C100B knows that great meals and dining experiences come in many delightful shapes and sizes — and that not all of them fit under the banner of fine dining. So, we have added a new list. The restaurants are unranked, just listed — each of them highly and equally recommended for a great casual meal out. We derived this inaugural selection from responses to a new question on our judges’ annual ballot. In the voting for our top 100, our judges are asked to vote with a fine-dining checklist in mind. For this compilation, we instead invited them to nominate restaurants that possessed an irresistible je ne sais quoi.
The C100B Recommends list is a mix of old favourites and the newly opened — and unlike our annual top 100, it will evolve and expand so keep checking for updates.
British Columbia
End Dive
Pescatarian-focused End Dive, located on the fringes of Victoria’s Chinatown, is an homage to both the leafy vegetable and the city’s many defunct dive bars. Shareable plates favour local produce and seafood, much of it cured, dry-aged or fermented. Think smoked beets, roasted Savoy cabbage or smoked salmon belly with black-lime remoulade and pickled celery. Beverages too are resolutely regional.
Sushi Hyun
Reservations are hard to secure at the serene, six-seat counter where chef Juhyun Lee presents his 25-course edomae omakase. Superb ingredients are sourced from Japan and every detail is of the finest; more unexpected are the occasional, barely detectable Korean nuances and Lee’s personable enthusiasm which delightfully leavens the ambience of hushed ceremony.
Prairies
Francine’s
The new hot spot in Calgary’s Chinatown calls itself a “French bar,” not a bistro, and bartender Nate Wry’s clever cocktails share the spot with chef Garrett Martin’s lobster rolls with lemongrass butter, steak frites or Bayonne ham shaved over honeyed potato chips. Smart, dimly lit decor adds to the warm ambience.
Penny Crown
Any vintage New York tavern has to have a great burger, even when the place is a new build in Calgary. Penny Crown looks the part, with linen-clad tables tightly spaced under photo-festooned walls. The food lifts the bar — baked scallops with pepperoni butter; fried chicken with ’nduja aïoli; and a darn good wagyu-cross burger.
Sauvage
Chef and forager Tracy Little’s tasting menus, whether vegan or “meat-embellished,” are a culinary adventure into the wild flavours of Alberta. Guests in the comfortably intimate restaurant can also dine à la carte — trout with goldenrod beurre blanc and sea buckthorn gel; crispy duck breast with pine-cone orgeat. Cocktails feature foraged components.
Snack Häus
This counter-service spot tucked inside a popular neighbourhood brewery takes a casual, tongue-in-cheek approach to food, with a menu that embraces snacks like grilled olives, pickles and nuts to hand-held trout tostadas and broccoli-gouda empanadas to roast pork belly. It’s all the work of veteran chef Dustin Pajak (ex-Close Company) who brings high-end refinement to the fun.
Ontario
Affinity Fish
Veteran chefs Jon Klip and Matt Taylor opened a fish store to showcase undervalued Canadian lake fish and seafood. A 16-seat restaurant counter then evolved on the premises with a tiny menu of seasonal dishes — whitefish katsu, perhaps, served as a sandwich, with rice, or with noodles. Affinity is a gem for those in the know.
Chantecler
Fans followed its move from Parkdale to Christie Pits, yearning for the exemplary French bistro dishes executed by chef Diego Reyes — duck confit, onion soup, steak frites, pâté en croûte et alia, made with passionate attention to detail. A long bar energizes the narrow, no-nonsense room. Serious wines and cocktails.
Côte de Boeuf
A working butcher’s shop by day, the tight little wine-bar-cum-bistro aces steak tartare “au couteau,” steak frites and the eponymous 48-oz. côte, backed up by delectable escargots and other Parisian treats. The butcher’s table (after a thorough cleaning) can be booked for dinner. Explore French wines by the glass at the zinc bar, with snacks.
Dotty’s
Dandylion’s Jay Carter and Susan Beckett opened their retro-looking Junction diner in 2023, paring back details to bare essentials. Walk-ins only. Affordable wines. Menu items like “cheeseburger,” “steak,” “mushrooms on toast.” Unsurprisingly, kitchen execution is impeccable and quietly haute, befitting a best-kept secret.
Famiglia Baldassarre
The concept is simple: a renowned pasta factory that serves a few fresh dishes in a two-hour lunchtime window, a handful of seats, first-come, first-served. Add chef Leandro Baldassarre’s house-made mozzarella and one or two other antipasti and you have people lining up down the block.
Foxley
Almost 20 years ago, Tom Thai opened this tight, under-decorated room, offering his personal hybrid of pan Asian–Latin cuisines; it’s still going strong. Flavours are clean and intense for signature ceviches, textures richer in grilled steak tataki with chimichurri or beef-cheek red curry. Sharing many small plates is the way to go.
General Public
Open from 11 to 11, Jen Agg’s stunningly elegant two-storey restaurant draws on American steakhouses and British gastropubs for its broadly ranging menu — rib-eyes and seafood towers, skate wing and curried lamb tartare. Flawless service and a long, savvy wine list. The off-menu happy-hour burger may be Toronto’s best.
The Gate
Owners Jonathan Gushue and Jennifer Belanger renovated the 150-year-old brick building themselves to create a calm, sophisticated 44-seat space for Gushue’s cooking. The menu reads uncomplicated Mediterranean, but the chef’s legendary skills plus the best local ingredients make magic happen.
Imanishi
Locally beloved for its cool down-market vibe and great beer, sake and cocktails, Imanishi offers “Tokyo home-style cooking.” Working with a long, izakaya-style menu, the open kitchen sends out precisely cooked yuzu fried chicken, peppery tebasaki wings, sashimi and unmissable taro ice cream–topped Tokyo Toast for dessert.
