The team that brought us Perron and A Streetbar Named Desire has just opened another neighbourhood gem named Winner Winner. What appears to be an American-style diner serving fried chicken is so much more: it’s fresh, free-range and fantastic.

The interior of Winner Winner. Photo by Kate Liquorish.

The menu, atmosphere and prices are all rather casual, but some serious effort goes into the simple offerings: the confit buffalo hot wings are drained and dried before being deep-fried and basted in homemade hot sauce. The southern fried chicken pieces are marinated in buttermilk, coated and fried until extra crispy. There’s also vegan fried ‘chicken’ and a Lyndsay Lo-hen burger featuring spicy, smoky banana peels (vegan bacon) on a vegan brioche bun with lettuce, pickles, tomato and vegan BBQ sauce.

The confit buffalo hot wings. Photo by Kate Liquorish.

Sides include sensational mac ‘n cheese, Waldorf slaw, mash and roasted garlic gravy (with or without bacon), and pap and spicy sauce. Dessert? CBD-infused Belgian white and dark chocolate brownies with ice cream and chocolate sauce, and cereal-milk panna cotta. And who can say no to a negroni sorbet topped with either MCC brut or Campari?

Cereal-milk panna cotta. Photo by Kate Liquorish.

For drinks, think all things fermented and pickled to cut through the richness of the food. Favourites include the jalapeño-and-blackberry margarita made with tequila, triple sec, lime, jalapeño pickle juice, jalapeños and blackberries; the ‘cereal killer’, a combination of cereal milk, dark rum and bourbon; and the drunken kimchi: gin, lemon juice, ginger-and-honey syrup, pickled ginger, pickled daikon, basil and ginger beer.

The Drunken kimchi cocktail. Photo by Kate Liquorish.

Winner Winner is open for lunch Fridays to Sundays and for dinner Mondays to Saturdays.

Brought to you by Retail Capital, sponsors of the Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year Award. Want to find more new restaurants in your city? Check out our new restaurants section.