Restaurants across the country are gradually beginning to reopen and over the next few weeks, Canadians food and drink lovers will be rediscovering the incredible culinary scene Canada has to offer.
The sixth annual list of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants was just revealed, and while for most of us, dining in the past year will always be synonymous with takeout and delivery, the culmination of this year’s edition has been many months in the making.
"When we found ourselves in the home stretch of production for our annual ranking issue and suddenly every last one of the 100 restaurants on our new list shut down, we knew we had to embrace the sudden and challenging change,” says Editor in Chief Jacob Richler. “We look forward to seeing staffing numbers continue to rise and we can hardly wait to get back to eating on-site--even if it's behind a shield of Perspex, with empty tables to the left and right of us."
Many of the usual suspects have retained their elite positions among Canada’s 100 Best; St. Lawrence (Vancouver), Joe Beef (Montreal), and Langdon Hall (Cambridge) all remained in the top 5, while Toronto’s Alo received the top overall ranking for the fourth consecutive year.
This year’s list also featured 22 new restaurants, including Como Taperia (Vancouver), Lulu Bar (Calgary), Beba (Montreal), and the Best New Restaurant overall, Sushi Makai Saito (Toronto).
Since Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants was established more than six years ago, the subject of diversity and equal opportunity within the rankings has been a constant topic of concern, and while this year’s list does depict some of Canada’s culinary diversity with selections such as Kissa Tanto, Foreign Concept, Masayoshi, and Tojo’s, the publication has committed to establishing a more diverse and racially inclusive judging panel and editorial team, and broadening the scope of their culinary coverage going forward.
The entirety of the 100 Best Restaurants 2020 awards can be found online, including individual awards like Outstanding Chef, Best Farm-to-Table concept, and Most Innovative Chef.
