between traditional Mexican, Tex-mex, and even Mountain-mex (Colorado style) and the Carnitas tacos here are the best I've had! Definitely a great spot for a higher class lunch, with great prices, and though we did not go for dinner and cocktails, their selection is wonderful and it would be a great place to go. Dissapointed I didn't get the chance to try out the Korean Fried Chicken, as this looked amazing. The staff here is also very friendly and accommodating. I will most definitely be back here any time I come to Winnepeg. read more

This is a great family style diner. Friendly service great ambiance and aaahhhhmazing food!

This restaurant has a nice ambiance. The service was also very good. The food however is overpriced for the portion size. We ordered the calamari with the intention of sharing. It was $21 and there were probably 10 tiny tiny pieces. Not very meaty at all and just very disappointing. I ordered the tacos, they were good but also tiny. I left hungry. The drinks were good though. Wouldn't go back for the food. read more

Really good restaurant. Hip atmosphere. Quality fried chicken (tastes even better cold, while standing in front of your fridge at 3am), nice beers, and a very friendly staff. read more

We were in Winnipeg for a four- day conference and chose to eat here several times! No regrets! The grilled corn is cut at your table and delicious. The fish tacos are made with pickerel from local lakes. The house-made tequila and miso ice cream (seriously) served with lime zest sounds weird but if you like ice cream, you need to try it. The desk clerks at the adjacent hotel recommended the ice cream and I'm glad they did. The tortilla soup had just the right spices. Family style menu & dining. Really cool place. Worth visiting Winnipeg for! read more

See all

Amazing food! Excellent portions, super filling, very good prices! Had really good gluten-free options and the service was amazing!

On a recent trip to Winnipeg, I wanted to try some of the new restaurants that had opened since I moved away last year, and this one was at the top of my list. It did not disappoint! The menu is made up of sharable dishes that seem to be inspired by the delicious street foods of Latin America and Asia. We started with one of the cocktails (we'd heard great things about the bartender in the restaurant's reviews) - the Capel Pisco, and it was super tasty and summery. Between the 2 of us, we split the Shrimp & Kimchi Lettuce Wraps, Duck Rolls, and the Carnitas Tacos. All were good, but the tacos were our favourite. Small word of warning though: the food, though delicious, is a bit messy to eat, so have plenty of napkins on hand! We finished with the Pound Cake Cinnamon Churros. I was a bit hesitant to try them, never having been quite satisfied with Canadian interpretations of churros, but I'm so glad we did - they were reallllly good. Highly recommend! Overall, I really liked this place and would definitely go again. It does get pretty noisy though - my tablemate and I were straining to hear each other towards the end of the night (though maybe we're just getting old?). They also take reservations, which will probably be extra helpful come hockey season (it has a prime location right across the street from the MTS Centre). read more

I went to this restaurant for the first time not knowing much about it. I looked up the menu online before going, and didn't see too much that i was interested in but my friends were keen on going. When we first arrived the ambiance was really beautiful so i was actually excited that we chose this place. We waited a bit too long for a hostess to come and seat us, but finally someone did. Again, waited pretty long for a server to come by. It took around 25 minutes for us to get the drinks that we ordered, and one of our drinks were forgotten at the bar. we were hoping the food would make up for the slow start. We ordered 2 apps that actually came in a timely matter. the corn on the cob was one of our orders, whch was my favourite dish that we got that night! its really really delicious and they said its manitoban grown which is lovely. The duck wraps were nothing special. very over priced for what they actually are. Next came the tuna tacos, which again were nothing to rave about. i was very disapointed in the lack of texture. They were a similar texture to the duck wraps. i think choosing corn tortillas for the tuna tacos are a bad choice if theyre going to smother them in runny sauce. they tasted a bit soggy and didn't have much flavour. The wings were over-battered. the churros were basically just bread with cinnamon on them The pulled pork sandwiches had very good flavour, that is definitely something i would recommend. along with the fancy drinks, i had the tokyo drift which had a nice earthy flavour. i would go back for the drinks, and maybe the corn. But the service and lack of flavour will keep me away from a full dinner. read more

Ordered piri wings, thai fried rice and dan dan noodle, all were just perfect, so flavorful. Would definitely recommend the place. They also did the thai fried rice to make it thai spicy, so good. read more

I like this place, their fried chicken is really good. However, the last time I went it was really busy and we were a large group, but I was disappointed with the food and cocktails... read more

OMG drinks and food are awesome at this place! We have business meetings there all the time and I'm blown away with the quality. read more

See all

Had dinner at the merchant kitchen Friday night, great atmosphere and great food, service was very good as well, will go back for sure

Great, creative dishes served by an awesome staff!! The 1/2 Korean Chicken is enough for two (the best flavor ever), Pickerel Ceviche is to die for and the other 1/2 dozen dishes I have tasted are well above average. The bartenders are fast, accurate and friendly, what else could you ask for? read more

We had the tempura lobster tacos and the tuna and it was great! Service was nice and atmosphere was great!

