The Gates on Roblin Restaurant

Recently had a business meeting in one of their rooms. There were 14 of us in a fairly small room. It was ok, but a bit small for the number of people .
The lunch was served buffet style. Sandwiches, excellent mushroom soup, veggies. All presented very well. Food was very fresh.
Returned for dinner. All of the meals were excellent. Steaks, prime rib, mushroom Wellington. All excellent.
The only reason I did not give the restaurant a 5 star is due to the service being rather slow. Our dinner took almost 3 hours. On a weekend with friends this would have been fine, but for a group business dinner, it was too slow.
I would highly recommend this restaurant for individuals having dinner.

This is our family’s go to brunch destination. We often find ourselves here on festive occasions and is one of the best bunch options in Winnipeg. This review is for the weekend brunch at the Gates. (not lunch or dinner)
The atmosphere is intimate, and groups in each of the small enclaves are small. Whether it’s a large group or an small group the setting is comfortable for all.
Diner’s are simply spoiled for food options. All breakfast favorites are available; eggs Benedict, omelets, desserts, bacon, sausage, a variety of breads, veggies, and I could go on and on. However, it’s the additional meat station (Prime Rib, Lamb, Pork) and the crêpe station that really won me over. Having been at many of the brunches offered at many of Winnipeg’s hotels this is definitely our families favorite.

The Gates on Roblin is about 5 mins west of the Perimeter highway (from Roblin Blvd). It’s a pretty restaurant situated in an old converted house, there’s even a small stable of horses in the front as you turn into the restaurant’s driveway. There’s always lots of weddings going on in the summer in the rented tents in the back.
The food is regional Canadian cuisine with most appys in the $ 12-​$ 15 with soups around $ 8. Their main dishes range from $ 25-​$ 45. There’s 2 fish dishes, 1 seafood risotto, roast chicken, bison shortribs, berkshire pork on one side of the menu and then the other side is more focused on steaks and prime ribs. There’s a bison steak that’s about $ 45, rack of lamb (half $ 35, full $ 45), various cuts of steak and different sizes of prime ribs. You get seasonal vegetables and a choice of roasted potatoes/​whipped potatoes/​wild rice pilaf. It may sound a bit pricey but I have to say the portions are quite generous. There’s not many fine dining restaurants where I have to take a doggy bag home.
A warm freshly baked basket of bread with herb whipped butter is offered immediately after you order. It is delicious. They’re tiny buns that are sliced in the middle — warm and yummy. There were multigrain, white buns and a cake like cornbread (which was so good).
We tried their foie gras ($ 21) since the rest of the appetizer list didn’t appeal to us — it’s fairly consistent with what is offered at most places. Yes, foie gras is always a pricey treat but the portion size was kinda stingy. It was served on one medium crostini sitting on top of some sauteed mushrooms. Yeah, it doesn’t take much to get filled up on this fatty item but I’ve had foie gras in so many restaurants that I was shocked by the portion size. Oh well, but at least it tasted good. Rich, velvety and well prepared.
I’ve had their prime rib before on another occasion — it was good but not great. So this time, I opted for the half rack of lamb with wild rice pilaf and the seasonal veggies (shredded carrots, zucchini, and broccoli). The portion size was huge — which was quite comical since the foie gras appy was so tiny. The half rack was cut up into 5 pieces — I asked for medium rare and I have to say some pieces were more rare than others but I ate it anyways. They were very tender albeit a bit fatty. The sauce was amazing and so flavourful — there was a hint of lavender honey in there too. There was a generous portion of veggies that were cooked and seasoned perfectly. The wild rice pilaf is delicious if you like wild rice, not heavily seasoned at all, just cooked in chicken broth. I really enjoyed this dish and took home half of my dish too!
The pickerel special that night was $ 32, and was prepared sort of florentine style but with a pesto sauce. It tasted nice but didn’t wow me in taste — maybe some acid would’ve helped perk up the flavours. The whipped potatoes are really nice without being too buttery and creamy.
Service is warm and the ambiance is quite nice depending on where you’re seated as some areas have larger parties. They also serve a Sunday brunch which is in the high $ 20 range — apparently it’s quite good from what I’ve heard.