Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants returns with 2022 list

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The Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list has returned after a year’s break due to the pandemic, naming the top 100 fine-dining establishments across the country.

The seventh annual edition of the list of Canada’s 100 best restaurants, which is chosen by 100 industry insiders and published by food writer Jacob Richler, has named Vancouver’s Published on Main as the top culinary destination. This is the first time that a Vancouver restaurant has earned the top spot on the list.

Published on Main pushed Toronto’s Alo off the top spot. Alo had ranked first for four consecutive years since 2017.

Meanwhile, Major Tom in Calgary was named the country’s best new restaurant.

The rankings were revealed on May 30, less than three weeks after the Michelin Guide announced that it would launch in Canada for the first time later this year.

“We always look at the Michelin Guide, we always look at the San Pellegrino List,” said Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, executive chef at Published on Main, per the Canadian Press. “Having our own Top 100 list here in Canada, with restaurants that rival a lot of these international restaurants, people have to pay attention to that.”

Published on Main, which calls itself a globally inspired restaurant with “Canadian roots”, opened in December 2019, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic forced restaurants to close their doors. Stieffenhofer-Brandson said staff worked hard to get their early momentum back when the restaurant reopened, albeit with restrictions, a few months later.

“We wanted the experience to be as normal as possible for our guests, and we wanted to still be able to offer everything we had intended,” Stieffenhofer-Brandson said. “So it’s really nice to have this recognition now that we’re fully open in our full capacity.”

Richler told the Toronto Star that he wanted to broaden the way the judges looked at the list in 2022, given the huge changes the industry has undergone over the last two years.

“I invited all the judges to vote on whatever they like a broader approach and not the conventional ideas of fine dining; whether it’s on a plate or in a takeout box,” Richler said. “If I hadn’t let that into consideration, cities like Toronto would have been different because we had one of the longest lockdowns.”

Richler added that the list features more new restaurants this year, so he’s also published a list of Canada’s 20 Best New Restaurants. “That’s all very gratifying to see for an industry that we’ve been told repeatedly is very much on the ropes.”

Among those new eateries is Major Tom, a Calgary venture from Concorde Entertainment Group that opened last summer.

All in all, Toronto leads the way with 22 restaurants in the top 100, plus more in nearby areas. Montreal is close behind with 21 entries, while Vancouver has 18, Calgary 11, and Ottawa six, and three restaurants from the East Coast made the list.

Meanwhile, Montreal’s Bika won Best Farm-to-Table and Ryan Gray won Best Sommelier.

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list 2022

Canada’s 20 Best New Restaurants

1. Major Tom, Calgary
2. Osteria Giulia, Toronto
3. D.O.P., Calgary
4. Taverne Bernhardts, Toronto
5. Pompette, Toronto
6. Mimi Chinese, Toronto
7. Eight, Calgary
8. Pichai, Montreal
9. The Pine, Collingwood, Ont.
10. Nupo, Calgary
11. 20 Victoria, Toronto
12. Gia, Montreal
13. Say Mercy!, Vancouver
14. Baan Lao, Richmond
15. Enigma Toronto, 2020, Toronto
16. Mastard, Montreal
17. Jin Bar, Calgary
18. Orchard, Calgary
19. Aburi Hana, Toronto
20. The Restaurant at Phantom Creek Estates, Oliver

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