The Place to Impress Your Date

Dinner at Caribou Restaurant and Wine Bar

The simple exterior of the Caribou Restaurant +  Wine Bar hides a classy and warm restaurant, one of the most popular in Thunder Bay. The local owned and operated restaurant around since 1999 is an orginal concept of Tom Pazianos and Bob Stewart, who are coincidently  also the owners of the very successful, local Keg restaurant.

caribou kitchen

For upwards of twelve years the Caribou has been a favorite locale for business lunch meetings and for those looking to impress someone on a first date. 

Tom and Bob shared their decades long immersion with the Keg to make the Caribou synonymous with good quality food and a lovely experience. Renovations have greatly improved the sound quality, lessening what used to be a rather loud space. If you arrive early and wonder why there are more staff than patrons you will discover that it is good to call ahead to book a table as the seats fill up quickly.

Good-sized filling portions combine with original taste on a rotating seasonal menu, which when possible offers locally grown food from Belluz Farms, DeBruin’s Greenhouses and other farms and greenhouses. Prices are about average for an upscale restaurant.

caribou dishes

Variety is key to the menu, offering for lunch items such as, the Forager and Flamenco pizzas, (cooked in a wood oven), Shrimp pomadoro, Sausage prosciutto pasta, Meatball Loaf Grilled Cheese, with a good variety of starters: Catalan tomato bread, Short rib poutine, Antipasti and salads.

For dinner, the variety theme continues with a bigger selection of starters, including soups and salads like Kale and apple, Warm goat cheese, and tricolour which has an enticing number of ingredients – belgium endive, radicchio, arugula with blue cheese dressing, walnuts and bresaola. A greater choice of pizzas are offered and an even greater number of “mains,” including Ribeye alla fiorentina, Yucatan pork, Roasted halibut, Korean Flat Iron, Sausage orecchiette, Maple salmon, and more. I’ll let the deserts be your surprise. Please keep in mind that the menu may alter from what is posted here. Please check the website (above).

caribou bar

Caribou has a lovely bar with patrons who do use it solely for the spirits offered. There are classics and Caribou designed cocktails with original names like, Italian job, Blueberry bumpkin and The Brit. There is a good selection of white and red wines.

Caribou Exterior winter

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About Duncan Weller

A writer and visual artist, Duncan Weller is a Governor General's Award winner who lives in Thunder Bay. You can visit his website at www.duncanweller.com. His latest two books are a novel, Flight of the Silk, and an expanded edition of the award-winning children's picture book, The Boy from the Sun.

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