Presenting the 100 Best Restaurants in Canada 2018
As voted on by food critics, leading chefs, legendary restaurateurs, elite diners and food fanatics from across the country (view them here) this is the definitive list of the best restaurants in Canada. Thanks to KPMG Canada for being our official adjudicator and providing the voting and data verification services that ensure that the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list remains independent and accurate.
Without further ado: the 2018 list of the Best Restaurants in Canada. To search by region, click here.
Listings by Rank
No. 1: Alo
The Alo experience begins with a discreet doorway on a gritty stretch of downtown Toronto.
No. 2: Toqué!
Drop by for a meal here in April and you might get started with a princess scallop farmed off the Magdalen Islands.
No. 3: Joe Beef
Even more unlikely than Joe Beef ’s evolution to culinary institution is the fact that it made the transition with its original ideals intact.
No. 4: Buca Yorkville
To begin, try a fantastic riff on an original Buca classic: gnocco fritto, this time dyed black with squid ink, loaded up with tuna ‘nduja.
No. 5: Langdon Hall
Despite a substantial recent expansion of both hotel and dining room, Langdon Hall remains as exclusive as ever—and maybe more so.
No. 6: Montréal Plaza
The design is striking, elegant and contemporary, but a closer look reveals many an eccentric touch.
No. 7: Raymonds
Chef Jeremy Charles’ seasonal seven-course tasting menu is the definition of terroir-driven food.
No. 8: Le Vin Papillon
Le Vin Papillon offers a refreshingly different (and far more delicious) approach to eating your vegetables.
No. 9: Edulis
This restaurant takes its name from the Latin Boletus edulis—read cep, or porcini—a fine wild mushroom that is rare and pricey here, but common in Europe.
No. 10: Kissa Tanto
After being named our best new restaurant for 2017, this enchanting Japanese- Italian supper club continued to earn accolades.
No. 11: Hawksworth Restaurant
David Hawksworth’s style is constantly evolving and always interesting.
No. 13: Maison Publique
If you had ducked into Maison Publique off-hours one afternoon late in August, you might have stumbled upon an unusual scene.
No. 14: Savio Volpe
Savio Volpe's fantastical front door—about 12 feet tall with a brass knocker placed high out of reach—says a lot about Vancouver’s favourite neighbourhood Italian restaurant.
No. 15: Canis
Ferments and preserves feature heavily, along with foraged treasures and goods baked or cured on-site.
No. 16: La Banane
On an otherwise grey stretch of Toronto’s Ossington strip, the blazing yellow front door at La Banane beckons diners like a ray of sunlight.
No. 17: Nora Gray
Dark wood, leather banquettes, a long, polished bar and candlelight conspire to give Nora Gray’s intimate dining room a clubby, romantic feel.
No. 18: Canoe
For over its 20-year, star-chef-studded run, the kitchen at Canoe has been consistently preoccupied with Canadiana—and just as often, local pre-Canadiana.
No. 19: Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill
No other restaurant in town delivers luxurious Italian dining—and drinking—of such estimable range, passion and authenticity.
No. 20: St. Lawrence
Alongside the Québécois classics, the kitchen digs deep into the canon, dusting off gloriously rich dishes that rarely see the light of day.
No. 22: Mallard Cottage
Mallard Cottage is officially recognized as one of the oldest wooden buildings in North America.
No. 23: Maenam
The cooking at Maenam is always refined, beautifully presented and uncompromisingly bold.
No. 24: Jun I
A hit from the moment it opened in 2005, chef Junichi Ikematsu’s jewel box of a restaurant has only improved with age.
No. 25: Bar Isabel
Chef van Gameren’s work here speaks loudly of his abiding love of Spain, its food culture and, in particular, its tapas.
No. 26: Initiale
Down amid the tourist traps in the absurdly picturesque Lower Town of Old Quebec, you will find a glorious restaurant.
No. 27: Cabane à Sucre
It all began as a traditional cabane à sucre, with big shared dinners limited to the sugaring-off season.
