Cork & Flame — Restaurant in Winnipeg

I wrote a very long review, the shortened version is, best restaurant ever, if you can go, go! Here’s the full review; On February 10th 2024, I went to Cork and Flame in Winnipeg as we wanted to sit in instead of going to unhealthy fast food. Me and my family were seated promptly, we were there before the dinner rush and didn’t need a reservation but they did ask if we had one. Our server was very kind and quickly got us our water, drink and menu. Small details in the restaurant were well appreciated like the water not tasting like chlorine (city water,) the bathrooms being clean and aesthetically pleasing, the atmosphere being on point and the Live Music adding to the experience. For my meal, I ordered a sirloin steak 8oz, Caesar salad and steak fries. My meal also came with assorted vegetables. A nice touch came with each steak giving you the option to pick a sauce (on the side) and spice blend (on the steak.) I got the peppercorn sauce and the first option for the spices. At first I looked at the prices and was shocked by how expensive they were, but that didn’t matter much when I got the food. First the Caesar salad came. I was immediately surprised how close it was to my mom’s homemade recipe. It tasted like a mix of that and Caesar salad from O’Sheehans (on NCL ships,) which are my favourite Caesar salads. It put up my expectations for the rest of the meal, which promptly when they came met those expectations right away. The steak (which I ordered medium and steakhouses seem to always not cook right) was cooked perfectly, juicy and spiced to perfection. The potatoes in the fries were fresh, hot and tasty. At most other restaurants the assorted vegetables are an after thought, something you just eat and don’t care about as they are just a side, but these were amazing, I’ve never had anything that tasted like homemade cooking. The vegetables were fresh and full of flavour. The vegetables were carrots and broccoli which is great as I don’t like many vegetables but those are my favourite kind. The entire meal I just wanted to savour. When I was done I was the perfect amount full, not feeling like I was going to roll over and feel terrible, but I could still tell I was full. I was perfectly satisfied, it seems they have that down to a perfect science. From start to finish, the experience was so perfect. All the ingredients reminded me of being on a cruise ship with how fresh and high quality they were. Unlike other restaurants were you have to spend so much on sides to be full, this all came in one. In all of Canada I’ve never had such an amazing dining experience. In Winnipeg I’ve never known of a really good steak place. There’s The Keg and Montana’s but both of them don’t stack up to the restaurants in the States. Cork and Flame reminds me of cruise ship food, Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse but even better and not 1000s of miles away. Everything was high quality and to perfection. It has now beat my favourite Winnipeg restaurant (Olive Garden.) I am so glad I decided to go there, and I can’t recommend it more. I can’t...

Went there tonight for dinner. (Never, and I mean NEVER AGAIN!) if the system would let me give NO stars I would have. I can only describe the experience as all smoke & mirrors. We sat down at 6:15 in a non-busy restaurant on a Wednesday and ordered smaller meals (salads, bruschetta and fettuccine) and didn’t get our food till after 8:15. We were told there “might be room” on the patio when we called in the afternoon to make a reservation, and it ended up that there were only two other tables that were occupied - the place was basically empty. We contemplated moving inside at 7:30 but the waitress said they were just plating up our food, it would be out momentarily so no time to move inside she said , and there might not be room anyway as the dining room was very busy. (yes there was a painting class going on in the BAR area but those people were drinking and painting….. not eating food that we could see).

At 8:00 when our food had STILL NOT arrived, and we couldn’t take the flies on the patio anymore (they apparently had fans in there which would have helped keep the flies under control but took them down ??? ) we just got up on our own to move inside and it was empty, again…..only two other tables occupied and one was already complaining about how long their food took when we sat down beside them. So, we finally got our food at 8:15 and it was mediocre at best. Fettuccine was barely warm & basically a big plate of glue, canned mushrooms which I paid $4.00 extra for, French onion soup that was sub-par (so salty she could hardly eat it) the French fries were old and dry, and salads were just ordinary, nothing special. Thank goodness we didn’t order any steaks…..and part of the reason we didn’t was because of the OUTRAGEOUS prices. Yes I realize prices have gone up and all restaurants are trying to pull through, but the prices here were way beyond reasonable. If you were at one of the better steak houses in Wpg then maybe but honestly…..I would be afraid to eat a steak here (based on the quality of the food we did have) because I would be furious to pay those prices for quite potentially a disappointing steak. Again….the entire experience was smoke and mirrors. People might eat here once to try it, but they will never go back. That is...

Update: Revisited this local gem, and I was pleasantly surprised. My original review is below, but none of it matters anymore.

The staff is friendly, the portions are just right (for those with a bigger appetite, it's nicely filling). Food quality was excellent, taste was superb, the atmosphere was nice and dark (with candlelight) and quiet.

The pasta was well cooked, and alfredo sauce was perfect. It wasn't runny and it wasn't too dry. Perfect amount of sauce, and flavour throughout.

Chicken Parmesan was a good portion, and tasted homemade and very well done. Juicy, flavourful, cooked to perfection.

Caesar salads were just saucey enough, and had good flavour, lettuce was fresh and well cut. Croutons tasted like they were made in-house, very good.

Overall, a very good dining experience, full of flavour and well presented and served. Service was prompt and food was perfect. Pricing was reasonable considering the quality of the food.

I previously rated this restaurant as 1 out of 5, and boy have they turned it around. This doesn't even seem like the same restaurant it was a year ago. If you're in Winnipeg, you should definitely dine at Cork n Flame. You won't regret it.

vvv (Original review follows below)

Friendly staff, huge portions, basic to borderline terrible food, with very high prices. I expected a whole lot more quality for the prices charged. Will not go back, and would not recommend anyone to eat here. I know it's hard to open a restaurant and please customers, and I know this isn't just a quick money grab, but there are lots of points here that are failing points. Most fine dining involves eating food at the restaurant without taking food home with you. Most of us carried our surplus home with us. Most likely it will end up in the trash, sadly. For this formula to work, decrease prices a bit, decrease food quantity a lot, and increase food quality substantially. Most things were under seasoned or not seasoned at all. Bland.

^^^ This older portion is no longer relevant as everything has been addressed since I initially posted this...