Restaurants: Fat Rabbit, St Catharines, Niagara – so good I went twice in a week
Website: https://fat-rabbit.ca/
I was in town a day early for the WineAlign National Wine Awards in Canada’s Niagara region, and so was Jeremy Bonia, so we headed to Fat Rabbit to lunch. It was so good that we revisited with Geoffrey Moss and Rhys Pender after judging had finished.
I’d already been here soon after it opened in 2024. Now it’s rightly famous. In a slightly sketch part of St Catharines, it has indoor and outdoor dining space, and also operates as a butcher and caterer. All their meat is butchered in house.
The food here is superb, and in particular, their famous cheeseburger is worth a lengthy detour to taste. The charcuterie and pickles were also spot on.
The wine list is excellent, with a little dose of quirk that I love. They also sell many of their wines to take out (which is really useful in a monopoly country, where otherwise you wouldn’t be able to get these wines in the LCBO). We tried two wines by the glass on visit one.
The first was a collab between the two female winemakers at leading Niagara winery Queylus, Kelly Mason and Brooke Husband. It’s a taut, linear, fine rosé with lovely fruit intensity. The second was a Lemberger (Blaufränkisch) from Pearl Morissette, an excellent low-intervention winery in Niagara.
Pearl Morisette Primesautier Lemberger 2024 Niagara, Canada
11.5% alcohol. This is so bright and juicy. Served chilled it has vibrant cherry fruit with nice tart acidity and a lick of spicy detail. So nutritious and delicious. 93/100
On visit two, we opted for an excellent Lambrusco.
Villa Picta Lambusco Provincia di Mantova 2022 Emilia Romagna, Italy
Juicy and bright with tart redcurrant and raspberry fruit. Such purity and precision. Just a hint of cured meat. Lovely weight here. 93/100
