Guide to Iqaluit, Nunavut: where to eat, drink, shop, sleep, and play

(Updated November 2021)

Canada’s youngest capital city Iqaluit, Nunavut is also Canada’s smallest capital city with less than 8000 people. The city is a mix of new businesses, places to eat, drink, shop and traditional Inuit culture and life. For a small city, it has a lot of personality, social life, activity and art. The traditional arts and handmade crafts are truly gorgeous and the city abounds with talent.

So, where do you go? What do you do? What should you see? Where do you stay? In this guide, we have compiled a list of places to eat, drink, shop, sleep and play in Iqaluit. This is not a complete list, but covers the majority of places in Iqaluit.

Table of Contents

1.Eat and Drink

• The hippest places in town
• Sit and Eat
• Diner/ Grab and go or delivery
• Groceries

2. Shop

• Direct from the artist
• Stores that sell local arts and crafts
• Other stores

3. Sleep

• Houses and hotels

4. Play

• Activities and Sights
• Nightlife

5. Conclusion

Eat and Drink

The hippest places in town

• Black Heart Café: this hip happening coffee shop is a bright, happy colorful and stylish place with lots of seating. It is clearly very popular and was busy every time we went in. The coffee is great, and they have a selection of delicious and fresh sandwiches, soup, and house-made baking.

• The Nunavut Brewing Company aka “NuBrew”: is a cool and friendly little brewery just outside the downtown center (aka you might want to drive or cab unless its summer). It has an industrial yet cozy comfy atmosphere and from the seating you can see the brewing tanks lit up in color. You can get beer flights, and all 5 of the beers they currently make are really good. My favourites were the Aupaqtuq Red Ale and the Porter, and Jill liked the Floe Edge Lager. Their merchandise/ clothing is pretty awesome too, and we picked up some shirts, glasses and a ball cap. There is no restaurant at NuBrew, but they have menus for delivery and you can get food delivered from most of the places named in the “Grab and Go” list below. Or you can do it local style and bring your own food. We went and met about 20 people there for an afternoon of food, beer and games and everyone just brought appies to share in what turned out to be a great spread. Luckily, we had this local intel ahead of time and showed up with snacks to contribute.

Sit and eat

There are two nice dining restaurants in Iqaluit:

• The Granite Room: The Granite Room is located in the Discovery Hotel’s Restaurant. The Granite room is touted as being the nicest place in Iqaluit to eat or celebrate. The food is good and it has a good Sunday brunch as well. People like to say it’s a really expensive restaurant, but I didn’t find it outrageous- we had two full nice meals, a delicious and large salad and two glasses of wine for about $170 or so (plus tip of course).

• The Frob Kitchen & Eatery: The other nice dining option is located in the Frobisher Inn. I personally love the Frob for a solid and delicious diner out. They serve Arctic char, duck and vegetarian and gluten free dishes, as well as burgers and pizzas. The food is delicious and the service is good. I love the Arctic Char with maple glaze and Jill regularly enjoys the rack of ribs. As well, we love the chocolate lava cake and the caramel lava cake for desert. People often complain about the high cost of things in Iqaluit, and we heard horror stories of how much it costs to eat out at the nice places, but the price at the Frob is quite reasonable considering the context. Generally our whole meal, with two full mains, a large salad or appy to start, deserts and a glass of wine was about $130, which is not more than I would expect to pay down “south” for a nice meal.

There are two pub-style places to eat

• Storehouse Bar and Grill: the Storehouse is a pretty awesome pub-style restaurant with food, drinks and events. It is located in the Frobisher Inn. There are karaoke nights and bands or DJs. They also do a Sunday brunch.  The Storehouse is a fun, cool environment with vintage snowmobiles hanging from the ceiling and great burgers. Its the perfect place to meet with friend for grub and beer any night.

