Feeling hungry? The highly-anticipated Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list just dropped, and half of the top 10 eateries are right here in Ontario.
Restaurant Pearl Morissette, located in Jordan Station, snagged the coveted no. 1 spot on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list, released Monday evening. Located in the Niagara region – about an hour drive southwest of Toronto – the French-inspired Michelin star restaurant serves up a revolving prix fixe menu featuring high-quality Canadian ingredients.
Online, Restaurant Pearl Morissette expressed heartfelt gratitude to the voters for their recognition and support, acknowledging the honour of being named one of Canada’s top culinary destinations.
“In these fraught times especially, topping Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list comes also with a responsibility to celebrate, promote and elevate Canadian products and understand what Canadian cuisine – so often a blank slate – can be,” the restaurant wrote in an Instagram post.
“And we are excited to continue to showcase the incredible ingredients, talent and place that we have here in our little corner of Niagara and in Canada in general.”
The feat is impressive, as the restaurant leaped from its no. 6 in 2024, bumping Montreal’s Mon Lapin down to second place. However, Canada’s 100 Best Editor-in-Chief Jacob Richler reiterates that the list is not a competition, but more so to be looked at as a microcosmic guide within the country’s thriving culinary excellence.
“We had 160 judges on the panel this year, and an overwhelming number of them picked Pearl Morisette as their number one choice,” Richler told Now Toronto ahead of the release.
“It’s such a great representation of its region, of the thinking and ambition of its two very intelligent, ambitious chefs, that it’s just hit a new level… I don’t see this really as a contest, but hats off to RPM for doing such an emphatically great job.”
Toronto leads the charge this year, with 29 out of the 100 restaurants making the cut. Among those are Alo, Edulis and 20 Victoria, which placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Mexican-inspired College Street restaurant Quetzal also placed at no. 8, jumping up from the no. 12 ranking in the previous year. Richler nods to the Michelin-starred restaurant’s Executive Chef Steven Molnar as a key factor in the restaurant’s continued success and rising stature.
“Quetzal is interesting because it’s not a new or young restaurant… but some restaurants mature and develop with time,” he said.
“Steve is the third chef to helm it. He’s been in there for a few years, but I think every year he gets a little more confident, a little more daring, a little more calm, and puts more and more complex things on the plate.”
Overall, 40 out of the 100 restaurants listed are within Ontario. With Toronto as the number one city, Montreal came in second with 24 entries, Vancouver has 14 restaurants, Calgary has five restaurants and Ottawa has four.
The remaining top of the top 10 restaurants include:
6. Eight (Calgary, AB)
7. Beba (Montreal, QC)
8. Quetzal (Toronto, ON)
9. Published on Main (Vancouver, BC)
10. AnnaLena (Vancouver, BC)
While the Best New Restaurants top spot went to Montreal’s Le Violon, Toronto appeared multiple times in the ranking, with LSL placing second, Linny’s taking third, and Takja BBQ showing up in fifth.
As the annual list comes at a time when Canadians are looking to support local businesses amid trade tensions with the U.S., Richler hopes diners can find a renewed appreciation for the exceptional talent and ingredients within their own borders.
“A lot of us travel on business and for other reasons, and especially this year, when people are maybe less susceptible to the draw of what’s south of the border, we’ll be spending a lot more time traveling within our own country,” he explained.
“And this should be an indispensable assist to people who want to continue to dine while they travel… every restaurant represents a good place to dine, and maybe it has just the answers people need when they’re travelling.”
For the full list of best restaurants, bars and best new restaurants and more, click here.