No. 29: Brothers
In an area known for its macho steakhouses and swanky hotel lobby bars, Brothers makes no pretense of trying to fit in.
No. 30: Ten Foot Henry
The restaurant is named for a locally iconic oversized plywood cutout of a 1930s comic book character that now resides in the corridor near the bathrooms.
No. 31: Le Mousso
Opened in the early fall of 2015, Le Mousso has slowly conquered the hearts of Montrealers.
No. 32: Biera
Chef Sandford’s charcoal grill brings a touch of campfire into Biera’s wood and stainless steel domain.
No. 33: Liverpool House
It was here, after all, where Barack Obama broke bread with Justin Trudeau over glasses of Norman Hardie chardonnay and lobster spaghetti.
No. 34: AnnaLena
AnnaLena has quickly grown beyond its cool-kid status and evolved into something of a Vancouver cult classic.
No. 35: Shokunin
In the run-up to opening in late 2015, chef Darren MacLean took a long trip to Japan, travelling the country in the inspiring company of chef Yoshihiro Narisawa.
No. 36: Scaramouche
Carolyn Reid's cooking, grounded in European classicism, packs just enough of a modern inventive touch to always remain interesting.
No. 37: L’Express
This classic bistro embodies the fantasy of Montreal being a pseudo-European city, where great food and wine and joie de vivre trump all other considerations.
No. 38: Model Milk
Chef Justin Leboe’s first restaurant as chef and owner occupies an historic 1930s dairy at what is now the centre of Calgary’s trendiest restaurant row.
No. 39: Bar Von Der Fels
What must be Calgary’s smallest restaurant kitchen has proven to be a force to be reckoned with in the Alberta food scene since it opened last year.
No. 40: Atelier
Acidulated apricots, sous-vide salsify, aerated mustard, olive brine gel—Marc Lepine is as much a scientist as he is a chef.
No. 41: Pigeonhole
Like its sister restaurant, Model Milk, this place is, for starters, emphatically groovy, from decor to vibe.
No. 42: Café Boulud
The two-pronged makeover applied in late 2015 to Daniel Boulud’s then-faltering outpost in the flagship Four Seasons Hotel has proved enduring.
No. 43: Grey Gardens
The steely gate that separates Grey Gardens from the rest of Toronto’s Kensington Market makes the restaurant feel like a fortress. Which, in some ways, it is.
No. 44: Buca
With the lights dimmed and the sagrantino flowing, a guest, moved by the aroma coming off a plate of tortellini in brodo, might just think she’s been transported to a restored ruin in Trastevere.
No. 45: Bar Bricco
Some of Canada’s best Italian cooking can be found at any one of chef Daniel Costa’s three restaurants: intimate Corso 32, joyous Uccellino or moody Bar Bricco.
No. 46: Segovia
There are many reasons for sitting up and paying attention to Winnipeg’s improving culinary scene—and Segovia is the strongest case in point.
No. 47: L’ Atelier De Joel Robuchon
Much has been said in Quebec about the opening more than two years ago of this expensive restaurant inside the Montreal Casino.
No. 48: Masayoshi
Masayoshi is the real deal, a pocket-sized sushi restaurant with just seven bar stools and 16 seats where the only tinge of inauthenticity is the radiant good humour of the sushi chef at the centre of it all.
No. 49: Bar Raval
A visit to this perpetually bustling, standing room-only tapas bar is an education.
No. 50: Vij’s Restaurant
Vij’s kitchen produces a Western palate-friendly take on Indian spicing and sauce enrichment (not just traditional ghee, but sometimes cream, too).
51. Chez St. Pierre
129 Mount Saint Louis St. Le Bic, Que
52. Corso32
10345 Jasper Ave, Edmonton, AB
53. Bouillon Bilk
1595 St. Lawrence Blvd., Montreal, Que.
54. Riviera
55. Bao Bei
163 Keefer St., Vancouver, B.C.
56. Maison Boulud* (tied)
1228 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, Que.