• The Royal Canadian Legion: we went for steak night on Friday and it was quite tasty. And their wings night is a hot plate of deliciousness! We also went here for New Year’s Eve, hoping there would be a live band as we heard they often did. Unfortunately no such luck. There was dancing, and a prime rib dinner for those who wanted it, and we hung out, had some beer, and played some pool. NOTE: you need a membership or to have a sponsor (such as  be an employee of the RCMP, paramedics, fire department, military etc) who can sign you in. or ask to go in as a guest. The population that attends here is quite diverse considering this, and the crowd ranged from 19-90.

Diner/ Grab and go or Delivery

• The Snack: people here love The Snack, and for good reason! The Snack will deliver food 24 hours a day. They also have an adorable diner area where you can hang out and eat during regular hours. The food ranges from burgers, (yum! The double snack burger with cheese and bacon was delicious) to fried chicken (yum!), and poutine (super yum!) and other similar types of food. Their caesar salad was also really good.

• Yummy Shawarma: The Shawarma from here was good! This place has the most diverse menu with a wide selection of pizza, burgers, pastas, salads and other items. There is no seating and is take-out or delivery only, but you can just walk in and order your shawarma with whatever toppings you want.

• Grind & Brew Coffee Shop: a little local coffee shop, with pizza. There is also a sitting area if you want to eat in.

• Hunter’s Market:  this is not what it sounds like. It is a small convenience store with take-out pizza. We walked over one day and ordered pizza and a caesar salad to bring home. The crust tasted freshly made and was the pizza was quite tasty. And it was refreshing to have a yummy fresh salad.

• Big Rack BBQ: This place used to be a hot spot, we hear, but the building burned down. Big Rack now has a pita stand in the Aquatic Center with fresh wraps and ice cream. The Pita Hut makes MASSIVE fresh custom made pitas with lots of toppings. It is good bang for your buck and you will be completely stuffed with healthy food.

• For some reason there are 3 Tim Hortons (but no other fast food chains), one at the NorthMart and one by the Road to Nowhere and one at the Quickstop downtown.

For those of you who are not Canadian, poutine is a Canadian Classic. It is a glorious mix of french fries with melty cheese curds and doused with gravy. While Quebec is famous for its poutine, poutine is a fan-favourite all over Canada and good poutine is a must-try.

Groceries

In addition to the below food stores, you can also sometimes buy things like freshly caught Arctic Char on the side of the road, often by the Northmart. We bought a large fish for $40. Char is like a salmon- it has pinkish meat and is super tasty.

• Arctic Ventures Marketplace, aka “the Co-op”: The Co-op has a great selection and is a pleasure to shop at. For some reason, it is way less busy than Northmart. Upstairs Ventures has a whole other area, with books, household items, electronics, toys, material etc.

• Northmart: Northmart is the largest store, and has groceries as well as other items (picture a smaller more local version of a Walmart style place). Northmart is the busiest and is my least favourite store to shop, although it has a big selection so I find myself there a lot…often waiting in long painful lines.

• Baffin Canners: Canners is the local style grocery store. While it is alot smaller, so less range of food, it also brings in lots of speciality items for locals– such as frozen famous Montreal bagels and frozen pizza dough. It has good prices on veggies and meat.

• Nunavut Country Store: this awesome and small place is a room with a bunch of freezers filled with Nunavut sourced meat and fish, such as Arctic char , caribou and elk, narwhal/muktuq and seal meat. Some days they have had free hot Caribou Stew for locals, which is pretty great.

Shop

The arts and crafts in Iqaluit are plentiful and beautiful. The amount of talent in this small centre is astounding. The handmade outdoor clothing is the most beautiful and stunning outdoor wear I have ever seen. The carvings are varied and lovely, and different regions have different specialties.

Direct from the Artists

The first thing to know about shopping in Iqaluit is that it happens everywhere, not just in stores. It is common place for artists to approach people on the streets, in the coffee shop, grocery store or in the middle of dinner at a restaurant with items for sale. Bartering is expected, so anticipate that the person selling will start high and will go down in price, but do remember that people are making a living and supporting their families with their art when negotiating a fair price. I got a small mini carving of a sandstone bear and walrus whisker earrings this way, at a price lower than in the stores.

