Which Ottawa restaurants are Michelin Guide-worthy? Peter Hum weighs in
The Michelin Guide, which handed out stars and kudos Thursday to Quebec restaurants, may well never get around to surveying Ottawa's dining-out scene. But, if it did, the restaurants below are the ones that I think should make the cut.
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Some are obvious picks, given, for starters, their regular appearances on the annual Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list, the closest thing the country has to a nationwide appraisal of its eateries.
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My choices are also based on having eaten at Michelin-starred and -recognized restaurants in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Vancouver. While the food that Michelin smiles on varies from market to market, its inspectors are always seeking the food that truly stands out and even gives a city or region its culinary identity — think one-star barbecue joints in Texas or one-star roast goose in Hong Kong.
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In Michelin's shorthand, a restaurant with three stars is said to offer 'exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.' A two-star restaurant offers 'excellent cooking, worth a detour.' A restaurant with a single star is distinguished by 'high-quality cooking, worth a stop.'
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More common are so-called Bib Gourmand restaurants, established only in 1997 to laud 'friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices.'
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Most recently, Michelin launched its 'green star' designation in 2020, an accolade going to restaurants that 'prioritize sustainable practices, ethical standards, and environmental considerations in their operations.'
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Michelin also has one other category — 'selected restaurants' — which can include restaurants of all price ranges as long as they have 'good cooking.'
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Michelin's anonymous inspectors are said to arrive at their rankings according to five criteria: quality of ingredients; mastery of culinary techniques; harmony of flavours; the personality and emotion that the chef conveys in the dishes; and consistency throughout the entire menu and across different visits. Factors such as service, tableware or the atmosphere at a restaurant are noted by inspectors, but are not supposed to be part of the decision to award a star.
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If Michelin came to Ottawa, here are the kudos I would want it to award. I've stopped at three one-star recommendations, one green-star recommendation, six Bib Gourmands and seven selected restaurants. If that list feels short to you, add your suggestion via the comments.
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Antheia: This pick is abnormally far-sighted because Antheia, the upcoming restaurant by chef-owner Briana Kim, is not likely to open until late summer of 2025 at the earliest. But Kim, the winner of the 2023 Canadian Culinary Championship, is a haute cuisine force to be reckoned with who may well be Canada's premier expert on fermentation in a culinary context. The follow-up to her acclaimed restaurant Alice, Antheia will be a 'fermentation R&D lab and a chef's counter experience.' If that's not catnip to Michelin inspectors, I don't know what is.
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