56. The Bicycle Thief (tied)
1475 Lower Water St., Halifax, N.S.
58. The Merchant Tavern
291 Water St., St. John’s, N.L.
59. Uccellino
10349 Jasper Ave., Edmonton, Alta.
60. Botanist*
1038 Canada Pl., Vancouver, B.C.
61. Skippa
379 Harbord St., Toronto, Ont.
62. Fairouz (Tied)
343 Somerset St. W., Ottawa, Ont.
62. Park*
378 Victoria Ave., Montreal, Que.
64. Impasto
65. Nightingale
1017 W. Hastings St., Vancouver, B.C.
66. Burdock & Co.
67. Actinolite* (Tied)
971 Ossington Ave., Toronto, Ont.
67. Cinara (Tied)
350 W. Pender St., Vancouver, B.C.
67. Le Club Chasse et Pêche (tied)
423 St. Claude St., Montreal, Que.
70. Calcutta Cricket Club
340 17th Ave. SW, Calgary, Alta.
71. Bridgette Bar (tied)
739 10th Ave. SW, Calgary, Alta.
71. Marconi (Tied)
45 Mozart Ave. W., Montreal, Que.
73. Shoushin
74. North & Navy
75. Deer + Almond
85 Princess St., Winnipeg, Man.
76. Le Crocodile*
909 Burrard St. #100, Vancouver, B.C.
77. Provision
340 13th Ave. SW, Calgary, Alta.
78. DaiLo*
503 College St., Toronto, Ont.
79. Pilgrimme
2806 Montague Rd., Galiano Island, B.C.
80. Damas
1201 Van Horne Ave., Montreal, Que.
81. Battuto
527 Langelier Boul., Quebec City, Que.
82. Au Pied de Cochon
536 Duluth Ave. E., Montreal, Que.
83. The Pear Tree (Tied)
4120 Hastings St., Burnaby, B.C.
83. Fireworks Feast (Tied)
85. Wolf in the Fog
86. Primal
423 20th St. W., Saskatoon, Sask.
87. Milos*
5357 Park Ave., Montreal, Que.
88. Rouge
1240 8 Ave. SE, Calgray, Alta.
89. Da Emma (Tied)
777 de la Commune St. W., Montreal, Que.
89. The Hollows
332 Ave. C S., Saskatoon, Sask.
91. Stofa
1356 Wellington St. W., Ottawa, Ont.
92. Clementine
11957 Jasper Ave. NW, Edmonton, Alta.
93. Agrius
94. Légende
255 Saint Paul St., Quebec City, Que.
95. Ask for Luigi
305 Alexander St., Vancouver, B.C.
96. Little Oak Bar
1475 Lower Water St., Bishop’s Landing, Halifax, N.S.
97. Alloy
220 42 Ave. SE, Calgary, Alta.
98. Les Fougères
783 Quebec Route 105, Chelsea, Que.
98. Blue Water Café*
1095 Hamilton St., Vancouver, B.C.
100. Sticks and Stones*
226 2 Ave. S., Saskatoon, Sask.
* 
Best Farm To Table Chef 2017: Jason Bangerter
The Best Farm To Table Chef 2017 award presented by St. Lawrence Market goes to Jason Bangerter.
Best Restaurant Design 2017: DesignAgency
The Best Restaurant Design 2017 presented by Blanco goes to DesignAgency.
2017 Lifetime Achievement Award: Susur Lee
The 2017 Lifetime Achievement award presented by American Express goes to Susur Lee.
Best Restaurant + Outstanding Chef 2017: Patrick Kriss Alo
The Best Restaurant 2017 award presented by NESPRESSO goes to Patrick Kriss' Alo.
Best New Restaurant 2017: Kissa Tanto
The Best New Restaurant 2017 award presented by King Cole Ducks goes to Kissa Tanto.
Best Pastry Chef 2017: Claude Guérin, Maison Boulud
The Best Pastry Chef 2017 award presented by Rolling Meadow Dairy goes to Claude Guérin, Maison Boulud.
Most Innovative Chefs 2017: Charles-Antoine Crête & Cheryl Johnson
The Most Innovative Chefs 2017 award presented by All Clad goes to Charles-Antoine Crête & Cheryl Johnson.