On Fridays you can also go to the prison and can view and purchase items that the inmates have made. We got an ulu (a wide rounded knife) made by a female inmate (yes, we bought a knife from a jail inmate….pretty cool). The range of items varies depending on who is incarcerated at the time, but it’s pretty cool to go check out the wares. You go to the main entrance at the minimum-security jail, and the case of items is just in the main doors at the check in desk. You can pay with credit card if you want.

An ulu is an all purpose crescent-shaped arctic knife traditionally used by the Inuit for all activities including food prep, skinning animals. Ulu means “woman’s knife” due to its traditional role in domestic activities, although men used them in hunting as well. Now they are used for practical purposes by all, and more than one person has told us how great they are for cutting pizza. Ulus continue to hold cultural significance and you will see depictions of them in art.

Stores that sell local arts and crafts

• Rannva: This store was utterly breathtaking and we spent a lot of time here trying items on and oohing-and awing at others. Rannva makes sealskin and fur outdoor clothing, including absolutely stunning jackets, vests, gloves, and hats. You can also buy pelts and seal skins here in a gorgeous array of dyed colors. The store location has changed and it is now located in the Apex area at 3102 Angel St.

Rannva is also part of a movement called “Sewing for Survival” which encourages and promotes the Inuit women in the community to continue their traditional arts and crafts to ensure their survival, and to earn income and improve their lives through the creative use of their indigenous skills. Rannva purchases items made by other women to sell in her store, therefore there is also accessories, jewellery.

• Malikkaat:  here there are children’s and adult books by Nunavut writers in English and Inuktitut, jewellery, accessories, ulus and other arts and crafts for sale. This store is great, and we loved the children’s books.

• Northern Collectables: this store is crammed full of an eclectic mix of items. It’s pretty fun to slowly go through it. This store is close to the jail so you can hit it if you go to the jail to check out the wares there!

• Carvings Nunavut Inc: This large store /gallery has tonnes of carvings and carries a selection of really nice sealskin boots and footwear, as well as some other arts and crafts such as gloves and accessories. This store has the most “commercial” feel of them all, has the largest collection of carvings in Iqaluit.

The sealskin/ fur mitts are a staple here in Iqaluit and people will properly oh-and-ah over your new mitts because each pair is a work of art. On my second day here, I realized the gloves I had brought were completely inadequate for the weather. I bought a gorgeous pair of simple dark olive-green seal skin mitts here that I am completely in love with. And they are so very warm and perfect for the Iqaluit winter.

• Aayuraa Studio: This jewellery studio is hard to find because it is just an unmarked brown house– Building 1017 and is located near the Northmart. But its pretty cool. Its founder Mathew Nuqingaq has received the Order of Canada due to his art. The studio is a working studio where the artists are making jewellery, but they have a couple of displays with the items they currently have for sale and you can go to the studio and see what they have and buy items. Click here for a CBC article for more info.

Other stores

• Baffin Flowers and Gifts: Our friend needed tights to wear with a dress to a formal event. Apparently, the only place in town to get such an item is Baffin Flowers and Gifts. We struggled to find it, and when we did, it was a total surprise because I expected a small flower store (that bizarrely carried tights). This store is like no other in Iqaluit. It is jam packed with knick-knacks, mugs with sayings on them, little toys, accessories and yes, we did find nylons. Apparently, it also has flowers and does bouquets.

• Arctic Survival Store: get your outdoor work and hunting and fishing gear here.  Jill bought me a rad no-spill coffee mug here that I have used every day since. It also has furs and pelts for sale.

Sleep

• Airbnb has some listings in Iqaluit. This is the ideal way to experience Iqaluit, by staying in a local’s abode. There is not a wide selection of places available however, and it isn’t cheap. But the benefits of having a kitchen will save you a lot of trouble and expense, as eating out in Iqaluit is limited and more expensive than you might be used to, considering the distance items need to travel to get here.

