Busloads of visiting tourists get dropped off every day in Niagara-on-the-Lake to explore the town’s quaint wineries, boutique stores and adorable Gilmore Girls façades. But just a short drive away you’ll find St. Catharines, a lesser-known culinary gem with all of the wine-country charm and flavour — and none of the tour guide scheduling. Equal parts laid-back and food-obsessed, St. Catharines is a hotbed for chef-driven, seasonal menus, and is quickly becoming one of Ontario’s most exciting dining destinations.
“The Garden City” is sandwiched between Lake Ontario’s breezy shoreline and the verdant slopes of the Niagara Escarpment. It’s a moniker that refers as much to its trails and parkland as it does to the bounty of fresh produce that attracts visiting chefs, like Fat Rabbit’s Zach Smith and Oddbird’s Justin Duc and Scott White, who set up shop here permanently, leaving acclaimed culinary scenes in Toronto and Montreal behind.
Though the city is blessed with gourmet options, you won’t find lines snaking around the block for Instagram-famous spots. Here, the vibe is relaxed, and the only real rush happens before noon when buttery croissants vanish from beloved local bakeries. In
St. Catharines’s downtown core, centred on St. Paul Street, you’ll find an eclectic mix of craft breweries, cider houses, wine bars and global fusion dining rooms. Dig into hand-pulled noodles, blistered Neapolitan-style pizzas and tasting menus that celebrate local asparagus and peaches at their seasonal peak.
Beyond the bistros, a world of flavour awaits at the St. Catharines Farmers’ Market — a local institution since the 1860s. Shop for just-picked fruits and vegetables, artisanal cheese and gourmet meat under the same roof where local chefs’ eyes light up. St Catharines’s festivals, like the Niagara Grape & Wine Festival in late September and its concert series, keep the sidewalks buzzing all season long.
The area is also conveniently situated for all the wine wandering you’ll undoubtedly do. The award-winning wines of laidback and scenic Beamsville are a 20-minute drive away, while Jordan Station, home to the Michelin-starred Restaurant Pearl Morissette and Honsberger Estate, is just 15 minutes west of downtown St Catharines.
The next time you’re looking for a weekend escape, skip the traffic jams and crowded tasting rooms in Niagara-on-the-Lake and consider laid-back St. Catharines instead.
5 restaurants in St. Catharines that you have to try
1. oddBird.
52 St. Paul St.
Oddbird is a fitting name for this bar and restaurant that puts its own unique and delicious spin on familiar favourites. The atmosphere feels like a gastropub, but the food is anything but average. Premium, local ingredients feature in plates made with precision that you would expect to see at a higher-end restaurant, despite the casual atmosphere. Start with one of their signature cocktails or a glass of Niagara wine before digging into dishes like foie gras pancakes; pasture-raised, hormone-free buttermilk fried chicken; and house-ground burgers.
2. Bolete Restaurant and Catering
176 St Paul St.
The simplistic design and white walls make this downtown St. Catharines restaurant feel like an art gallery, allowing the food (and the art pieces from talented Niagara locals) to really shine. Chef and owner Andrew McLeod champions Canadian cuisine, sourcing ingredients like fresh-caught fish from the Great Lakes, Atlantic and Pacific seafood, Ontario beef and P.E.I. lamb for the seasonal menu and preparing everything in-house. The drink list spotlights Ontario wine and local beer, along with craft cocktails.
3. Fat Rabbit
34 Geneva St.
We can’t stop, won’t stop shouting from the rooftops about Zach Smith’s whole animal butchery, retail shop and restaurant hybrid, located in a strip mall in
St. Catharines. The pasture-raised meats and house-cured charcuterie alone are reason enough to hop on the QEW to Niagara, but Fat Rabbit has more than proteins to entice us. Depending on the day you visit, you might find lasagna (very) generously topped with truffles, crispy squid dipped in scallion mayo, or a pork schnitzel smothered in curry. That’s the beauty of Fat Rabbit — the menu is always changing, to satisfy the whims of chef Smith and utilize whatever delicious ingredients rolled off the back of a farmer’s truck that day. Stay tuned for Les Incompetents, a “French(ish) Bar” due to open in St. Catharines this fall from Smith, Geoff Dillon and other Niagara legends.
4. Pique-Nique
166 Russell Ave.
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Start your day right at Pique-Nique, a charming Parisian café on Russell Avenue. Its airy white walls and exposed brick recall Kensington Market’s Fika, while a stunning tin ceiling channels old-world European coffee houses. Pique-Nique painstakingly sources ingredients from small-scale producers, so everything from the beans in your espresso to the local strawberries and cherries topping your danish level up your meal to delicious effect. By evening, the space transforms into a cozy wine bar, offering a smartly curated list that highlights niche categories, including women-made wines.
5. Beechwood Doughnuts
165 St. Paul St.
Even if you don’t plan on eating doughnuts for breakfast (why not?), pop into this downtown St. Catharines bakery first thing in the morning to get the maximum choice of freshly baked flavours. Of course, there are classic sprinkles and chocolate, but we say go big or go home: The stuffed and piled-high seasonal doughnuts like turtles cheesecake, chocolate crunch cake, wild berry pie, tiramisu and earl grey will have you drooling and bargaining with yourself to get a full box instead of just one. We never would have guessed, but this bakeshop is entirely vegan.
