Saskatooning: Where To Eat In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
This fall I partnered with Discover Saskatoon to go ‘Saskatooning’ (the city’s cute verb for exploring Saskatoon!), on a food-focused trip (though obviously I had to squeeze in some arts and culture as well) to suggest some must-stops for when you plan your visit.
Because you are going to plan your visit, right?! Especially for Albertans, this is such a close destination. In fact, Saskatoon is a closer drive than heading to other areas in Alberta!
Meet me to eat and explore in Saskatoon!! (that’s what you should tell your friends/fam lol).
My friend Nicole drove up to Saskatoon from Medicine Hat (Southern Alberta) to meet me for the weekend this Oct 2023 and it was a quicker drive for us to meet in Saskatoon than for either of us to come up or down to Edmonton or Medicine Hat. That’s just one example of the short distance!
Read on for my Travel Guide to Saskatoon, based on my Oct 2023 trip, and let me know in the comments what other places I / readers should be trying when we return to this awesome city!
Note: while this post is sponsored by Discover Saskatoon, it does not impact opinions stated. I love exploring cities (big and small!), eating all the food, and sharing travel recommendations with readers.
I also have a few older Saskatoon blog posts from a 2018 visit you can check out for more ideas!
Travel Guide: Where to Eat in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Where to Eat in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Bar Stella is home to unfussy Italian cuisine!
Bar Stella
Location: 108 19 St. W, Saskatoon, SK | Website | Instagram
Bar Stella is a really cute Italian restaurant with retro diner vibes in Saskatoon.
They are one of the city’s newest restaurants, having opened in June 2023, and they describe themselves as “Unfussy Italian!” I describe them as absolutely delicious.
Bar Stella’s menu is meant to be shared family style (as Italians do!)
We shared:
- Bruschetta (on house focaccia with burrata and evoo)
- Meatballs (beef, pork, veal, red sauce and reggiano)
- Rigatoni (with rose sauce, reggiano)
- Non-alcoholic cocktails (The Market with blueberry orange syrup, soda, ginger ale and lime and Zecca of Venice with mint basil syrup, soda, tonic, lemon)
Honestly wanted to share more but we had a pretty big breakfast (it was an eating trip! lol more food than our tummies could handle). I just love really good Italian food and Bar Stella is that.
They also have a thing about focaccia—you can find it in their Bruschetta (which normally comes on crispier cut baguettes), their burrata cheese plate, and their sandwich options. We loved our Meatballs and Rigatoni, and while the Bruschetta *looked* amazing (like a Bruschetta on big fat toast with the focaccia), I think the focaccia choice is just a bit softer, thicker bread than we are used to on a bruschetta lol. Honestly I wish we could’ve tried all of their pastas though, that rigatoni we had was *chefs kiss.*
I also love Bar Stella’s checkerboard floor, the garage door “patio” window, and the adjacent access to sister cafe (Junior). It’s a great space!!
F&B Restaurant
Location: 226 2 Ave. S, Saskatoon, SK | Website | Facebook | Instagram
Apparently (though I didn’t realize until later) on this Saskatoon trip I got to try a lot of the newer restaurants that have been getting a lot of local attention, including F&B Restaurant (“Food & Beverage”) which was opened by Canada’s original Top Chef winner Dale MacKay.
Here at F&B, Chef MacKay (who was born and raised in Saskatoon!) is creating “homegrown and globally inspired comfort food paired with properly hand-crafted cocktails.” Gotta love star chefs who stick around their hometowns to create something special.
Chef MacKay was actually behind two other popular local restaurants Ayden Kitchen and Sticks and Stones (which I really enjoyed during my 2018 visit to the city) but recently closed those with the intention of bringing something new to Saskatoon—F&B! The popular chicken wings from Ayden Kitchen have been brought over to F&B so locals can still get their fix and tourists like us could also enjoy this popular lemongrass, lime leaf and cilantro wings dish.
F&B opened in July 2023 in downtown Saskatoon. When we went on a Friday night in Oct 2023, the place was packed! It’s a long and narrow space, with sectioned off dining areas and the bar in the back. Like all of the servers we had in Saskatoon, our F&B server was super friendly and had great recommendations (she suggested I go for the South Saskatchewan pickerel special versus a main on the menu because ‘if there’s a special, I’m doing that!’ so, I did that!)
Nicole got their smash burger (love that ‘F&B Sauce!) and we also shared a ‘Pork Cheek & Jowl Roulade with wild chokecherry and dill aioli’ to start.
