Places to Eat and Sleep in Regina

I spent last weekend in Regina and thought some of you might appreciate some hotel/restaurant recommendations:

Holiday Inn Express is two blocks from the Cornwall Centre and 1 block from the bus depot. I had a large, quiet room for $88/night. I’ll stay there again.

My best meal was at the Crave Kitchen and Wine Bar at 1925 Victoria Avenue. It’s an old building (formerly the Assiniboine Club) that has been renovated and reopened. The food was good, and there were a couple of vegetarian options. Staff were friendly, and it’s an attractive space and not overly crowded.

I had dinner at the Beer Brothers’ Bakery and Cuisine. I had a good organic ale from Ontario, and the surroundings were pleasant, plus it’s right downtown (next to the Globe Theatre), which is convenient. However, there is only one vegetarian main course, and it hadn’t been available for a couple of weeks. A good place for lunch or a snack rather than dinner.

I also tried The Crushed Grape Food and Wine Bar at 1118 Robinson Street in the Cathedral district (interesting craft stores on 13th Avenue). They had a good wine list, and it was attractive, but my main course wasn’t exceptional. On the other hand, the gingerbread brownie with vanilla ice cream was wonderful!

I think next trip I’ll return to my old favourite – The Creek in Cathedral Bistro, 3414 13th Avenue – where I’ve enjoyed a couple of excellent meals over the past few years.

For a tea or coffee break, I would recommend the Aegean Coast Coffee and Tea on Hamilton Street. They had Mighty Leaf tea and a big, quiet space where you could linger for hours.

Congratulations to STC for providing free wifi on their buses. It was a relaxing, comfortable trip – and environmentally correct! And the new Regina bus depot is a vast improvement over Saskatoon’s.

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