Toronto

Restaurant 20 Victoria  
Two years after the abrupt closure of Brothers Food & Wine, a reshuffled team shows us the way back from the pandemic–born land of the fast and casual. Framed in an elegant room outfitted in floor–to–ceiling drapery and snow–white tablecloths, the food, too, is restrained and pitch–perfect. Opt in and each turn of the six–course tasting menu introduces a finely calibrated wine pairing. A dish of acorn–fed ibérico pork, grilled greens and pickled florets of fioretto (a broccoli–cauliflower hybrid) harmonizes with an earthy California Lady of the Sunshine pinot noir. When a hankering for opulence without arrogance strikes, here’s where you should head. Listed as one of the Top 10 Canada’s Best New Restaurants of 2022.

Casa Madera  
Mexican cuisine meets Mediterranean influence at this lively spot with a Tulum–like atmosphere helmed by Mexican–born chef Olivier Le Calvez. The sustainably focused menu includes a seasonal, rotating taco selection (find tiger shrimp, skirt steak or duck), and the lengthy cocktail and mocktail list is over–the–top in the best way, featuring one–of–a–kind concoctions with ingredients like watermelon–calamansi essence and mole bitters.

Donna’s  
Mismatched thrift–store china and shabby–chic vibes meet seriously cheffy chops at this laid–back neighbourhood fave, named #3 on the Canada’s Best New Restaurants list in 2019. Its trio of owners – a Brit, a Dane and a Toronto–raised Korean–Canadian (all Momofuku alumni) – explains the delicious combo of influences on the menu. Previous menu favourites include the whole, oven–baked sole bathed in a harissa– and chili–reddened butter sauce, dotted with toasted hazelnuts.

Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen  
Situated within a reimagined 1890s row house that feels like an airy urban beach house, Chubby’s is a go–to for traditional–meets–contemporary Caribbean fare and fun cocktails (like the Everything Nice, with rum, Aperol, mango and tamarind). Dip fried saltfish fritters into mango–papaya salsa, share a stewed curry goat and jerk chicken, and don’t leave without an order (or two) of the rum and raisin bread pudding with vanilla ice cream from the “sweet tings” menu.

Mimi Chinese  
Predictions of post–lockdown, Roaring Twenties–style exuberance came true in the form of Mimi Chinese, the dine–in successor to takeout operation Sunny’s Chinese. Plastic containers have given way to black bow ties, red–velvet banquettes and a nightclub–leaning ambience. But the main attractions are hyper–regional renditions of Chinese cuisine ranging from deep–fried, sesame–showered shrimp toasts from Guangdong to a four–foot–long, chili–oil–slicked take on Shaanxi belt noodle, scissored tableside. Grab a Jungle Panda cocktail (baijiu–based, aromatic and boozy) with a bamboo leaf sprouting from its ceramic behind, and plunge into a tour of the provinces. Listed as one of the Top 10 Canada’s Best New Restaurants of 2022.

Dreyfus  
A Montreal expat landed in Harbord Village – and successfully claimed the #6 spot on the Canada’s Best New Restaurants list in 2019. The name Dreyfus (of l’affaire fame) is a nod to the chef’s Jewish roots, which emerge in subtle touches, like the plate of Montreal–sourced karnatzel sausages to be eaten with yellow mustard and bread. Look for an ever–changing menu of gutsy yet refined Gallic small plates (the pommes dauphine are crispy, deep–fried pâte à choux and potato orbs filled with crème fraîche and trout caviar with a salty sprinkle of dehydrated caper powder), served in a handsomely outfitted space (sage–green millwork, bevelled mirrors and vintage china). Don’t miss any of the in–season ingredients: spongy morels, Manila clams and escargot oozing with garlic, white wine and clam liquor, just begging for more Brodflour baguette to soak up their jus.

Bangarang  
With cocktails on tap, cornhole lanes (book ahead or make new friends on the walk–in court) and minimalist wooden decor, the team that created Track & Field Bar brings friendly competition to College Street.

Parquet  
Parquet strikes a fine balance between neighbourhood hangout and elegant bistro. The space is sexy – dark wood, leather–adorned banquettes and an orange glow throughout – with an innovative, French–inspired menu. Standout dishes include Digby scallop cru and perfectly seasoned steak frites with a rich béarnaise sauce. The best spot for people–watching is at the marble–topped bar; order a glass of red and take in the scene.