• Bed &Breakfasts: there are a few B&B’s as well, although I found they are hard to find. When we were at Rannva, we found out that she has 2 B&Bs: a 3 bedroom one in the Apex area attached to the store, and a smaller one in behind the post office, both of which are really nice according to the lovely woman in the store. There are also a few B&B’s listed on the Travel Nunavut website.

• The Discovery Hotel: is hailed as Iqaluit’s only “boutique” hotel. It looks quite nice, and we were told that the restaurant is really good. The location is excellent—it is right in the city centre.

• The Frobisher Inn: is Iqaluit’s largest hotel. It also has a fine dining restaurant, the Storehouse Bar and Grill and a little café. Its up the hill a bit/ behind the hospital so you will need to drive or cab most places.

• Capital Suites: you can rent rooms or whole suites here. When we moved to Iqaluit we needed to stay 3 weeks in Capital Suites before we got into our house. I can tell you from moving 4 times while there (due to booking issues), pay the extra for the suite!! The suites are totally functional and fine, with a full kitchen, living room and bedroom. The rooms I hated being in — they are small and it is impossible to eat out in Iqaluit all the time so not having a kitchenette is a big deal.

Play

Just enjoying the stunning scenery is a joy. In the winter months you can go Northern Lights hunting (try the Road to Nowhere on a clear night!). In the summer you can go hiking. There are outfitters who can take you on excursions, including dogsledding or snowmobiling, fishing or hunting.

Activities and Sites

The Iqaluit Aquatic Centre is really nice! It is a new building and is a bright, clean, lovely facility. The pool has a waterslide and climbing wall, a lap pool and leisure pool, a hot tub and saunas. As well they have three large change rooms, men, women and inclusive — pretty cool. The gym facility here is also super—it is bright and open with a good range of equipment and nice views of outside. The whole facility is pretty first-class for a small place, and it is a pleasure to go to.

Arctic Winter Games Complex is an arena in the winter and an indoor sports field in the summer. There are public skates. We didn’t go because I am a terrible skater, but heard it is very nice.

The Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum: we weren’t able to visit because it closed for about 2 weeks for the Christmas break, and we didn’t realize until the day it closed. But everyone raved about it! So, make sure you hit it up.

Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park: a public park with hiking trails, barbeque area, a river where char can be fished. On a Sunday afternoon, even in the winter, the park was busy with dog sledding, snow mobiles, hikers and drivers checking out the view and the sunset. If you are into geocaching there is apparently a puzzle set up throughout the park. The park is gorgeous and close to the city. It’s also close to the brewery so you can pop in for a breswkie after hiking!

Night life

There are a few places where there are events or evening activities:

• Royal Canadian Legion—the Legion is a happening place in Iqaluit. There is karaoke night, live music and dancing on weekends. Friday is steak night! Tuesday is wings night! You need to be a member or have a member sign you in or get a visitor pass. We went for New Years Eve and there was a prime rib dinner and dancing. Although it was not nearly as busy as we expected, we had a good time with beer, pool and music with people ranging from 19- ?. You must coat check your coat at the door for $1 and sign in any guests.

• The Storehouse at the Frobisher Inn- Pub environment with TVs, pool tables and sometimes a DJ or live band , serving solid pub fair.

• The Chart Room Bar: the only bar in Iqaluit is quite new. We aren’t really the bar type anyways, and we tend to prefer gay bars and drag shows, and so we didn’t make it out to this bar during our stay this time.

Conclusion

Iqaluit has a lot going on for a city of less than 8000 people. While it is small, it also feels like there is quite a bit to do and see. In the summer, there would be a lot more to do, with the vast amount of outdoor activities available. But even in the dead of winter, we had a great time in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

If you are a business owner with a store front in Iqaluit, and you think your business should be listed here, or I have the info incorrect or it is outdated, please send me a message through my Contact page, and I will consider adding your business to this list. and will update your info.

For more information about Iqaluit, Nunavut see my other blog posts:

Iqaluit, Nunavut in Pictures: Photos that will make you want to go to Canada’s Arctic

15 Things to Know About Iqaluit, Nunavut Before you Go

Our Rad Finds in Nunavut: Handcrafted Art in Pictures