A list of the 100 best restaurants in Canada has been released for 2024, with the top spot going to Montreal’s Mon Lapin for the second year in a row.
The list is published by “Canada’s 100 Best” magazine, which produces guides and articles on the country’s food scene, based on the decisions of 150 judges, according to the website.
“The quality of our list and the publication we build around it is better than ever,” said editor-in-chief and publisher Jacob Richler. “The result is an asset to discriminating diners - locals and travellers alike. It’s a great time to be dining out in Canada.”
The panel of judges includes food writers, critics, chefs, restauranteurs, and other food-service professionals, including Pay Chen, Tommy Dion, Sal Howell, Marie-Claude Lortie, Sarah Musgrave, and Bonnie Stern.
The judges are asked to rate restaurants based on various criteria, including service, decor, wine selection, and food quality.
Montreal holds on to its title of culinary capital with 28 restaurants on the list, compared to 24 in Toronto, according to Canada’s 100 Best.
Top 10
Located in Montreal’s Little Italy district, Mon Lapin, which placed top on the list, serves up a menu of Italian dishes, including buckwheat-and-corn polenta taragna and habanada peppers stuffed with fried baccalà, according to the magazine’s website. Entrees are served alongside French and Italian wines. The restaurant has been in business for six years, according to its Facebook page. Mon Lapin has also started selling merchandise like shirts to promote its brand.
Three Toronto restaurants take spots two, three, and four.
Edulis offers what Canada’s 100 Best describes as a European menu—with a focus on seafood, vegetables, and wild mushrooms, the restaurant website said. “There is no restaurant in the country quite like it,” Canada’s 100 Best said.
In third place is Toronto’s Alo, a French-style restaurant located on top of a heritage building downtown. “Our dining room offers blind, multi-course tasting menus that highlight the finest in seasonal ingredients,” Alo’s website says. “The menu evolves constantly, piecemeal. Service is ultra-professional,” Canada 100 said about the nearly 10-year-old restaurant.
Coming in fourth place, 20 Victoria offers a full, seven-plus course set menu, according to a post by the restaurant. “Our menus change at whim, focused largely on seafood from both coasts and our Great Lakes,” the post said. It’s the first time the restaurant has appeared in the top 10.
Rounding out the top five is Langdon Hall, a country house hotel located in Cambridge, Ontario. The dinner menu includes seafood dishes, and chicken and beef entrees offered with fresh vegetables.
In sixth place was Jordon Station, Ontario’s Restaurant Peral Morissette, followed by Vancouver’s Published on Main, and Montreal’s Beba. Bar Kismet in Halifax took ninth spot, making it the first time the restaurant has been in the top 10, and Kissa Tanto in Vancouver rounded out the top 10.
Top Toronto Restaurants
Last year, Toronto had 18 restaurants on the list, which has been bumped to 24 this year, including:- Edulis, 2
- Alo, 3
- 20 Victoria, 4
- Quetzal, 12
- Dreyfus, 15
- Osteria Giulia, 17
- Prime Seafood Palace, 18
- Canoe, 24
- Taverne Bernhardt’s, 29
- Sushi Masaki Saito, 30
- Aburi Hana, 33
- Casa Paco, 34
- Mimi Chinese, 35
- Sunnys Chinese, 38
- Bar Isabel, 44
- Famiglia Baldassarre, 45
- Sushi Yugen, 49
- Pompette, 65
- Giulietta, 66
- Actinolite, 70
- Bar Prima, 77
- Don Alfonso 1890, 81
- Barberian’s, 94
- Dailo, 99
Top Montreal Restaurants
Montreal had the most number of restaurants on the list, which includes the top spot for Mon Lapin, as well as:- Beba, 8
- Monarque, 11
- Montreal Plaza, 13
- Toque, 19
- Cabaret l’Enfer, 21
- Joe Beef, 41
- Salle Climatisee, 50
- Au Pied de Cochon, 51
- L’Express, 53
- Kitano Shokudo, 54
- Paloma, 55
- Nora Gray, 56
- Lawrence, 61
- Bar-St-Denis, 63
- Pichai, 68
- Bouillon Bilk, 69
- Alma, 72
- Mastard, 73
- Sabayon, 79
- Le Vin Papillon, 80
- Foxy, 83
- Gia Vin & Grill, 84
- Casavant, 87
- Liverpool House, 93
- Hoogen et Beaufort, 96
- Le Mousso, 98
- Park, 100
Top Vancouver Restaurants
On Canada’s west coast 18 Vancouver restaurants made the list, including:- Published on Main, 7
- Kissa Tanto, 10
- St. Lawrence, 14
- L’Abattoir, 16
- AnnaLena, 20
- Boulevard, 22
- Botanist, 37
- Maenam, 42
- Mott 32, 47
- La Quercia, 48
- Masayoshi, 59
- Burdock & Co., 62
- Cioppino’s, 64
- Hawksworth, 67
- Tetsu Sushi Bar, 78
- Savio Volpe, 82
- Elephant, 86
- Sushi Hil, 90