F&B tries to source everything local here, that’s generally the theme we noticed at many of the popular Saskatoon restaurants we visited—which makes sense. A ton of really great ingredients grow in Saskatoon, in the heart of the prairies!
Hearth (inside Remai Modern)
Location: 102 Spadina Crescent E, Saskatoon, SK | Website | Facebook | Instagram
We had such a beautiful and delicious dinner at Hearth Restaurant located inside Saskatoon’s Remai Modern museum of modern and contemporary art. Seriously, loved everything!
We ate:
- Spicy Perogie Pasta – potato and dill cappelletti with potato puree, chilli oil, sour cream, scallion, and bacon.
- Mushrooms – four types of wild & cultivated mushrooms with mornay sauce and ciabatta.
- Popcorn Fries – popcorn infused polenta fries, parmesan, honey.
- Trout – Harissa marinated grilled trout, chilled quinoa salad, cucumber, tomato, and herbs.
Hearth makes “unpretentious, delicious, prairie food.” It’s a super lovely restaurant inside a super lovely museum, perfect for a bite before or after you take in the super lovely art (which I write more about in the ‘explore’ section of this guide below!)
Hearth opened in 2018 and quickly made waves, being named one of Saskatoon’s and Canada’s best new restaurants. They moved into the museum in October 2022.
It is a busy, lively space, with big windows, lots of light and big art hanging (and artfully plated food!) And really the mushroom dish is a must-order for mushroom lovers!!! So good.
Hometown Diner
Location: 210 20th St. W, Saskatoon, SK | Website | Facebook | Instagram
We loved our big breakfast at Hometown Diner in Saskatoon’s Riversdale district, a busy brunch spot where they serve all day breakfast/brunch/lunch, seven days a week in the city’s most eclectic and must-visit neighbourhoods.
We ordered:
- Salmon Eggs Benny (cured salmon, roasted asparagus, brie cheese, soft poached egg, and hollandaise)
- Ukrainian Brekkie (perogies, sausage, ham, caramelized onions, sauerkraut, sour cream, chili flakes, lemon zest, grana padano cheese and sunny side up egg).
- Very Berry Waffle (mixed berry compote, fresh berries, whipped cream with roasted almonds) for the table!
I also got a Hometown Daiquiri (with white rum, passionfruit, lemon and maple). Our fun server convinced me to make it a double, lol. Why not? We’re on vacation!
Each dish at Hometown Diner is made from scratch with the freshest ingredients from local suppliers. They also make donuts fresh daily here! We were too full for donuts but since the trip I’ve been thinking about the donuts we never tried, feeling lots of regret lol.
Don’t make my mistakes. Order the donuts too.
Junior Cafe
Location: 737 Broadway Ave. or 339 Avenue A S., Saskatoon, SK
With locations in both Broadway and Riversdale, Junior Cafe (a sister spot to the folks at Bar Stella) offers a great selection of hot and cold drinks, pastries, and breakfast items. We tried their Cinnamon Bun, Mushroom & Ricotta Toast and Egg Sandwich at the Broadway location before a morning of shopping in the district. It’s a cute little place with speedy service, nice drinks and food! The ‘Mushroom Toast’ was new to me (move over Avocado Toast!) and as a mushroom and cheese lover, I loved the mushroom and ricotta topping though I think it had a touch too much truffle honey drizzle (just ask for less honey when you order yours! Unless you love honey lol).
ODLA
Location: 801 Broadway Ave., Saskatoon, SK | Website | Facebook | Instagram
In the Broadway District of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, you’ll want to try Odla, a beautiful restaurant that’s Swedish for “to farm, cultivate, grow.” This is a “farm direct” restaurant which means ingredients fresh from a local farm (Farm One Forty) are harvested at the peak of their production and used in dishes served at the restaurant. Literally everything is made in house. 
It’s a beautiful partnership. There is a focus on seasonal, simple and delicious ingredients that help you reconnect with your food. We loved our brunch here!
Our meal at ODLA included:
- BBQ Hash – potatoes, poached eggs, hollandaise, candied jalapeños, pickles, with pulled pork (or you can get it with mushrooms)
- Breakfast Poutine – poached egg, hollandaise, bacon, smoked cheese curds, pickled onions, with your choice of pork or mushroom gravy
- Chips & Dip – house potato chips, jalapeño & smoked cheddar dip
- Beet Carpaccio – thinly sliced beets with crispy potato, crème fraîche, dill, and pickled carrot.
