Daniel Hadida admits to being pessimistic. The co-chef at The Restaurant at Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station — the epicentre of Niagara wine country about 90 minutes from Toronto — didn’t have high hopes for the outdoor dining concept his team planned to launch in the midst of the pandemic. Le Pré was designed as an elegant tented affair. Guests would be gently ruffled by breezes from the adjacent vineyards as Galloway cattle grazed nearby. But would people come? The inaugural block of reservations booked solid within a few hours and Hadida slept soundly that night. Le Pré became the hottest reservation in the Golden Horseshoe. Daily menus, keenly synched with the best local produce, might start with squash-filled gougères and proceed to slow-roasted artisanal chicken, its skin caramelizing over smouldering peach wood. This summer, Hadida promises an immersive experience incorporating native plants to honour the local ecosystem. “Because why not? We want to make it feel as much like you’re dining outside and [are] in another place.”
—Tiffany Mayer
Photo credit: Tobias Wang Photography
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