Brownstein: Canada's 100 Best Restaurants honour is sweet music to Le Violon's Danny Smiles

Montreal Gazette

06-05-2025

By
OK, so Vanya Filipovic and Marc-Olivier Frappier's much-loved, much-lauded Little Italy eatery and wine bar Mon Lapin hasn't pulled off a three-peat as the No. 1 dining spot in the land on the 11th annual Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list. But after finishing first the last two years, rest assured that the married couple and their team will also find much solace and satisfaction finishing second, behind this year's No. 1 selection, Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station, in Ontario's Niagara region.
More good news: Montreal cuisine does have a first-place finisher on the list of Canada's Best New Restaurants for 2025, put out by the same judges as the top 100 restos list. That would be Le Violon, the latest endeavour of chef Danny Smiles, who was indeed all smiles after learning of this honour. Le Violon, situated in the former home of Derek Dammann's Maison Publique on Marquette St., serves up a tantalizing mélange of French plus Italian and Lebanese fare — reflecting the chef's roots — and other enticing international flavourings.
Le Violon also ended up No. 11 in the top 100 grouping. Our city did particularly well once again here, placing 25 restos on this list. After Mon Lapin, Beba, chef Ari Schor's tiny Verdun Argentine gem, landed seventh — one spot better than where it finished in both 2023 and 2024.
Monarque (17), Montréal Plaza (20), Cabaret l'Enfer (22), Alma (24) and Pichai (25) were also among the top 25 spots on the list. Further down were such familiar heavyweights on the scene as Joe Beef (46), L'Express (61), Toqué! (67), Au Pied de Cochon (76), Nora Gray (90) and Damas (91).
Perhaps surprising to some was the omission of such hot spots as Liverpool House, Le Club Chasse et Pêche, Milos and Maison Boulud.
It's worth noting that Juliette Plaza, the baby sibling of Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson's dyna-charged Montréal Plaza, finished seventh on the new-eatery list and 77th in the top 100. Located just next door to the latter on St-Hubert St., Juliette Plaza serves an intriguing mélange of French and Asian offerings.
Jacob Richler, the ex-Montrealer and former National Post restaurant critic, is the mastermind editor behind the list. He oversees a mini-army of 160 judges — 10 more than employed last year — whose taste buds span the country to put together this wide-ranging selection.
Richler, like so many others in this city, continues to be blown away by the uniqueness and creativity, not to mention the lack of pretentiousness, of Mon Lapin. Not surprisingly, he also marvels at the approach of No. 1, the Michelin one-star Pearl Morissette, also a bakery, a winery and a farm, which continues to captivate diners with its diverse menu featuring Canadian-sourced ingredients.
But Richler has been particularly knocked out by Le Violon.
'I can't say enough about Le Violon. … The way Danny Smiles transformed that Maison Publique room from bare bones to what it is now is remarkable,' Richler says. 'The menu is outstanding, and the food is super impressive.'
Le Violon may be new, having opened last June 17, but executive chef/owner Smiles, né Daniele Francis, is hardly a newbie in the biz. About to turn 40 next week, Smiles — who took on his current surname to reflect the omnipresent grin on his mug — has been toiling in restaurant kitchens since he was 15.
A former runner-up on Top Chef Canada, Smiles first achieved fame with the groundbreaking Old Montreal fine-dining spot Le Bremner with his buddy/mentor and former chef partner Chuck Hughes. After leaving Bremner a little over five years ago, Smiles launched Mise en Place, a hearty and well-received meal service, during the initial stages of the COVID period. He would later move on to become the exec chef of Hudson's venerable Willow Inn, before coming back to town to start up Le Violon.
Along the way, Smiles achieved notoriety in the rock kingdom, having cooked for the likes of Nick Cave and Radiohead.
But while acknowledged as one of this country's more renowned celeb chefs — like Hughes — Smiles is about as earthy and chill as they come in the kitchen.
Both Le Bremner — where he was a partner — and Willow Inn have appeared in mid-level rankings in previous 100 best resto lists, but Le Violon's placing on the two 2025 lists has left Smiles both surprised and a little overwhelmed.
