Why Not? Cafe And Bar

Craig L.

10 June 2026

The salmon was incredible. We set our price & Levi, the House chef, made us a chef's menu that was fantastic. The salmon was a 6/5.

Monica I.

7 June 2026

Did someone say awesome drink specials and food? I have been trying to find this place for ages - I knew the address, but until I knew I was looking for a RED door, I didn't know it was upstairs above Red Pony consignment, near Upper Crust Cafe on the west side of 109 St.

Once you find it, you won't forget. However, stairs... full flight of stairs could be a little tough for mobility challenged folks.

I came for late late lunch one afternoon I was off, specifically because Chef Levi had tweeted about the lunch special shrimp tacos the day before - and had said that he would pick up some corn tortillas to make them #glutenfree for me. And although the fries were unavailable, shucks, I was more than happy to have the substituted duck tots!

Crispy, crispy tots. Ode to tots. Potatoes are a delicious food group unto themselves. They speak for themselves. Order them. You will not be disappointed.

The shrimp tacos did not disappoint, really well filled & I had overflow ;-) like that's a bad problem! (I'm being sarcastic... it's never a problem!). I left sated, but probably would have ordered more tacos if I had time.

Decor, is clean, neat, and there are some pieces of GREAT local art on the walls, and the biggest complaint I heard is how popular it is and hard to keep inventory! Another great place for Edmonton artists!

Happy hour... indeed the specials are enticing! Worth checking out! 4-6 and 9-close.

And patio! There's a PATIO! WOO WOO! I expect that we will be spending a bunch of the summer here. Can't wait to bring friends from out of town and try more of the menu!

Alisha K.

24 May 2026

I really enjoyed the evening that I spent at Why not! They have a very unique menu and are always adding and reinventing their dishes and cocktails.

It wasn't busy when I went on Tuesday afternoon and the server was very happy to chat with us and explain the menu and make suggestions. I started with the XXX bubble tea which had a delicious creamy Lychee flavour, it was surprisingly strong! My friends tried the thai-quila limeade and the uyu yong (Korean yogurt cocktail) and they were impressed with the balance of flavours as well. Beer and wine was on special during happy hour for $5-6 but we wanted to try their fancy drinks :)

Their food plating is a work of art. First off, it was hard to choose what to order as their menu is so unique and interesting, but we ended up getting the sliders of the day, nacho average wontons, sticky miso cauliflower and the mozzarella dip. Everything was fantastic and very well presented. My favourite were the sliders as the ratio of bun to meat and sauce was just right.

I can't wait to try the duck tots!

Chantel H.

24 May 2026

Came in with a large group for my friends birthday.

This place is very hipster chic. Casual decor with lots of colourful and interesting artwork on the walls. Limited space to you'll probably want to make a reservation. The menu, like the space is small, but offers up some awesome choices including options for vegans and celiacs alike. The food is amazing and if it wasn't for a few hiccups I definitely would have given this place a five star. To bad you can't do a half star.

A few of us arrived early to get in some extra visiting and we shared a bunch of appetizers. The Appetizer menu is surprisingly cheap, but the food definitely does not reflect it. The nachos and cheese is only $4. And the cheese is so good you basically just want to tilt the bowl back and let it empty into your mouth. The nachos appeared to be Tostitos from the bag, but I could be wrong. The Edamame are a great choice for vegans and meat eater as well. They had a great day sauce on them with a sprinkle of black and white sesames. We also tried the deconstructed mozzarella sticks. Now if you are big on salty and sweet this dish has got you covered. Because not only do they deconstruct the mozzarella stick but the chief spins it on it's head by drizzling honey on top. My God, it was like going to melted cheese heaven, umm.

On top of that the drink menu is ever revolving and offers some very interesting choices on both cocktails and beer. I tried the LEGO my life and it was a super fun martini type cocktail. I also tried a sip of my friends sour beer. Now I'm not usually big on beer but I can definitely see myself drinking a whole can of that. The wine list was substantial sorted but my friend seemed happy with what they had to offer.

