Pembina Valley Inn

Pembina Valley Inn
120 Railway Avenue, PO Box 8
La Rivière, MB  R0G 1A0
204-242-2633
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I'm very late getting this out, but life gets hectic, and I kept forgetting to do it.  I will update with pictures shortly.

On February 15th, we BAGz visited Pembina Valley Inn, which is a new restaurant, lounge and hotel in La Riviere.  As they just opened on January 18th, we were among some of the first visitors.  The revamped decor is very warm and inviting. There are some excellent choices on the menu, but some room for improvement, as well.

In brief, the steaks, chicken and pickerel were top quality, cooked to order correctly and well and very flavourful.  The side dishes, however, seemed to lack seasoning and were somewhat bland and needed the chef's hand in seasoning for flavour.  The exception would be the roasted root vegetables, which were beautifully carmelized, flavourful, and a favourite of everyone. 

One item we all ordered was the "Chef Michael Smith's Caesar Salad."  This name is quite misleading as this salad did not resemble Caesar salad that one would expect.  The dressing was a very tart lemon-vinegar dressing, not the Caesar dressing that makes a salad a Caesar salad.  While the assemblage of ingredients was good, the dressing was overpowering.  If the salad were not called a Caesar, one probably wouldn't be so confused.

For dessert, the homemade strawberry shortcake was a delight.  The cake was light, tender and moist, and the fruit very ripe and fresh.  It was a pleasant end to the evening.

Service is very friendly and welcoming at the Pembina Valley Inn.  As there is a lounge, they are also licensed.  The restaurant closes at 9:00, which is a nice change of pace from the small-town early closing of 8 pm that is so common in the area. All in all, we would recommend a stop at the Pembina Valley Inn if you are passing through for the scenery and want to enjoy the local ambiance, or are having a ski weekend and need a good, friendly homestyle place to eat.