Resto Gare Bistro

I’m from California. Foie grass is illegal there. So of course the first thing I want to eat when we landed was foie grass. I called them in advance to make sure they had it on the menu and within fifteen minutes, we were at their steps of their old train cart of a restaurant.
The place was pretty empty (it was 2pm on a Friday) but that made it perfect since this was a linen tablecloth restaurant and we had our baby with us so we had the whole place to ourselves.
What we swallowed:
POUTINE: My first time having it and they did a splendid job. French fries? Check. Cheese curds? Check. Gravy? Check. Mushrooms? OK! It was a hearty dish but very tasty.
BOURGUINON: The beef had a really awesome glaze on it and the gnoochi was melt in your mouth delicious.
FOIE GRASS: It was so delicious that I savored each bite. Why are we denied such heavenly pleasures? The pâté was perfect and the crispy bread with the orangey sauce blended it all very well together. I really could have licked the plate after all the pâté was gone (and I really DID want to cry).
Our server was super attentive and made sure that we were happy and our baby was happy too. He made the experience very pleasurable and we enjoyed our romantic, quiet time alone in the train cart all to ourselves.

Came here for a large family dinner. They were very accommodating with the seating arrangements and our waiter was very attentive.
For our appetizers, we ordered the daily foie gras. Unfortunately, the waiter came back out to inform us that they only had the ingredients for one appetizer! It was pretty early (6 pm) so I was surprised and very disappointed. We ended up all sharing one. It was served seared on a crostini with fig jam and balsamic reduction. From the bite that I had, I found it to be quite tasty. Everyone else liked it as well.
For my main, I had the steak et frites. The meat came out well seasoned and cooked to a perfect rare, as requested, and the fries were very very good. I was a little sad that the garlic bread under the steak was soggy though. My sister had the crepes de saint jacques and WOW it was good. The sauce and cheese paired very well with the scallop-​mushroom filling. My dad had the ribeye special and it was very good as well. I was pleased to see that our steaks didn’t all have the exact same marinade, but tasted different.
We also had a bottle of moscato, recommended by our waiter. It was very light and sweet. A nice touch.

Friend’s 40^th: came here with a large group for late dinner.
Food: excellent.
Service: did not match the food quality.
I’ll give some latitude for service due to the large size of our party.
I would go again.

I had the opportunity to recently visit Winnipeg’s Resto Gare. This is by far the best restaurant in the city with a special consideration for salmon dishes. The onion soup is very good and so are many of their foie gras, mussels and many other appetizers. They have a great medley of specials and plate presentation and portions are excellent. Price points are very reasonable given the high quality of the food and service. Bread and water service is top notch as well.
One recommendation would be not to sit in the train component as the new dining room has a nice relaxed feel and is perhaps warmer (temp wise).
The only downfall is their wine list. They should focus on better wines by the glass, which may mean hiring an external consultant. Perhaps they may in the future?
All and all, I highly recommend you try Resto Gare in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Alright, I have to admit that their coup of Chef Bagshaw (formerly of Pizzeria Gusto) piqued my interest to try Resto Gare again. So kudos to management for using him as a draw. The restaurant was packed, which was different from my previous experience here so I assume that others were intrigued with the new chef and menu as well. The new menu debuted mid-​late April. It was an older crowd, filled with mostly 40+ and lots of large groups.
The menu has some new and some old items — appetizers averaging around $ 10 and most mains in the $ 24 range. It’s nice to see that this bistro is sticking to «bistro prices» — a few of the bistros around town seemed to have jacked up their prices pushing many dishes into the $ 30 range.
The Bison Manitobain ($ 24) is a fabulous rich dish of boneless bison short ribs which sits on top of the most flavourful reduced sauce, truffled potato purée, and haricot vert with a few slices of shaved parmesan. This is the type of comforting dish you’d crave on a cold rainy day. The bison short ribs were tender and moist, the sauce was verging on being a bit too overwhelming (maybe reduced a tad too long) but still good. The potato purée had a great earthy taste, care of the truffle oil or butter and was very creamy. The haricot vert were crisp and perfectly done.
Pâtes de Homard Marinières ($ 23) — Fresh Tagliatelle made in house with lobster, spinach, corn in a marinara sauce. At this price, I was surprised to find actual lobster meat in here (mostly claws), not a lot but appropriate for the price. This dish is a massive heaping bowl of pasta, maybe a bit too much. There weren’t a lot of spinach or corn and the dish mentioned guajillo chilies, but it’s very mild, almost undetectable. Not my fav considering the other choices on the menu.
I absolutely love mac & cheese and I am happy that this dish surpassed my expectations! I hate to refer to meals as orgasmic but this dish definitely falls under that category. «Le Mac & Cheese» ($ 14) serves up a big round bowl of rigatoni, lightly coated with mascarpone mornay, gruyère gratin, roasted garlic and a light sprinkling of chili peppers. I also tasted truffles, a great addition, although it wasn’t listed on the menu. This dish is unlike any mac & cheese you’ve ever had — I think this dish alone deserves 5 stars. The flavours were rich and balanced — I think the truffles really makes this dish, it elevates a typically comforting soul food dish to pure sophistication! The only way to make it even better if there were some real slices of black truffles on it, although then it wouldn’t be $ 14! You can also add on ham, lobster, chicken and tuna if you’d like as well.
Our server was very nice and efficient. I think the ambiance is nice, prices are very reasonable, and the flavours have improved dramatically from my previous meals here. A suggestion would be to improve the wine list especially the selections by the glass. There is great potential here so I look forward to more meals here!