Our first dinner in Regina was at The Willow on Wascana to indulge on their 6 Course Tasting Menu to get a taste of their take on Saskatchewan regional cuisine. Their menu is seasonal, so it does change up. They have been open since 2004. They are Regina’s only restaurant overlooking the lake of Wascana. The patio was closed when we went due to the weather, so we sat inside and still enjoyed the view of the lake from our seats.
6 Course Tasting Menu
The tasting menu is $75 and you can add the wine flight for $35 extra or their premium wine flight for $55. We went with the tasting menu as it was a great way to get a feel for their menu. Plus, sometimes I get indecisive when choosing dishes, so I like to leave it up to the experts.
Amuse Bouche
We started off with the Moroccan chicken drumette with chili oil. I like the subtle amount of chili oil to give it a better depth of flavour. The spices they used were really good too.
Shrimp Taco
This has pickled selva shrimp and tomato salad with avocado lime cream, Coteau Hills feta and cilantro with crispy tortilla crumble. The shrimp was delicate and full of natural sweetness. The dish was like a deconstructed taco and I liked it.
Gnudi
These ricotta parmesan dumplings are tossed in sage brown butter with preserved lemon vinaigrette and micro greens sautéed greens. The parmesan is prevalent and was enjoyed with the brown butter sauce.
Rocaan Chicken
This has Ras el hanout spiced chicken breast on creamy sesame chick pea puree with charred eggplant salsa and mint gremolata. I enjoyed this as the chicken breast was very moist and the spices were tasty.
Petite Mole
This has mole spiced petite tenderloin on fried polenta with Pico de Gallo, sautéed greens and ancho garlic crema. The polenta was a good accompaniment to the tenderloin, but the tenderloin was more on the medium side rather than medium rare.
Cheesecake
This is not your average cheesecake. It has goat cheese lime cheesecake with house made sesame snap, apple miso caramel and candied walnuts. We enjoyed the goat cheese lime cheesecake but the sesame snap was a smidge thick and ended up sticking to our teeth a lot rather than having a good snap.
Drinks
I got the Paloma, which is a tequila based cocktail with grapefruit juice, lime and soda. My friend got a virgin drink and asked for something fruity.
Final Thoughts
This place is a gem in the Summer especially with the views from the Wascana Lake. Dining on the patio would be gorgeous. We were stuffed after all 6 courses, it was actually a good size and gave us a taste on dishes using seasonal Saskatchewan ingredients to create delicious flavours.
Address:
3000 Wascana Dr, Regina, SK
Website:
http://www.willowonwascana.ca/