The Judge
Simplicity and excellence co-exist at this unpretentious spot. Jonathan Gushue (The Gate in Flesherton) offers pastas, precisely conceived salads and desserts, all changing constantly. Everything is made in-house. Gluten-free options are a delight.
Bar Les Incompétents
From the Fat Rabbit team, this bustling restaurant hides serious culinary chops behind a merrily casual façade. Seafood from the splendid raw bar partners treats like puttanesca tartine or koji-marinated ibérico pork secreto with shoestring frites. Wines from Ontario and France.
Lunch Lady
From Saigon via Vancouver, the late Nguyen Thi Thanh’s Vietnamese street food reached Toronto last year. Tweaked by co-owner Benedict Lim and chef Allan Lu, her recipes become scrumptious Viet-Canadian mash-ups like crispy shrimp with nuoc cham, caramelized eggplant with tamarind-soy caramel glaze. The cavernous room now feels like a colourful party space.
Maisy’s Pearl Oyster Bar
Oysterman and champion shucker David Burns opened his casual oyster bar in 2019, earning the loyalty of locals and Michelin-starred chefs such as Eric Robertson. A small menu features beef tataki and kombu mushroom risotto alongside all the raw, smoked and cured seafood. Don’t skip the fried clams.
Mimi Chinese
Bag a lipstick-red booth in the luxe room and explore regional Chinese cuisine through the discerning eyes of David Schwartz, who just relaunched Mimi with a polished redesign and a more accessible menu. Must-tries: pristine shrimp toast and four-foot-long belt noodle. Pre-order crispy skin duck breast with pancakes — or let the chef decide everything. Relevant wine selections and cocktails.
Oddbird
The menu ranges from a caviar service to burgers, with a minor in fried chicken and foie gras pancakes — a broad focus, but chefs Justin Duc and Scott White know their business. Sound technique and robust flavours keep the small room packed every night of the week.
Porzia’s
Basilio Pesce’s cozy 26-seater is rightly famous for its house-made lasagne and Italian comfort food, but standards may be higher than Nonna’s. There’s Périgord truffles and maitake on the ricotta ravioli and Saltspring mussels with the black cod Livornese. Wines for every palate and budget.
Ten
Ten diners a night, eating ten courses. That’s the premise at owner-chef Julian Bentivegna’s chic counter. Those courses, now entirely plant-based, star tip-top local ingredients treated with meticulous care. The artistry involved, and precisely matched wines, generate an evening’s conversation.
Yan Dining Room
Three nights a week, chef Eva Chin presents an eight-course tasting menu in the private dining room of Hong Shing. The dishes are inspired by seasonal Canadian ingredients interpreted through regional Chinese culinary traditions, transformed by Chin’s own fusion-fuelled imagination.
Quebec
Alep
Turning 50 this year, the convivial, family-run spot is now in the hands of sisters Chahla and Tania Frangié who continue the tradition of offering classic Syrian and Armenian dishes. Succulent braised lamb and grilled sea bass with arak and fennel confit star on the long menu. Vegan customers have their own tasting menu feast.
Battuto
Sit at the counter in this tiny Italian restaurant and watch the chefs at work. Everything from bread to charcuterie to ice cream is made in-house, while the small menu might feature classic vitello tonnato, tortellini stuffed with brandade of cod or mafaldine with beef shoulder ragù. Rare French and Italian treats crowd the small wine list.
Kebec Club Privé
Just 10 guests at a time have the pleasure of sitting around a candlelit communal table while chef-owners Cassandre Osterroth and Pierre-Olivier Pelletier cook and serve a 10-course tasting menu that changes nightly. Their talents allow impeccable local ingredients to shine.
Les Fougères
A couple of chefs have come and gone since the 1993 debut, but the ethos remains: seasonal menus inspired by produce from the restaurant’s gardens and local farmers. Certain favourites are always to be found — superb duck confit, fern salad from the garden, a medley of Quebec seafood. A shop and art gallery are part of the rural complex.
Juliette Plaza
The cadet version of next door’s Montreal Plaza shares its highly accomplished but playful culinary vibe. Here, however, owner-chefs Cheryl Johnson and Charles-Antoine Crête propose a more casual experience, with small plates showing great local produce with nostalgic Québécois and modern Asian touches. Wines by the glass.
Pumpui
With a casual counter and a few booths, the brightly lit Thai grocery-comptoir in Little Italy declares its emphasis is on the food. Co-owner and chef Jesse Mulder puts his years in Thailand to good use with dishes of uncompromising authenticity, be they chicken red curry, vegan pad kaprao or squash fritters with tamarind sauce.
La Spada
The menu is exactly what you expect from an authentic osteria romana — cacio e pepe, bone-in veal Parmigiano, seafood fritto misto, papardelle with duck ragù, along with the jovial energy level in the chic, deliberately overdecorated room. Beyond the party, a chef’s table offers a carte blanche tasting menu of seasonal treats.
Atlantic
Bar Kismet
Head chef Lauren Campbell’s menu changes weekly, showcasing premium local ingredients with understated grace. Naturally, seafood is a specialty. Swordfish is crowned with sweet potato brunoise and a tumble of pickled mushrooms. Fermented crabapple and tarragon flatter raw albacore. The room has a French country charm and a convivial tone. Cocktails are as carefully curated as the food, and wine choices are on point.
Slaymaker & Nichols
Named for a circus, the welcoming gastropub offers a long menu of hearty, eclectic sharing plates — tagine pot pie, ribs & mac, chicken aji verde — with local seafood prominent. Open for brunch, lunch and dinner daily. Inventive cocktails. Overnight guest rooms.