Morinville’s newest restaurant opens in familiar place

bistro

By Ashley Janes

Morinville – If you have traveled down 100th Avenue in Morinville anytime over the past two months, you may have noticed that Don’s Bar and Bistro is no longer open, the steakhouse having officially closed its doors on June 15th. What you may not have noticed is that on Saturday, August 10th, a new restaurant opened in Don’s former location. The Bistro Di Madre Piccola, specializing in International fare leaning towards Italian, is open for business despite its temporary lack of front signage.

Although proprietors Christine Pereira and Deepthi Pelenage are first time restaurant owners, their faces will be familiar to you. This is because they were employees at Don’s for the past three years. When it closed, they decided to take a chance on their dream and open up their own place, looking forward to providing their hometown of Morinville with a fantastic new dining experience.

Both chefs have worked in impressive kitchens around the world, including the renowned Fairmont Hotel in Bermuda. Christine explained that she settled in Morinville because she is a Catholic and wanted a good community to raise her children in. “It’s so different here,” she said. “It’s not like the city. When you talk to people here, they talk to you too. Everybody’s so much nicer. That’s why I wanted this to be my home.”

A quick glance at the menu showcases their years of international culinary experience. Both the lunch and dinner menus are filled with everything from hearty soups and savory appetizers to gourmet pizza and more decadent entrees. When asked what dish she would recommend for lunch, Christine admitted she loves steak so she would choose the Bistecca di Manzo. This is a thick cut of top grade beef served open face on a French baguette with caramelized onions and garlic butter. She would also urge customers to try any one of their pizzas, which are made fresh in-house when you order them.

For dinner, Christine recommended the Bistecca di Manzo con Pepe Grano. This is a 10oz sirloin steak drizzled with a peppercorn sauce, served with sautéed mushrooms and garlic mashed potatoes. However, she does not want readers to be dissuaded if steak is not their preference. The Bistro DI Madre Piccola also serves fish, chicken, and lamb dishes such as Halibut con Risotto di Zucca, Pollo Blu Codone, and Costolette d’Agnello con Erba. Whatever your pallet craves, they most certainly have a dish in the menu for you.

The owners and staff of Bistro Di Madre Piccola are confident there is no other spot like theirs in town. “I think there was a need for a nice restaurant in Morinville, somewhere people could feel comfortable, enjoy quality food, and receive great service,” Christine explained. “I have brought in some excellent chefs who really know how to cook International food, including some unique dishes you won’t find anywhere else. We opened this restaurant for Morinville and we hope we can win the people over.”

The Bistro Di Madre Piccola is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 4 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for dinner.

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10 Comments

  1. Welcome to our wonderful town! I look forward to trying your restaurant and wish you many years of great success!

  2. We ate there on Friday night. The food was very good. I had the halibut. Mmmm.

  3. My fiancee and I ate at the restaurant the second day that they were open. Kristen enjoyed the steak which was delicious and I had the Chicken Cordon Blue which was excellent! Good luck to the new owners of the business!

  4. I eat at the former Don’s many times but stopped going because I did not have an hour to eat my lunch. Service was way to slow for a lunch. ( it’s different if its for supper) Even when I ordered the lunch special it took way too long.

    I look forward to trying the new restaurant and the new menu.

  5. Thanks for bringing some of the worlds best chefs into our community. Best of luck to you and your team.

  6. Congratulations and Good Luck on the opening of your restaurant! I will look forward to coming by for a great meal.

  7. We had a lovely dinner there on Friday night, tried the lamb & chicken…..awesome flavour! We again went back Sunday with a group from church & once again amazing food…..the pizza is incredible. We wish success to this wonderful group of people who are trying so hard…come on Morinville let’s support them.

  8. I can’t wait to get back to Moronville and try your new Restraunt , an update to follow

  9. This is what Morinville is about. Community and supporting the people that take the risk and who see our town as something more then a place to sleep. The town and its people are so glad the team stayed to bring us more good food.
    Good Luck
    Ron, Karen and all our kids!

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