TORONTO-
A prominent list of Canada’s best restaurants has returned after a pandemic-induced break, which is what some hope will be a renaissance for the country’s good food.
The list of the 100 best restaurants in Canada has named Published on Main the number 1 culinary place to be, the first time a Vancouver restaurant has won first place on the list, while Major Tom in Calgary was named the best restaurant we.
The classification was revealed at an event in Toronto on Monday night, less than three weeks after the Michelin Guide announced it was heading north of the 49th parallel for the first time with a guide in Toronto.
“We always look at the Michelin Guide, we always look at the San Pellegrino list,” said Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, chief executive of Published on Main.
“With our own list of the top 100 here in Canada, with restaurants competing with many of these international restaurants, people need to pay attention to that.”
He said he hopes Canada’s presence on these international lists will draw people’s attention to the country’s specifics.
“I think we have some of the best products in the world available,” Stieffenhofer-Brandson said.
Making the list, and most importantly getting the top spot, serves as a validation of his team’s hard work over the past few years, he said.
Published open in December 2019, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic forced restaurants, and almost everything else, to close their doors. Stieffenhofer-Brandson said staff worked hard to regain their initial momentum when the restaurant reopened, albeit with restrictions, a few months later.
Published presents itself as a world-inspired restaurant with “Canadian roots”. Japanese milk rolls are served with bee pollen, morels with nettle balls. Many of its ingredients are of local origin.
“We wanted the experience to be as normal as possible for our guests, and we wanted to be able to offer everything we had planned,” he said. “So it’s very nice to have that recognition now that we’re fully open to the best of our ability.”
This is the seventh edition of the list, chosen by 100 industry experts and published by food writer Jacob Richler.
He said the list is populated by more new restaurants this year, so he has also posted a list of the top 20 new restaurants in Canada.
“It’s all very gratifying to see for an industry that we’ve been told repeatedly that it’s very much on the ropes,” Richler said.
These new restaurants include Major Tom, a Calgary company from Concorde Entertainment Group that opened last summer.
It was supposed to open its doors a year earlier, but plans were suspended due to COVID-19, said Garrett Martin, Concorde’s culinary director.
That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he added.
“I really feel like it came together a lot better than we had initially anticipated, because everyone was able to spend a little more time just making sure everything came together the way we saw it in our head,” Martin said. .
The restaurant, located on the 40th floor of Stephen Avenue Place, adds a gastronomic touch to the well-known classics. Decorated in mid-century luxury, it serves to highlight views of downtown Calgary.
Martin said making the list may push more customers to Major Tom, but most of all, he is grateful for the signal he sends to the restaurant team.
“It’s mostly just a massive pat on the back for staff who have been working tirelessly since long before the opening,” Martin said. “It’s really nice of us just to be recognized for something like that.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 31, 2022.
Top 10 on Canada’s Top 100 Restaurants:
- Published in Main, Vancouver
- Hello, Toronto
- St. Lawrence, Vancouver
- Pearl Morissette Restaurant, Jordan Station, Ont.
- Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario.
- Vi Mon Lapin, Montreal
- Edulis, Toronto
- Canoe, Toronto
- Boulevard, Vancouver
- River Cafe, Calgary
Top 10 on the list of the top 20 new restaurants in Canada
- Major Tom, Calgary
- Osteria Giulia, Toronto
- DOP, Calgary
- Bernhardts Tavern, Toronto
- Pumps, Toronto
- Mimi Chinese, Toronto
- Eight, Calgary
- Pichai, Montreal
- The Pine, Collingwood, Ontario.
- Nupo, Calgary