Best part, 2 of the top 3 are from Toronto–way to make Toronto proud. Love ’em or hate ’em, these best restaurant lists are here to stay, so we might as well embrace them. But we must say, Air Canada hands down had the swankiest reveal party, that was very well put together and quite the vibe. But after quite the hectic pandemic, each and every restaurant celebrated on Air Canada’s enroute magazine 2022 Best New Restaurants list, is well deserved.
The tricky part now is navigating how to get a reservation at these already buzzing restaurants. I mean, two of them already are in the Michelin Guide, and two are on Canada’s 100 best list published earlier this summer. Just going to say it…good luck getting a reso. Tell ’em View the VIBE sent you–see if that helps, ha!
These are Toronto’s Top 3 restaurants named in Air Canada’s enroute magazine Canada’s Best New Restaurants list:
3. Fonda Balam (which was in 7th/10)
Kensington-area, at Dundas St W, West of Bathurst St.
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Don’t underestimate good Mexican food. A delicious taco goes a longgggg way! But Fonda Balam’s Quesabirria con consomé are just next level, clearly.
2. MIMI Chinese (which was in 3rd/10)
At the cusp of Yorkville, at Davenport and Avenue
MIMI’s been all the hype since their opening and despite the reopening of their sister restaurant, Sunny’s, the buzz remains strong (despite the similarities in the menu). But it’s so worth it. All we can say, is we hope you can handle the HEAT (because the vibe, food and people are just 🔥).
1. 20 Victoria (which was in 1st/10)
Old Toronto, on Victoria just North of King St E
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Toronto Life dubbed them as, “the rare sequel that is even better than its predecessor,” in their 2022 best new restaurants list, Twenty Victoria (also a contender for a Michelin Star AND named on Canada’s 100 Best restaurants list), is now also topping the charts in Air Canada’s highly anticipated return of their Top 10 best new restaurants list. But we’re not all just blowing smoke up your @$$, it’s actually outstanding and the vibe is just right.
Perfect for a date night, if it fits your budget, ha, otherwise definitely a must-try when visiting Toronto, and great for special occasions, or a treat-yourself moment. Cuz, why not?
Here’s the full Top 10 List of Restaurants across Canada:
5 of which, are from across Ontario, we might add…
10. Restaurant Alentours (Quebec City, QC)
Only ingredients sourced from within 150 kilometres are considered fair game for chef Tim Moroney’s inventive and delicious tasting menus (wine, ethically produced salt, yeast, milk and cream are the exceptions).
9. Fox & Monocle (North Saanich, BC)
The culinary talents of chef Ross Bowles and pastry chef Tracie Zahavich come together in offerings like cod and potato pithivier and B.C. spot prawns served with roasted red peppers and crunchy polenta cubes.
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8. Major Tom (Calgary, AB)
40 floors above Calgary find a steakhouse reimagined for the modern age, delivering crispy egg halves topped with pepperoni jam, and extra-terrestrial prime rib, alongside cocktails like All the Way Up—Matsumoto’s pick for best cocktail of the year.
7. Fonda Balam (Toronto, ON)
Chefs Julio Guajardo and Kate Chomyshyn turbocharge tacos and their birria subset with their sublime quesabirria con consome, oozing corn tortillas filled with braised beef, mozzarella and aromatics.
6. Hearts Tavern & Bar (Kimberley, ON)
One visit to this dream version of a roadside tavern and you will want to come back for the silky slices of house-smoked fish or fat spears of Meyer lemon-spiked asparagus served alongside a generous wedge of Château de Bourgogne cheese.
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5. Một Tô (Calgary, AB)
“Crunch” could be its own category on the menu of this Crescent Heights Vietnamese spot, judging from the crackly crab pork and taro spring roll and the grilled cheese served with a pho broth dipping bowl.
4. Perch Restaurant (Ottawa, ON)
For those who love fine dining tasting menus but not the starchy attitudes, Perch is a gift from chef Justin Champagne-Lagarde, who foregrounds sustainability and minimal-waste cooking with offerings like a deeply flavoured compost broth made from daily veg scraps.
3. MIMI Chinese (Toronto, ON)
Executive chef David Schwartz and head chef Braden Chong present hyper-regional renditions of Chinese cuisine ranging from deep-fried, sesame-showered shrimp toasts from Guangdong to a four-foot-long, chili oil-slicked take on Shaanxi belt noodle, scissored tableside.
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2. Mastard (Montreal, QC)
Chef Simon Mathys’ passion for Quebec terroir is palpable in dishes like the thick, ruby-red slice of tomato from La Ferme des Quatre-Temps resting in a pool of camelina oil, adorned in herbs and flowers and doused with smoked beef fat—Matsumoto’s favourite of the year.
1. Restaurant 20 Victoria (Toronto, ON)
Two years after the abrupt closure of Brothers Food & Wine (No. 8, 2017), a reshuffled team led by chef Julie Hyde and sous chef Jenna Reich shows us the way back from the pandemic-born land of the fast and casual with pitch-perfect six-course tasting menus.
Here’s the full 2022 Longlist of spots in the running for Air Canada enRoute magazine’s Canada’s Best New Restaurants Top 10 list
- Bar Susu (Vancouver, BC)
- Le Clan (Quebec, QC)
- Delara (Vancouver, BC)
- Drift (Vancouver, BC)
- Elephant (Vancouver, BC)
- Fonda Balam (Toronto, ON)
- Fox & Monocle (North Saanich, BC)
- Fu’s Repair Shop (Edmonton, AB)
- Gia Vin & Grill (Montreal, QC)
- J’ai Feng (Montreal, QC)
- Jeju (Tofino, BC)
- Hayloft Steak + Fish (Edmonton, AB)
- Heart’s Tavern & Bar (Kimberley, ON)
- Major Tom (Calgary, AB)
- Mastard (Montreal, QC)
- MIMI Chinese (Toronto, ON)
- Mokili (Montreal, QC)
- Mot To (Calgary, QB)
- Namjim at Bannerman Brewing Co. (St. John’s, NL)
- Nola (Winnipeg, MB)
- Osteria Giulia (Toronto, ON)
- Parcelles (Austin, WC)
- Pei Pei Chei Ow (Edmonton, AB)
- Perch (Ottawa, ON)
- Pichai (Montreal, QC)
- Pop Wine Bar (Saskatoon, SK)
- Prime Seafood Palace (Toronto, ON)
- 20 Victoria (Toronto, ON)
- Restaurant Alentours (Quebec, QC)
- Roy’s Korean Kitchen (Calgary, AB)
Bon appetite.
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Photos: Courtesy of Air Canada
