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Provence Bistro At Niakwa Country Club - CLOSED
Categories: Event Planning & Services Caterers Restaurants French Caterers, French [Edit]
620 Niakwa RdWinnipeg, MB R2J 2X3
(204) 254-3500
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
2 reviews for Provence Bistro At Niakwa Country Club
2 reviews in English
-
Review from John I.
Toronto, ON
1/2/2011
Had the chance to recently dine at Provence Bistro at Niakwa Country Club. Wow, was I impressed. The service was excellent and thoughtful. The food, a delicate salmon dish with a lemon marmalade glaze coupled with olive oil mashed potatoes, wax beans and shallot and sprout salad garnish was overall excellent. The salmon was moist and cooked perfectly, but they may want to reduce the sweetness of the dish. The wine selection and ambiance of the restaurant is also excellent. The dress code is slightly more formal, but it does add to the class.
The restaurant also hosts a number of wine nights, which I have attended over the years. I strongly suggest you indulge in these events as Provence has one of the best wine experts in the city.
Enjoy! -
Review from DineoutGal A.
Winnipeg, MB
7/11/2010 4 photos
I wasn't sure what to expect from Provence Bistro since it's located at the Niakwa Country Club especially since we're not members. But obviously the public is welcome at the French restaurant. No jeans though - definitely dressy although I wouldn't say a jacket is required. The crowd definitely is more mature as the majority of the diners are 60+ but despite being the youngest ones in the room, we didn't feel out of place. And I have to note that the service was great! It wasn't stuffy or snobby nor was it overbearing. The level of service isn't at the New York Times 5 Star level but I thought it was warm, friendly and appropriate. There's one main server who took care of the dining room along with some water and bus boys. I liked that our server had good firm answers on our questions and helped me decide on my meal. I hate it when servers says "everyone is delicious" because that's not true usually.
The dining room is split into two rooms overlooking the patio and golf course - quite the view. The interior feels a little dated though. White table clothed tables, that could probably seat about 30 in one room and maybe another 30 in another. There's also a banquet hall next door. It's a fairly quiet room so you have to keep your voice down slightly or else others can probably hear your conversations clearly.
I love the fresh baked bread in French restaurants. They usually do such a wonderful job, especially with baguettes. I was surprised that Provence veered away from baguettes and served us really hearty, but delicious bread. One was a multigrain and the other was a white bread with green olives in it. The bread came with a garlic and herb butter.
The starters are split into ones you can share, around $16 each or individuals ones $6-$9. For our starter we shared the foie gras (goose) prepared torchon with kirsch marinated cherries and rhubarb apple jam and served with toasted baguette ($18). I can't say I love foie gras all the time because it is so fatty and heavy to eat but one should try it when they are in a French restaurant. This dish was good to share, the goose foie gras was more subtle in flavour and paired really well with the two jams. I'm glad the jams were not overly sweet. As with most places that serve foie gras, they never seem to give you enough toasted bread - we could have used a few more pieces.
The mains range between $24-$37 for fish and meats. There's two vegetarian dishes between $18-$20. There are lots of fish and meat dishes to choose from - some are classic French while others are not. And of course there are daily specials.
I chose the half rack of lamb ($37) crusted with herb and caraway mustard with roasted garlic, mashed potato and seasonal vegetables (which were waxy beans). A full rack is $49. The half rack was presented uncut, although I prefer it when the kitchen cuts the rack into individual pieces for me. It was a tender cut of meat prepared medium rare. The mustard was more sweet than I am use to but the dish was still good. The roasted garlic was a bit too roasted as some cloves were chewy. The mashed potatoes were super buttery and creamy - on the edge of being "too much." The waxy beans were a bit overcooked. I can't say it was the best lamb dish I've had but it was good. I'd probably order something else next time.
I also tried a bit of the salmon dish ($26); lemon marmalade glazed grilled king salmon with olive oil mashed potatoes, wax beans and shallot and sprout salad garnish. The salmon was grilled perfectly! But the marmalade was a bit too sweet for my liking.
Overall, I liked this place. It had it's minor misteps but I didn't find the prices too high as most restaurants in the city are on par with this place. The ambiance, view and service are the strengths of this place. There was a big wedding party next door so I'll cut the kitchen some slack on the minor food issues.
This place also hosts monthly themed wine nights every second Thursday. 4 course dinner paired with wines at $70 plus taxes and gratuity. And there is also a $39 special 3 course dinner every month.
A note on the directions to this place since Google map and the Garmin GPS provided bad directions. If you're heading east on Fermor Avenue, make a right on Archibald (south of Fermor), then a right again immediately on Niakwa Road, at the stop sign (there's a very tiny sign that says "Niakwa Country Club) which will then take you down a very quiet dead end road. And you'll see a parking lot on your left. But if you're heading west on Fermor, you can't make a left turn at the Fermor & Archilbald so you have to yield right into Archibald (North of Fermor) and make a u-turn so you can go through the intersection of Fermor & Archibald, then make a right at Niakwa Road.
Oh and this place has free wi-fi, serves dinner only. And is the only restaurant so far, where I've seen them bring out the proper cutlery (fish knife) for the salmon and they use a crumb sweeper for the table.
