Fairmont Le Château Frontenac is once again pushing the boundaries of winter luxury with the return of its Ice Restaurant, the only dining experience of its kind in the Americas. Following the success of its inaugural season, the immersive snow-and-ice restaurant has reopened, marking its second consecutive winter in collaboration with Québec City’s famed Hôtel de Glace.
Set entirely within a sculpted ice environment, the experience blends haute cuisine, contemporary design, and Nordic craftsmanship into a meticulously choreographed evening that begins in the heart of Old Québec and unfolds beyond the city. Guests depart Fairmont Le Château Frontenac aboard a dedicated shuttle to the Hôtel de Glace, where a guided tour of the iconic ice hotel introduces the season’s dramatic sculptures before dinner is served.
At the center of the experience is a three-course gourmet menu created by Fairmont Le Château Frontenac’s culinary brigade and served inside the ice restaurant itself—an ephemeral dining room carved from snow and ice. A welcome cocktail precedes the meal, and the evening concludes with a return shuttle to the city. Seating is intentionally limited, reinforcing the exclusivity of the experience.
“This project reflects our desire to push the boundaries of luxury hospitality while showcasing Québec winter through a bold, elegant, and deeply destination-rooted gastronomic experience,” said Jean-François Vary, General Manager of Fairmont Le Château Frontenac.
For 2026, the Ice Restaurant adopts a new theme, The Hôtel de Glace Comes to Life, transforming the space into what organizers describe as a “living” winter environment. Through light, form, and motion-inspired design, the ice appears to awaken, with delicately sculpted vegetation celebrating the resilience and beauty of nature. The result is a fully immersive sensory journey that blurs the line between art installation and fine dining.
The menu mirrors the theme, drawing heavily from Québec’s boreal terroir and winter flavors. The experience opens with an amuse-bouche of foie gras cake pop accented with gingerbread and sea buckthorn, followed by a sealed-crust soup featuring duck consommé, smoked duck breast, celery, and truffle.
The main course highlights a boreal-crusted rack of venison accompanied by nutmeg-scented celeriac mousseline, braised salsify, maitake mushrooms, dried beef bacon, and a grand veneur sauce infused with Gaspésie lingonberries. Dessert brings the evening to a close with a Bassan chocolate fondant paired with sweet clover marshmallow, cloudberry marmalade from Québec’s Côte-Nord, and warm chocolate sauce.
While Europe sees multiple ice dining experiences, with occasional pop-ups in Asia, this is an only dining experience in the Americas. The full Ice Restaurant experience is available Thursday through Saturday until March 21, 2026, priced at $255 per person.
Since 2000, the Hôtel de Glace has been a hallmark of Québec winter tourism, drawing visitors from around the world to its annually reimagined ice architecture at Village Vacances Valcartier. Its continued collaboration with Fairmont Le Château Frontenac reinforces Québec City’s reputation as a global destination for winter artistry, gastronomy, and experiential luxury.
