It’s the list foodies everywhere have been waiting for, the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list has been revealed and there are a number of Toronto venues that made the cut.
This year’s list has crowned Montreal restaurant Mon Lapin as the number one restaurant in the country. The magazine describes the eatery as a “sweet spot between being a special-occasion restaurant and a no-occasion let’s grab a bite kind of place.”
In second place is renowned restaurant Alo that focuses on contemporary French cuisine, located in downtown Toronto. Its dishes are internationally inspired and include prime seasonal ingredients.
Now Toronto attended the preview of Canada’s 100 Best which included an array of restaurants and alcohol vendors, some of which did not make the list.
Now spoke to three chefs who were featured on the 2023 list.
- Canoe – 66 Wellington St. W, Toronto, Ontario (#18)
Acclaimed restaurant Canoe is known for its fresh seafood and devoted Canadian ingredients. The elegant restaurant believes in the philosophy of highlighting and promoting the finest suppliers and products in the country.
Executive Chef Ron McKinlay describes the special dish he and his team brought for guests.
“This is a smoked oyster tartare. We got oysters from Prince Edward Island, flat iron beef from Ontario that we marinate and char in Ontario birch syrup. The oysters are smoked and then we do kind of a take on a surf and turf tartare with both of them. We also get some sea truffle forage in Nova Scotia, bring that over and we make a custard that goes underneath,” McKinlay said.
2. Drift – 1709 Lower Water St, Halifax, Nova Scotia (#57)
This Halifax restaurant is nestled inside the Muir Hotel and only provides the best of Maritimes cuisine. Drift’s culinary vision is to display the East Coast’s locally cultivated and foraged ingredients, from its community of producers, farmers, fishers and artisans.
Chef Anthony Walsh says Drift is a love letter from the Maritimes to the rest of Canada.
“The bounty they have is unbelievable. Obviously, the seafood and you know, all of the forest stuff, all the seaweed and flowers and herbs we’re getting are unbelievable. And it’s putting those into a context that becomes just an everyday part of what we’re doing there,” Walsh said.
He also described the different flavours of his dish “maritime swordfish.”
“Swordfish that we’ve cured in the sugar kelp and then we made sort of a base of an XO type of sauce, a little bit spicy, but made with all the seaweed we have…the foundational dishes is a donair type of sauce, sweet, a bit of condensed milk and vinegar and stuff. So, it’s a really big umami bomb,” Walsh said.
3. LUPO – 208 Wolf St, Banff, Alberta (#95)
LUPO is an Italian restaurant that is recognized for its delicious pasta to its grilled chicken and fish. In addition, its wine list is predominantly Italian as well to add to the authentic European experience.
Executive Chef David Ryc explains the two unique dishes he brought called “Vitello Tonnato Pizzelle” and “Agnolotti Sigaro.”
“We decided we wanted to show off this pizzelle cracker, it’s our favorite little new add on to our menu and then our potato and raclette agnolotti is just a homerun and everyone likes this. We wanted to have something everyone was approachable for,” Ryc said.
Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants is an annual publication led by Editor-in-Chief Jacob Richler and is a showcase of the country’s best places to dine in. The restaurants are carefully selected by a panel of 135 judges composed of informed culinary enthusiasts, food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and other food service professionals.
Judges were asked to vote based on the complete dining experience from service, decor, depth of the cellar and of course, food quality. This year, takeout was dropped as a component.
“We always pride ourselves on the quality of our best restaurants lists–but all the same, this 2023 edition is a standout. We had more judges than ever before dining out with enthusiasm all across the country–and giving us their invaluable, thoughtful feedback,” Richler said in a statement Monday.
The top 20 best restaurants in Canada in 2023 are:
1. Mon Lapin (Montreal)
2. Alo (Toronto)
3. Published on Main (Vancouver)
4. Edulis (Toronto)
5. The Restaurant at Pearl Morissette (Jordan Station, ON)
6. St. Lawrence (Vancouver)
7. Langdon Hall (Cambridge)
8. Beba (Verdun)
9. AnnaLena (Vancouver)
10. Kissa Tanto (Vancouver)
11. 20 Victoria (Toronto)
12. Bar Kismet (Halifax)
13. Major Tom (Calgary)
14. Giulia (Toronto)
15. Pichai (Montreal)
16. Monarque (Montreal)
17. Prime Seafood Palace (Toronto)
18. Canoe (Toronto)
19. Sushi Masaki Saito (Toronto)
20. Hawksworth (Vancouver)
For the full list of the 100 top restaurants in the country, visit their website here.
