Mirlycourtois French Cuisine in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Mirlycourtois Restaurant in the Exchange District of Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada).

As a first-timer to Winnipeg, Manitoba, I was welcomed with a dinner at one of the best restaurants in the city, Mirlycourtois, by Destinations Winnipeg, the city’s tourism department.

It helps that Bernard Mirlycourtois, the Chef, is Michelin-starred and from France; it’s also a plus that it’s located in a non-descript warehouse building on the edge of the funky Exchange District. When I walked in, a whole new world opened up.

Inside the bare warehouse walls is an ultra cozy French room with a huge stone fireplace that instantly warms up the space. Not literally, though: there’s a portable gas fireplace inside doing all the work!

Now to the food. My guest and I let Chef Bernard completely take control of our dinner. A fresh mushroom soup came out first (Bernard was telling us before the meal they had just picked them), then a deliciously refreshing salad.

Mirlycourtois Restaurant serving French Cuisine in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada).

My main non-meat course was a pasta dish filled with those same mushrooms and lots of veggies. Each of the dishes was perfectly rich and incredibly filling, washed down nicely with a bottle of red wine.

Dessert was the best of both worlds. The strawberry sorbet was divinely sweet. Temptingly beside it was a traditional crème brulée. Utter perfection. Three hours later and I was content, both in mind and body, with my first evening in Winnipeg. Not a bad way to break in a newbie, eh?

Mirlycourtois cuisine de tradition in the Exchange District of Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada).

What I Liked:

• The service at Mirlycourtois is impeccable, discrete and efficient.
• I love that the restaurant is completely unassuming to find and easily passed by if you don’t know what’s inside. It makes the experience of entering so much more rewarding.
• The Chef seems like a wonderful man, which always makes the cuisine that much better, in my opinion.