A Stella Lunch with the Parents

Close-up of Stella's Café's Provalone Roast Chicken Sandwich

I had the fortune of hosting my parents once more this year.  This has been the earliest in a year that I've been able to host them, as I managed to convince them to come see me perform in a community theatre production in late April; the comparatively late show times allowed them to avoid the usual winter season.  It had also been a couple of years since I last visited Winnipeg with my parents, so a full daytrip, including lunch in town, was in order when my parents visited me this past weekend.

A couple of friends suggested going to Stella's Café & Bakery for lunch.  Not knowing which location to choose (there were at least four all over the city), we ended choosing the Osborne Village location.  I realized I made the mistake of arriving there just shortly after noon; though we were seated at a table within twenty minutes, unfortunately it took about forty minutes from when our server took our orders to when our food arrived.  Fortunately, the food was worth the wait.

Provalone Roast Chicken Sandwich with Carrot Ginger Soup

After a moment of indecision between two sandwiches, I ordered the Provalone Roast Chicken Sandwich with a side of Carrot Ginger Soup.  I enjoyed the fact that Stella's bakes its own bread, and all the food served is homemade and homestyle.  It's not often I felt that sense of satisfaction beyond simply being full when eating sandwiches, but I did with this one.

Stella's Club with House Salad

My father ordered the Stella's Club with a side of house salad.  Dad enjoyed his sandwich, and he noted favourably in particular the light and zesty vinaigrette for the salad.

French Country Omelette

My mother ordered the French Country Omelette.  The layer of egg was thicker than what I expected and personally would prefer, but the omelette was still done nicely.  We all got to sample the jam that accompanied her toast, and we quickly realized, to our delight, it was homemade.  My parents especially appreciated that there was still real whole fruit in the jam and that it wasn't too sweet.  They went so far as to buy five (yes, five) jars of Stella's homemade jam, of which one of them was for me.  I was amused when I read the ingredient list; the last item listed was "love".

Stella's was definitely a well suggested place, and I would agree that this is a great place to go for breakfast or lunch.  I would highly suggest going either before or after the peak lunch period to increase your chances of getting seats and food more quickly, but worst comes to worst, you won't regret waiting for the delicious homestyle meals that await you.


Name: Stella's Café & Bakery
Address: Various in Winnipeg, MB (Location tried: 166 Osborne St., Winnipeg, MB)
Cuisine: Café
Price Range: $10-$25
Accessible: Yes at location tried