Food Notes for February 2, 2026

Openings

• Happy Lamb Hot Pot serving Mongolian-style hot pot, and is now open at 3838 Gateway Blvd NW. There are 11 other locations in Canada.
• Cookie shop COSW has opened up in the former Rock n Roll Ice Cream space at 10109 108 Avenue NW.
• Paraiso Tropical will be opening a new location with an “innovative concept” this year.
• With the closure of Epic at Station Park, the next iteration of the building will be the Station Park Food Hall, opening spring 2026.
• Chain cafe Chai Walla just opened their second location in Edmonton, at 2571 17 Street NW.

Closures

• Downtown taqueria Carne Asada is now closed.
• Also downtown, it looks like Gyu-Kaku is now closed.
• Takopo’s West Edmonton Mall location closed on February 1. The business will continue to operate its food truck.
• After ten years in business, Ayesha’s Kitchen and grocery store will be closing its doors.

Upcoming Events

• Burger It Forward runs February 1-28, 2026. 10 Edmonton restaurants are participating in this year’s event. Each burger sold will see Canada Beef donate $1 to Edmonton’s Food Bank.
• Winefest returns to the Edmonton Convention Centre on February 20-21. All-inclusive admission starts at $115.

Local News

• Taproot published a story about the King of Tarts’ new location, which formerly housed Sugared and Spiced.
• The Journal reviewed downtown’s newest restaurant, Fennec.
• Edify rounds up some north side restaurants where you can enjoy suhoor, the final meal before fasting during Ramadan.
• Edify also checks out Catch of the Week.
• Forbes covered the unique beers brewed by Blind Enthusiasm.
• NorQuest College’s new greenhouse microcredential program has a wait list.

What I Ate

• Chinatown Dining Week continues until February 8. Our family enjoyed the fried chicken skins from Kim Fat and the combo deal from Syphay last week.

Chinatown Dining Week deals (the chicken skin had already been picked over by my kids when we took the photo!)