For dinner I tried the Salmon and Salami. I'm not good and making decisions so rather then read the description I just picked by the title. I was definitely surprised when the dish came out with sashimi style raw salmon but the dish did not disappoint. The sauce on the plate complemented the dish perfectly and the sprinkle of bits offered a nice change in texture except... when I got to about half way through the dish I thought one of the pieces of bits tasted off but wasn't sure. Then when I was about done on of the prices of nuts was definitely rancid. Ugg.

Also a couple at our table had ordered the charcuterie board to share. While everything on it tasted great they ended up needing more bread to finish the board. Unfortunately they ended up waiting for 20 minutes for the extra pieces. I guess they bake the mini little loaves fresh to order which is the reason for the long wait but when your mid meal that is a long time to wait.

All in all a fun time was held by all. Lots of interesting drink and food choices. Would definitely recommend and come again.

Hayle W.

17 May 2026

finally got my butt down to Whynot? Cafe this weekend for their once a month brunch special and the food did not disappoint.

We arrived a few minutes behind our reservation time of 1230 (don't worry, I called to let them know as well as to apologize) and waited in line to order. Upon arrival there was a sign stating they were full today and reservations had a max time limit of 60-75 minutes. Perfect! This should be quick service, in and out in an hour and I'll still have time for an afternoon nap before dinner.

Whynot? Is set up a little different than your usual restaurant but if you've been to Tres Carnales Taqueria, you'll know the drill. Unfortunately not everyone has been to a restaurant that requires you to order upon your arrival so it can be a bit confusing at first. It would have been nice to have a bit of a rundown of the process because once we left the counter after placing our order, we were unsure if we had to go back and get our drinks or would they be delivered, a few people had numbers and we weren't asked to take one. It was a confusing start but once we inquired about it, we were told they would be brought to us.

My first impression was it was a neat set up for a small location but I was also turned off because of the group seating. There are two large tables that seat 12, one table that seats 4, and two large leather chairs that are also used for dining. I personally do not enjoy sitting at a large table full of strangers but I see quite a few places going this way in regards to seating and that's fine but it's just not my cup of tea. I especially wasn't a fan of the "sit where ever you fit." We ended up sitting side by side in between the two tables which was quite congested as I had someone directly behind me.. if you weighed more than average, you'd be struggling to find any kind of comfort or space.

I ordered a mimosa and my boyfriend ordered water. I think it took a solid 20 minutes for us to receive our drinks. The place was quite busy and they don't have much for staff so it's understandable but that doesn't make it okay. For the menu, they had 4 options; a sandwich, eggs benedict, avocado toast and waffles. The sides were duckfat and basil hash browns or a vegan option of sweet potato hash browns. We chose to order the Leaning Benny of Cheezah which was a prosciutto sausage patty, tomato chutney, KD hollandaise, crispy fried noodles, cheeto crumbs, and chili oil, all on a house made bagel. The Monstar Sandwich which was a Cajun shrimp patty, brown sugar bacon wrapped chicken thigh, pate, fried egg, white cheddar, pickled shaved onion, lettuce with a cilantro remoulade on a sesame bun and we also had the duckfat hash browns. Like I said at the very beginning of this wordy review; the food did not disappoint. All three were excellent! The eggs on the benny were cooked to perfection. A slightly strange mix of ingredients made for absolutely delicious dishes that I would recommend to anyone.. except a vegan.

The only other negative I have was that it took well over an hour to get our food. They apologized for the delay and we received all of our drinks for free which we greatly appreciated since I drank more than I had anticipated I would during our wait.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the Whynot? monthly brunch. I would highly recommend calling and making a reservation whether it's for brunch or for dinner as there is not a lot of seating.

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Craig L.

Monica I.

Alisha K.

Chantel H.

Hayle W.

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