529 Wellington

529 Wellington
529 Wellington Crescent
Tel: (204)487-8325
Email: wowadmin@wowhospitality.com
http://www.wowhospitality.ca/restaurants/wellington.html



June, 2010

In 2001, WOW opened the doors at 529 Wellington with the soaring claim of elevating Winnipeg’s dining scene to new heights, introducing the city’s newest and premier restaurant. Making a self-proclamation as Winnipeg’s best restaurant sounds like a boastful and Herculean task. After all, we already have several superior establishments that deliver would class foods. Can WOW fulfill this boast?

The restaurant itself is a restored mansion built in 1912. The dominant, central staircase leads to numerous dining rooms, each with unique qualities offering both charming and rustic ambiances. The restaurant as a whole exudes aged elegance, but if you take the time to look closely, you see that great care has been taken to every detail. Yes, sitting here, you can feel what it was like to be among the elite in this Victorian setting. Now let’s see if the food can match the elite status.

The meal starts with a simple combination of white and sourdough bread. The crispy and crunchy crust encases a moist and fluffy center. The sliced buns come steaming hot, biting into your fingers as it dissolves the butter on contact. 529 has a reputation of dishing out ridiculous amounts of food so gorging on this superb bread may not be your wisest move. It is difficult to resist though.

Many fine dining establishments offer small amounts of food with the expectation that you sample multiple courses. While 529 has a reputation for monstrous mains, the appetisers can vary from large to tiny. Our wee mound of tuna tartare teases you as it sits temptingly on crispy baguette slices, gleaming with goodness. The sesame oil adds a lovely edge to the subtle bits of tuna. I would have eased back a bit on the sesame as it verges on dominating the delicate taste of the fish at times. Overall, this is a superior plate that leaves you yearning for more.

The mini Yorkshire pudding with prime rib offers considerably more portion that you can share. The flaky pudding acts as little more than an envelope for the tender and flavourful shreds of beef. The rich and complex gravy finishes off the dish to bring it close to perfection. This is what roast beef is all about.

The salad chef prepares the Caesar salad at the central atrium but alas, most tables have no view of the creative process. If you want, you could stand and observe the coming together of Caesar but the atrium acts as a hub to the dining rooms and space is in demand. The finished product comes in a rich and profound dressing that deliciously features its anchovy base. Many Caesars come overdressed, soppy wet and dripping with goo. The pure power and pungency of 529’s dressing allows a modest amount of goo to complete this wonderful salad.

The French onion soup looks no different than what you expect out of this common intro but the richness and depth of the broth jumps right out of the bowl and attacks your taste buds. The port puts in another unbelievable dimension. Layer upon layer of onions lay buried underneath the melted cheese, waiting to emerge. Another hit.

Our server proudly displays massive cuts of meat while introducing the mains. If you have any carnivorous inkling at all, you would likely succumb to the temptation of the wonderfully marbled cuts. If you want to avoid meat, the Cajun style ahi tuna provides you with a wonderful alternative. North of the Mason-Dixon Line, when you hear “Cajun,” you often find a common dish, doused with Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot. Northerners often believe that Cajun = Spicy and that’s it. Let’s not even get into Creole. 529’s Cajun isn’t spicy at all. Similarly, if you wander north of Mason-Dixon, “blackened” usually means burnt. This Cajun tuna comes beautifully raw on the inside and blackened (properly) on the outside. The mild but tangy citric dressing complements the fish perfectly.

With the server proudly propounding the virtues of meat, it’s difficult to resist the primal temptation of gorging on a gargantuan slab of beef. Doug’s cut dominates your plate with 28 ounces of prime rib protein, including the prized bone. The outer cap of the prime rib and the meat around the bone has the most tender meat and the fattest meat—which of course means that this is the tastiest part of the meal. This perfect piece of prime rib comes exactingly cooked to your preference. The deep, deep flavour of the beef comes from the essence of the meat, and there’s no dressing, spice or seasoning that can replace it. Folks, this is quite simply the finest cut of beef you find in Winnipeg, period.

The dessert list offers an interesting number of choices but for me, the chocolate cheese cake jumps off the page. If you’re not stuffed by now, make room for this ultra-dense, ultra-rich slab that stands as the essence of chocolate. The oozing raspberry flavour tops off the chocolate wonderfully.

Throughout this review, you notice that I use the word “rich” often, and that’s because it’s the best adjective that I can find. All of the food comes well balanced with rich and bold flavours. The food is rich, yes, but so are the prices. Entering 529’s doors, you expect to pay some of the richest prices in the city. Great food doesn’t come cheaply (mostly) but if you have the occasion, 529 certainly has all the ingredients to satisfy.

****½ /5


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