Fonda Balam  
Chefs Julio Guajardo and Kate Chomyshyn turbocharge tacos and their birria subset with their sublime quesabirria con consome, oozing corn tortillas filled with braised beef, mozzarella and aromatics that are folded and grilled until caramelized–cheese–rimmed and crispy. Pair them with a spicy–sour Modelo michelada and take in the buzzed–on–salsa crowd, ranging from Trinity Bellwoods hipsters to thrill–seeking mom–and–daughter duos, seated along green diner–style counters. Listed as one of the Top 10 Canada’s Best New Restaurants of 2022.

Ten  
The menu at this Little Portugal spot (“fiddleheads/seeds/ramps”) reads more like a feast for rabbits than humans. But don’t judge the 10 courses by their cover: Although there’s only a small piece of (supremely crispy–skinned and delicious) cod on offer, and a few crunchy bits of chicken skin, it’s the Ontario white beans, mushrooms and buckwheat, slow–cooked cassoulet–style, that will amaze. And there’s no rabbiting–on when it comes to the decor. A sleek, wraparound counter serves the tasting menu to only 10 guests at a time. Ten claimed the #10 spot on the Canada’s Best New Restaurants list in 2019.

Paris Paris  
Come for the cheese, charcuterie and roast chicken, but stay for the wine list as long as the Champs–Élysées (with a focus on natural and biodynamic wines). Don’t leave without snagging one of the freshly made sourdough loaves from local bakery Forno Cultura.

Romi’s  
Famed Israeli chef Tomer Markovitz upped the city’s hummus and tahini game in 2018 with Geary Avenue hot spot Parallel Brothers. His latest venture, Romi’s, brings Middle Eastern–inspired flavour to midtown. The sun–drenched bakery and market boasts a slew of delicacies, including melt–in–your mouth rugalech and supersized double chocolate chip cookies large enough to share (or discreetly devour in a single sitting). Grab a challah (sesame, “everything bagel” and fan favourite Nutella) or prepared food and spices (the homemade schug is a must–try) or stay for the spiced schnitzel sandwich and hearty hummus bowl.

Osteria Giulia  
Conceived of as the little sister to Giulietta on College Street, Yorkville’s Osteria Giulia may be young, but she has a precocious facility with the seafood fare of the Ligurian coast. The Lorighittas al Mare plate is an edible Where’s Waldo?, and the game is to tell the hand–braided pasta rings from the wild squid that swims amid bay scallops in a briny, pepperoncino–tinged white wine sauce with garlic and anchovy. Finish with an elegant strawberry and white chocolate millefoglie and a tumblerful of Quaglia camomile liqueur before bidding a tearful goodbye to the cliffs of Cinque Terre. Longlisted as part of Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2022.

Sam James Coffee Bar  
Since upping the city’s coffee game in 2009, SJCB now has four locations, including one in the Financial District. Each location serves coffee and espresso made with beans from Sam James’ roasting company. You’ll regret it later if you leave without a bag of beans to bring home.

Lao Lao Bar  
There’s a golden glow in this multitiered space near Yorkville, cocktails on most tables, with bowls of authentic Laotian food. Pungent, sour, savoury and spicy; papaya salad with pork rinds, signature curries and sticky rice with lemongrass– and galangal–tinged Laotian sausage. Every now and then people fan their mouths, as if putting out little stovetop fires. Purple tapioca dumplings are filled with a sweet and salty radish–shiitake mix. You wrap them in lettuce leaves with cilantro, fried shallots, peanuts and chilies. Oh, what a bite. Oh, what a night. Longlisted as part of Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2023.

Prime Seafood Palace  
Time is forever frozen at sunset golden hour in this maple–wood–clad dining room, where the gritty Queen West streetscape outside is screened from view so you can focus on the roll call of prime ingredients: caviar, sea urchin, filet mignon, prime rib and Wagyu beef. Or, start humbly with a loaf of warm and nutty molasses bread, B.C. spot prawns and white asparagus with bacon, caviar and clams. Don’t leave without visiting the main–floor washroom, where the design suggests luxe Japanese bathhouse, but the sink is a tipoff to the restaurant’s down–to–earth roots: It’s a map of Lake Erie, owner Matty Matheson’s farm and home base. Longlisted as part of Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2022.