Alena Rustic Italian — Restaurant in Winnipeg

At first, we thought using chopsticks would be perfectly fine—after all, they’re great for picking up food with precision. But then came the giant slab of meat, and a whole roast chicken, bones and all. Suddenly, chopsticks became laughably useless. Yet, handling a knife and fork to skillfully debone a piece of meat? That’s an Olympic-level challenge we weren’t trained for.

We hesitated. Grabbing food with our hands in a Western restaurant felt… well, barbaric. The last thing we wanted was to look like medieval savages invading a candlelit kingdom of manners. Every bite felt like it might summon judgmental glances from nearby diners, or worse—be spotted by my partner’s coworkers, forever remembering me as “that feral boyfriend with chicken grease on his fingers.”

But eventually, hunger and the irresistible aroma won. We tossed our doubts aside, grabbed the chicken leg with our bare hands—and oh, it was glorious. Juicy, tender, bursting with flavor. In that moment, etiquette bowed to appetite.

So yes, the meal was a mix of minor embarrassment, delicious indulgence, and a quiet fear of being caught red-handed—literally. I wouldn’t say it was the most relaxing dining experience, but it was definitely memorable. The staff were incredibly kind, and the food? Absolutely worth it.

If you’re someone who’s comfortable wielding a knife and fork like a surgeon, and don’t mind a romantic-but-dimly-lit setting, this place is a must-try. It won over someone from the East who once prided himself on mastering the art of wooden sticks… and ended up devouring meat with his bare hands like a happy, meat-loving toddler. If only they could install a few stadium floodlights, it would be absolutely...

Finally got to try this place out after seeing good reviews of it! Tried their meatballs appetizer, it was great and sauce was good for dipping. The Caesar salad and meatballs came out quite quick with us having ordered within 10 minutes.

We were then told our entrees would be out shortly but there was quite a delay for some unknown reason. We waited about 20 minutes for the entree after having finished our appetizers and having our plates taken away. This was around 6:45pm on a Friday night.

The spaghetti carbonara was a bit too salty for my taste, extremely creamy and the flavours were good! Just wished they would’ve toned down the sodium level to let the flavours shine through.

Tried their cheesecake for dessert and it was yummy and decadent.

Food was probably a 4/5 for me for this visit due to the entree but service was exceptional. We got our bill at the end and our lovely waitress told us that she comped the appetizers due to the long wait for our entrees. This was a nice surprise and greatly appreciated and elevated our dining experience.

Our waitress also accommodated my request to drink boiled hot water (cultural preference) and was very attentive throughout our visit. She brought back a hot water pot for me to refill more conveniently as dinner rush was occurring. Thank you for the great hospitality and attention to detail with a simple drink request, this was very much appreciated, more than you...

My partner and I had a fantastic meal here. I started with the mocktail- the placebo. It was excellent. It was so unique with flavours of ginger, cardamom and cranberry but all the different flavours blended so well. It was well balanced, not too sweet, not too sour. The meal only went up from there. The garlic butter knots were so flavourful and a wonderful texture. They were perfectly crispy on the outside with a soft doughy centre. The meatballs had a hearty depth of flavour with the lightest texture. The focaccia served with was house made and delicious. You could taste the smoke from the wood-fired oven in the bread. We had bacon and basil rigatoni next which the kitchen pre portioned for us as we were sharing. The ingredients were fresh and simple but expertly seasoned and came together beautifully. Next we shared the tres carne pizza. It was topped with an abundance of cheese which my partner and I appreciated and all of the meat toppings were flavourful. Finally we finished the meal with the zeppole. You can’t go wrong with cinnamon sugared donuts, but the vanilla custard cream added extra dimension to an already delicious dish. Service was attentive but not overbearing, and each dish was well timed. Everything came out hot and fresh from the kitchen. We were not rushed but also weren’t stuck waiting for long periods of time for the next dish. We’re already planning our...