The Hash and Poutine are hefty dishes, great portions full of flavour (I can’t resist jalapenos in a dish and I liked the sweetness of the candied ones that come with the BBQ hash!). There’s no housemade chips I pass up on any menu and these were exactly what you want in a crispy housemade chip. The Beet Carpaccio was such a light and lovely surprise! Beef (with an f) Carpaccio is what you’ve more likely tried in restaurants (thin slices of rare beef) but I really loved this vegetable twist. The thinly sliced beet alone doesn’t do much but when you get a mouthful with potato, creme fraiche, dill and pickled carrot, wow! It’s like the perfect little bite.
We had an amazing server (I know I sound like a broken record but Saskatoon service is really nice) and we were also super intrigued with ODLA’s “Flight of Dessert” ? menu option (four desserts!) which we almost ordered (we fully intended to at the start of the meal) but we were way too full to try it by the end of our meal, lol. Another not-ordering dessert regret like the Hometown Diner donuts—just ORDER IT!
This is a beautiful restaurant with awesome food and I just love the connection to the farm.
They have a market side where you can shop farm fresh eggs, pickled vegetables, sausages and other local items. I even unintentionally matched the colours of the restaurant!
And while you’re in Broadway, you’ve got to check it all the shops!! (more on that below)
POP Wine Bar
Location: 334 20th St. W, Saskatoon, SK | Website | Instagram
POP Wine Bar was the first food and drink stop on our Saskatoon trip and although it was really hard to choose a favourite place we tried during this trip because so many places and so many dishes were so good—POP Wine Bar really ‘popped’ (lol see what I did there) as a stand-out spot!
Another new-ish restaurant and wine bar, POP opened in March 2022 with a focus on offering natural wines you won’t be able to find anywhere else in Saskatoon.
It’s a “Natural Wine Bar in the Paris of the Prairies” (did you know Saskatoon has that nickname?! coined apparently by Canadian legend himself Gord Downie.)
What is natural wine? Natural wine is wine that is produced using more organic, ‘natural’ ‘unfiltered’ processes. The natural designation comes in the technique of production, it also typically contains less sulphites. You may have your Reds and Whites typically but POP Wine Bar throws Orange and Pink categories into the mix too!
My friend Nicole tried the Pink Delinquinte ‘Pretty Boy’ wine which was described to us as “what pink tastes like” (lol love that!) and I absolutely loved my Each Peach Pear Plum cocktail (try saying that 3x lol) which is made with Taylor Fladgate, plum wine, pear syrup, lemon, peach bitters and egg white. Our server gave us great drink recommendations!
POP Wine Bar also creates absolutely excellent charcuterie boards.
We decided to go with a Chef’s Choice board, which included:
- Bread
- Haskap mustard
- Truffle manchego cheese
- Coppa
- Kielbasa
- Blue cheese
- Mortadella
- Cornichon pickles
- Imperial cheddar cheese
Just the perfect combinations! We also got an excellent beef tartare which came with crispy chips that we added to our board too. A seriously simple yet memorable meal.
POP Wine Bar is a vibe. It’s really eclectic decor. We liken it to sort of a 1970s non-renovated basement with your parents kind of mismatched decor (think snowshoes and ski poles on one wall, fishing nets on another wall, sort of religious looking angel things on another wall lol), and the music that plays in the room is early 2000s. lol. Pretty weird. But cool? So it makes sense it’s located in Saskatoon’s eclectic neighbourhood—Riversdale.
So that’s my little travel guide to the little City of Saskatoon!
I just love that this city has everything you’d want in a big city—including seriously great restaurants—yet still retains its small town charm (the vibes!)
There’s lots to do, see and most importantly EAT in Saskatoon and hopefully you’ll pop into some of the spots I highlighted in this guide.
- Check out Discover Saskatoon’s Directory for Where to Eat
- Check out Discover Saskatoon’s Directory for Things to Do
- Copy Discover Saskatoon’s Suggested Itineraries
Thanks to Discover Saskatoon for partnering with me on this travel guide.
I can’t wait to get back to the city for more eats and exploration and I hope you enjoy your visit!
Disclosure: this post is sponsored by Discover Saskatoon. This does not impact opinions or views stated in this post. I love exploring + eating + recommending things to do. And I really love Saskatoon!
Linda Hoang
Linda Hoang is a popular, Alberta-based food, travel and lifestyle blogger and content creator. She has worked with countless tourism boards and travel destinations creating guides and sharing recommendations on things to do and food to eat wherever she visits. You can find all of Linda’s travel guides on her blog at www.linda-hoang.com