Really worth going to. Modern, nice decor, clean. Food was really unique & creative so it felt like a special treat... and yet familiar, like home cooked comfort food. I felt they took pride in each dish offered. Oh, and save room for dessert! Not to be missed! read more

Waaaaay over priced. $13 for taco chips, $12 for a cocktail. Yes, the cocktail was good, but $8 or $9 would have been a fair price for Winnipeg. This ain't New York City. Service is important to me and I can't fault them on that, but the food seemed to be mainly soy sauce based.Atmosphere was excellent but it was right before a Jets' game, so good atmosphere could be found in the nearby bus shelter. Atmosphere was excellent, service was good, drinks were decent, food was okay. But I wouldn't go back. read more

Quite a disappointing and underwhelming experience. The mussels & clams were not fresh and did not have enough sauce, the Thai fried rice had good flavour however did not blow us away. Yet, the feature cocktail and the service were on point. Our next visit will solely be for cocktails, wine and maybe a snack. My girlfriend and I love to support local restaurants and really appreciate the effort that goes into a great dining experience, I am sorry to say that this fell short. read more

I came from the U.S. for the World Cup and tried a lot of the local fare. This restaurant/bar is a really cool space. The music can get a little loud but this goes with the entire atmosphere. The service is excellent: well dressed waitstaff with high energy. The dishes are a mix of Asian and Latin which sometimes work and sometimes don't. There is a classic Latin grilled corn appetizer which is excellent. It has the right amount of smokiness, salt and chili to make it interesting. But the cheese can be heavy handed. The kimchi stir fry was also way over infused with kimchi flavor. Kimchi is a condiment, not a main dish. The tuna tacos were good, but lacked punch. Perhaps a more strongly flavored slaw for more citrus would help. The mixed drinks were awesome. Overall very good place. Needs to refine the flavors to make excellent. read more

Merchant Kitchen is a relatively new restaurant attached to the new Alt Hotel near the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. The ambiance is upbeat, loud and what seems to be more a snack and drink environment. I decided to dine at Merchant around the dinner hour. I ordered the grilled corn, but instead of seeing it off the cob it ended up being on the cob! Somewhat surprising and less efficient from an eating/enjoying perspective. Overall good flavors but a bit overpriced for one ear of corn. The tuna tacos on the other hand were very basic and nothing worth mentioning. Whereas, the De Montano salad was probably the best dish overall, a nice refreshing salad with good flavors. Not sure about Merchant Kitchen. I guess time will tell. read more

Really cool decor and amaaaazing food! It was very delicious. Cocktails were also very good. Biggest complaint is the price. Cocktails were definitely overpriced and many of the dinner items were a bit steep. (Chips and guac for $14). Very cool place though, worth a visit. Make sure you go with a few friends and order a lot! read more

Great mix of Asian and South American flavors and ingredients. Good GF options. Good cocktails and decent wine list. I really like the vibe (on non-game nights). Service has been decent to good, casual but well informed. read more

The food is amazing and the place is beautiful. Super cool. On jets or concert nights make sure you get a reso as you won't be able to get in. Perfect before a game as the food can come out fast but on other nights you can make it last for hours and stay all night long. I would recommend this place. Cool and different from your typical restaurant in Winnipeg. Probably the most trendy restaurant in Winnipeg. read more

4 of us went there on Friday before the Jets game...it was packed. Lucky enough we had a reservation, which is recommended. Eventhough it was busy, the waiting staff were prompt and very attentive. Watch out for the menu, it is kind of deceiving. Lots of the items on there, for me atleast, looked kind of "meh...", so it was hard to commit. We had a few food sensitivies in the group so the waitress made some great recommendations. Fried chicken - get it, it was amazing. Brussel Sprouts - I normally hate these at home but these were delicious. Tuna tacos, drippy but terrific. My recommendation on the menu, if you think you may like it (6 out of 10) get it because you are going to love it (10/10). read more

Great restaurant and even greater food. The grilled corn was phenomenal. The service was great. Got great recommendations from the waitress.

Came here for my birthday dinner with my wife and daughter. Excellent atmosphere. The staff were great and provided us with excellent selections for dinner. The Spicy Thai Fried Rice is awesome. Probably the best fried rice I've ever had and I'm Asian! Carnitas, duck rolls, and the grilled corn were out other dishes. All of the dishes had great flavour! Will definitely be back. read more

Recently branded themselves as Latin food, so you'd better hope all the members of your party like really spicy food.

Been here a few times throughout the past month and it was awesome. Great selection of cocktails, thai fried rice is amazing and the staff give great hospitality. Lastly, there's a great scene at this place, beautiful men and women from all types of backgrounds. I highly suggest going here, it's fine dining but hip at the same time. read more

Terrible service, servers seem far more concerned with talking to eachother than their job. Sat at the bar, others were seated after me, served first, no one even acknowledged my existence. read more