This rural Ontario spot is Canada's best restaurant, according to annual list
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This year, Canada's 100 Best changed its methodology from a linear point system to reflect the judges' 'most passionate enthusiasms.' Richler thinks this recalibration, as well as an ever-expanding panel, has improved the depth and quality of the list from top to bottom. He highlights the strength of restaurants in the 80s and 90s, such as The Fish Man in Richmond, B.C., (No. 89), Riviera in Ottawa (No. 88), Naagan (No. 92) in Owen Sound, Ont., and Fat Rabbit (No. 97) in St. Catharines, Ont., as well as the top 50.
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The ' Buy Canadian ' movement is growing. With a new sense of patriotism, many are skipping trips to the United States and considering domestic destinations instead. According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians crossing the land border dropped 32 per cent in March, and air travel fell 13.5 per cent compared to the same month last year.
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Richler hopes that people use the list as he does — to travel and eat well while doing it. On his next visit to Montreal, he plans to visit the restaurants that did better on this year's list than last, such as Mastard (No. 40) and Bar St-Denis (No. 27).
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He was taken by the calibre throughout the list, especially when he reflected on the dining scene in 2014 when he started Canada's 100 Best.
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'I didn't feel then as emphatically as I do now that 100 is a modest number of restaurants to put on a list in this country. There are fantastic things going on, coast to coast,' says Richler. 'The quality of the dining experience in our best restaurants is emphatically fabulous and something to be proud of — and worth travelling for.'
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Canada's 100 Best Restaurants 2025 — The top 10
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Restaurant Pearl Morissette (Jordan Station, Ont.)
Mon Lapin (Montreal)
Alo (Toronto)
Edulis (Toronto)
20 Victoria (Toronto)
Eight (Calgary)
Beba (Montreal)
Quetzal (Toronto)
Published on Main (Vancouver)
AnnaLena (Vancouver)
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Canada's Best New Restaurants 2025 — The top 5
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Le Violon (Montreal)
LSL (Toronto)
Linny's (Toronto)
DOPO (Calgary)
Takja BBQ (Toronto)
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Canada's 50 Best Bars 2025 — The top 10
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Bar Pompette (Toronto)
The Cloakroom Bar (Montreal)
Civil Liberties (Toronto)
The Keefer Bar (Vancouver)
Atwater Cocktail Club (Montreal)
Library Bar at Fairmont Royal York (Toronto)
Prophecy (Vancouver)
Missy's This That (Calgary)
Cocktail Bar (Toronto)
jjacques (Quebec City)
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