Illustration by Fig & Ginger, drawn from the review. The venue's own photo is on its way.
Contemporary restaurant in Exchange District, Winnipeg
Deer + Almond
Raw Deer, Warm Room
Winnipeg has plenty of good restaurants. Deer + Almond is the one that taught the others they were allowed to be weird. Mandel Hitzer opened it in 2012 and has spent the years since putting Prairie ingredients inside flavors from a lot of other places. It sits at number 50 on Canada's 100 Best for 2026, but the better proof is that people in this city still book it for birthdays.
The shaved raw deer comes with a Thai dipping sauce, smoked onions and peanuts, and it is the kind of dish that sounds wild and lands like a hug. The pappardelle is silky, with sesame and pecorino doing odd, correct things together. The beets are slow-baked and come with tuna, horseradish emulsion and a ginger-soy dressing. Save room for the burnt toast, a dessert built from smoked bacon jam, berry jam and maple whip that has no business working and does.
You can take the four-course prix fixe in the dining room or eat a la carte at the bar. I would do the bar with a friend and order six things. The wine list leans toward small producers and grapes you have to sound out loud. The room is soft-lit, warm wood, bright art. Hitzer also runs RAW:almond each January on the frozen river, which tells you how seriously he takes winter. So should you.
- Order this
- Shaved raw deer with Thai dipping sauce, Silk pappardelle with sesame and pecorino, Slow-baked beets with tuna, Burnt toast dessert
- The damage
- $$$
- Go
- A weeknight, at the bar if you want to graze
- Find it
- 85 Princess St, Winnipeg, MB R3B 1K4
- Website
- deerandalmond.com