Passero — Restaurant in Winnipeg

WOW! I have never rated a restaurant 2 stars when the food was tasty and fresh. Especially surprising because all of the reviews were really good. A 4.6 rating overall.

We reserved for 7 people the day before for my mothers 79th birthday. 2 hours before our reservation I got a text asking us to choose our meals?? She kept on saying that the meals are sharing style and/or family style. I wasn’t sure if these were the same thing or I was to decide between the sharing style and family style. It didn’t really make a difference as choosing our meals 2 hours before our reservation for 7 people was just not going to happen. I said we’ll have to figure it out when we get there.

I had asked her why the online menu doesn’t show the sharing/family concept. She said it does. She was right, it is small print at the bottom of the menu, which I usually don’t pay attention to because it typically says we don’t use msg or we use locally sourced ingredients or something along those lines.

It didn’t get better when we arrived. The waiter tried to explain this sharing concept to us, but it just wasn’t clear. My dad actually left the table so to control himself. As background we are relatively intelligent people, two of us with masters degrees. Myself, I’ve worked the restaurant industry from dishwasher to VP.

We eventually decided on 3 entrees (gnocchi, pork belly and short rib) and 2 sides of brussel sprouts. This was sharing and our understanding was that an entree would be enough for 3 to 4 people. We were warned that the gnocchi would come out first and the pork would come out later as this is how items are prepared. We were ok with this. The brussel sprouts came first and were portioned a bit small. When the gnocchi came out it was also a little small so we ordered a second one right away. Later the pork and ribs came. They were ridiculously small. Serves 3 to 4? I think not. The pork portion would be small for one person!!

That was enough for our group, we left and and ate in the fast food court.

Additionally, we waited for about 10 minutes when we arrived before any one acknowledged us. When the waiter got there he seemed focused on getting our meal order in. Not the typical drinks first. Assuming after the order was in, he would return for our drink order. Wrong, we eventually had to flag down our waiter to get drinks.

We will not return, but if we did we would order normally. One entree for one person.

As for the sharing/family concept, it was too confusing. If the staff have a hard time explaining it or the guest have a hard time understanding it, it is time...

You are limited to a 2 hour seating unless you wish to come later we were told. Prices are higher than normal for Winnipeg fare. We were told to order 2.5 plates, most priced in the $20 median range. However, this isn't your run of the mill restaurant, so as long as they deliver on an exceptional meal, I think that is fine.

The outstanding dish was the octopus. Aside from wishing the portion was larger, it was a unique, well balanced dish that was perfectly cooked and hit all the right points for a dish that is priced as it is. The beef tartare, though also portioned small, is very nice with its anchovy cream sauce which highlights the dish. Without it, it definitely would not be the same. Served with warmed focaccia. We found the brocollini to be a bit busy with flavor. I found it ok, but my dining companion did not. It was not the same as the other 2 dishes mentioned prior. I am particular about my gnocchi, and my preference is for pillowy soft ones. There are a number of places in the city where you can find this. This gnocchi had more of a chew. We found not all the boar bacon tasted like bacon, some were unfortunately flavorless. The dessert items we tried was the chocolate tarte and the salted caramel crepes. Both items were good. My friend thought the crepes were too salty, but I did point out they were salted so that might have been what the chef was going for. He was however impressed with the chocolate tarte, not being a great fan of chocolate himself. The service is outstanding. (Our server was named Shand I believed?) The decor and ambiance comfortable.

I debated between a 4 star to a 5. For now I give it 5 as there are many dishes we have not yet tried and the overall experience was great thanks to our amazing server. The food was all good, with a few...

Edit: from corresponding with the manager, it seems we were mistaken about the reservation time and there was a misunderstanding. They need to abide by reservation times, which is understandable. I do wish that this was communicated right off when we arrived. Please Note that this is one of the best restaurants in Winnipeg and other than the misunderstanding we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Please visit this restaurant the food is phenomenal!!

Original review:

First off the food is amazing. Atmosphere is awesome. This was our second visit here. First time was 5/5, this visit I was really put off by a couple of comments by our server. The service was good, although I think a little more time between dishes would have been better. When we first sat down right off she explained that there was a 2 hour seating limit, which is pretty standard and we were fine with that but did it really have to be mentioned?? We were at about an hour and a half into our seating, we were done and paid our bill but were waiting for our ride so hung out a bit longer since we were under the “2 hour time limit”. Our waiter came up to our table and said we have the next customers waiting for our table and that we needed to leave. I have never had this happen to me at a restaurant before. We were still under the 2 hours so what happened to their timing for reservations?? I think this is rude and a bad business practice. I was not impressed, to the point of I’m not sure I...