Pete's Place
135 Osborne Street
204-339-7225
204-415-2053
Facebook: https://facebook.com/petesplacewinnipeg
July, 2018
Pete's Place has been
around since 2001 but recently found a new home in the heart of Osborne
Village, occupying the space made famous by the former Basil's. Not much changed in the décor, especially on
the patio, which remains one of Winnipeg's coziest.
The menu features a variety of options but the Greek underlines the fundamental theme. Consistent to the theme, many of the dishes come with pita on the side, including the Caesar Salad.
The leaves come fresh and crisp, with the side chicken skewer expertly seared on the outside and juicy on the inside. The large portion ensures that the salad itself can stand as a meal.
On the topic of portions, the massive soup that comes with most of the mains can act as a meal unto itself as well. Changing daily, today's chicken rice has huge amounts of rice and vegetables, with substantial chunks of chicken. The broth has loads of flavour but tastes just a tad too salty (probably from simmering in the pot).
The chicken fingers come with a delicious honey-dill dipping sauce. The fingers have a wonderful crunch (I suspect augmented by a bit of corn meal in the bread crumbs). Under the breading, you find big slices of white meat, perfectly fried to retain their moisture.
The menu describes this signature burger as "Big Fat Greek" and it's every one of those things. Starting with the half-pound patty, the picture does no justice to how massive this sandwich really is. The patty comes nicely seared on the outside but just a tinge overcooked on the inside (not excessively, but just a few seconds past optimal). A garden-full of arugula tops the meat. I love arugula and here, it gives a spicy edge to the meal. The burger comes with a tomato slice but honestly, it's lost among the greenery.
Prominent to its Greek roots, the burger comes with generous sprinklings of feta cheese (pronounced "fay-tah," like beta, theta, eta, etc.). The bun tastes light and fresh, ably holding this massive melange of ingredients together. With the burger, you have a choice of fries, garden salad, or Greek/Caesar with a small up-charge.
The fries come well-fried, slightly crunch with no hint of greasiness. The gravy (also small up-charge) tastes flavourful and deep, but could use a few more grains of salt.
As impressive as the food, the servers here flit and flutter busily, attending to diners' needs. Augmented by ultra-friendly, attentive and professional service, Pete's very quickly establishes itself as one of my favs in The Village.
With the dilapidated The Zoo and the reconstruction of Jekyll and Hyde, the heart of Osborne looks like it needs some vibrant injections to bring it back to life. Since the departure of Basil's, this location has been desperate to find a suitor that can bring excitement to both the building and the area. I think Pete's Place has the right recipe to make that happen.
Ray Yuen
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