Free Bird - Lumsden, Saskatchewan

thefoodiebeeyqr

June 2025:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Free Bird is one of the best restaurants in this province. It’s local, it’s unique and it’s full of passion.

I ordered the Signature Paella ($39) and Skor Cheesecake ($12), my boyfriend ordered Dip n’ Drip Birria Tacos ($26), and my brother ordered Shrimp Tacos ($23) with truffle fries. While not pictured, the rest of our table ordered the 3 cheese pizza special and they ALL said it was extremely good.

My paella was high quality, huge and full of flavour. The seafood didn’t taste fishy at all. I’m impressed with the high quality and care. This was my first time eating Paella and the bar has been set HIGH. It truly was a bold one pan masterpiece with mussels, clams, shrimp, pulled chicken, and chorizo over crispy saffron rice in tomato broth. The Skor Cheesecake was amazing too, house made with little bits of Skor.

The Birria tacos were absolutely mouth watering with the slow braised brisket tacos stuffed with melted mozzarella. The consomé was house made and rich.

My brother said his shrimp tacos were good, though he wished for a 3rd. But the truffle fries were fantastic as always.
I can’t recommend this establishment enough. Our server Brittany was amazing and the food was phenomenal.
I’ll definitely be back, next time hopefully for brunch!

2024: What you’re looking at is the end of my best burger hunt. Turns out, the best burger was never in Regina but actually in Lumsden. This is a Swiss Mushroom Burger ($24) with Truffle Fries($4.50). And this is hands down the best burger I have ever eaten in this province by far.

The truffle fries are cut in house, tossed with FRESH herbs and topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan. They’re also served with a side of house made truffle mayo.

The bun is a soft, fresh bakery made brioche bun, burger sauce is made in house with just a little hint of spicy, the vegetables are fresh, Swiss cheese good quality and the mushrooms are roasted IN BACON FAT. The main event is the patty, and it did not disappoint. The patty is also fresh, from the butcher down the road with Saskatchewan beef. WOW just wow, does this thing taste amazing. I cannot stress just how delicious this thing was, after such a long time of trying to find a genuinely amazing burger.

They also can cook your burger to your liking. You like medium? They got you.

Everyone needs to taste this burger, it will show just how much restaurants in Regina are slacking and over charging you for Ok or shit quality food.

COMS 1.

Worth the Drive from Regina

This place claims to serve elevated comfort food and delivers on its promise.

Food

Ordered the burger of the month - two patties, cheddar and Swiss, bacon, onion, jalapeno and mayo (I think).

- Burger cooked to order and according to my preferred temperature
- Bun was able to support the toppings without falling apart while not being to bready
- The lack of an overpowering condiment i.e. ketchup, mustard, etc. allowed the patties, cheese and bacon to shine while the mild heat from the jalapenos helped cut through their heaviness
- Fries with skin on, perfect thickness, served hot and well salted

This is how you take an ordinary and ubiquitous menu item and elevate it while preserving the core elements that make it a tried and true classic.

Service

- Server friendly, took the time to hear my preferences and propose menu items accordingly
- Friendly, attentive but not intrusive (often a hard balance to strike)
- Knowledge of the menu items, their components and ingredients was obvious and appreciated

Atmosphere

- the place has a vibe as some people might say
- Rustic, eclectic
- Small and subtle details come together to create a welcoming and unpretentious space
- Incandescent bulb- like salt and pepper shakers, a stylized logo on the wall that changed colours, etc.

The place was definitely worth the 40 minute drive from the city. If I weren't just visiting, I'd return and try something else from the menu. I hope the community continues to support this establishment and that it sticks around for years to come. Support local.

Aaron C.

Delicious food! Only been twice but I loved it. Big recommend on the Birria Dip and Drip tacos!

erin G.

What an absolute small town gem! Recommended by a friend it was better than we expected. All the dishes were delicious, best tuna melt I’ve ever had with a huge slab of fresh Ahi with fantastic flavourful toppings. To add, our server Brittany was first class just making the whole experience top notch! Worth the drive wherever you’re from!

Jason O.

The dry ribs were fantastic, as was the fried chicken. I would definitely go back again.

Justin M.

First off I want to say, I will be back to try again and give a better review. We popped in here for a supper date night on a Saturday two weeks ago and the service was just horrible from start to finish. But perhaps the server was having an off night I'm not sure. I would think that past the first issue of forgetting we were sitting at a table I assume the service would have got better but it didn't. Enough about that though. The food was absolutely amazing and everything that I expected it to be from some of the positive feedback I've gotten from friends that have been here before. So I can't wait to come back and try it again. I wish time is all the services good I'll be planning to change my review to a five-star. Thanks for listening:-)

Jesse N.

Meals did not meet expectations and were underwhelming as a whole. The service was decent when we had it but overall disappointing. Drink orders were forgotten, or members at our table of 10 were just skipped over entirely. Splitting a bill into three took about four attempts and 15 minutes.

To be fair, I do think our overall disappointment with this dining experience may be a result of such high expectations after hearing so much praise. I do also understand the possibility that our server was new. But overall, our experience was negative, and I couldn't in good conscience recommend this establishment to others, at least not for Mother's Day brunch.

I do think that this establishment deserves another chance. I would be happy to revise this review.

Anthony L.

Five stars for this place. The only thing I was upset about was that this was my first time ever here.

The service was really great , the cocktails are very impressive and there was not a long wait to receive our food.

And boy was it delicious!

I will certainly be back again real soon with friends and family!