'We put so much work into this place, and opening up my first solo restaurant from scratch was something really special,' Smiles says. 'For the past year, this was living in the heads of all of us involved in putting Le Violon together.'
Taking over a place Smiles had held dear — the former Maison Publique, helmed by local culinary legend Dammann, not to mention international star chef Jamie Oliver — was also something of a challenge.
'It's kind of surreal. Maison Publique was such a terrific place for me, one of my favourite restaurants in the city and my little hideout in the Plateau,' he marvels. 'But it was necessary to transform the place, because when you're going up against such wonderful chefs like Derek and Jamie, you really have to step it up.
'A great restaurant is a place where you leave your days of work and go in and get transported by the service, the food, the music, the ambience. That was what Maison Publique was and that's what we wanted to achieve with Le Violon. That's what was behind all the renovations we did and all the beautiful paintings and all the food and wine ideas we were able to put together with my partners.'
So what differentiates Le Violon's cuisine from previous Smiles operations?
'I think we're more mature right now. We're more confident with the food we're putting on plates. I also think we are more aware of the ingredients we're bringing in by working with some amazing local suppliers. We are very ingredient-driven. Without being labelled fusion, we bring together French, Lebanese and Italian along with even British and Irish. We really want to bring everything together.'
Apart from his culinary skills, Smiles, married and the father of two, also has plenty of heart and gives back to the community. Having been touched by the turmoil of his sister-in-law's cancer, he has been involved with the Cedars Cancer Centre's Jackie Aziz AYA Program, providing free meals to adolescents and young adults. In February, Smiles hosted a group of 50 for lunch at Le Violon and has more events planned.
'The door is always open for those fighting cancer,' notes Smiles, whose sister-in-law is now in remission. 'I will always have the time to eat, have coffee and talk with those I've met going through cancer. That's really the whole point of having a restaurant. It's great to be selected one of the best restaurants in the country, but it is also as important for a restaurant to have a sense of community.
'To be quite honest, I have a beautiful team and I haven't been this happy in a long time with everything we're doing.'
Canada's 100 Best Restaurants 2025
1. Restaurant Pearl Morissette (Jordan Station, Ont.)
2. Mon Lapin (Montreal)
3. Alo (Toronto)
4. Edulis (Toronto)
5. 20 Victoria (Toronto)
6. Eight (Calgary)
7. Beba (Montreal)
8. Quetzal (Toronto)
9. Published on Main (Vancouver)
10. AnnaLena (Vancouver)
11. Le Violon (Montreal)
12. St. Lawrence (Vancouver)
13. Tanière3 (Quebec City)
14. Hexagon (Oakville, Ont.)
15. Langdon Hall (Cambridge, Ont.)
16. Sushi Masaki Saito (Toronto)
17. Monarque (Montreal)
18. Kissa Tanto (Vancouver)
19. The Pine (Collingwood, Ont.)
20. Montréal Plaza (Montreal)
21. Bar Kismet (Halifax)
22. Cabaret l'Enfer (Montreal)
23. Änkôr (Canmore, Alta.)
24. Alma (Outremont)
25. Pichai (Montreal)
26. Baan Lao (Richmond, B.C.)
27. Bar St-Denis (Montreal)
28. Le Crocodile by Rob Feenie (Vancouver)
29. Aburi Hana (Toronto)
30. Nupo (Calgary)
31. Casavant (Montreal)
32. Botanist (Vancouver)
33. Wild Blue (Whistler)
34. Deer + Almond (Winnipeg)
35. Parapluie (Montreal)
36. Pluvio (Ucluelet, B.C.)
37. L'Abattoir (Vancouver)
38. La Cabane d'à Côté (St-Benoît de Mirabel, Que.)
39. Marilena (Victoria, B.C.)
40. Mastard (Montreal)
41. Atelier (Ottawa)
42. Dreyfus (Toronto)
43. Sushi Yugen (Toronto)
44. Salle Climatisée (Montreal)
45. Bernhardt's (Toronto)
46. Joe Beef (Montreal)
47. River Café (Calgary)
48. Sabayon (Montreal)
49. Arlo (Ottawa)
50. Canoe (Toronto)
51. LSL (Toronto)
52. Linny's (Toronto)
53. Actinolite (Toronto)
54. Bar Isabel (Toronto)
55. Boulevard (Vancouver)
56. DOPO (Calgary)
57. Bar Prima (Toronto)
58. Casa Paco (Toronto)
59. DaNico (Toronto)
60. Bacchus (Vancouver)
61. L'Express (Montreal)
62. Shoushin (Toronto)
63. DaiLo (Toronto)
64. Gia Vin et Grill (Montreal)
65. Yujiro (Winnipeg)
66. Hawksworth (Vancouver)
67. Toqué! (Montreal)
68. Takja BBQ (Toronto)
69. Lake Inez (Toronto)
70. Don Alfonso 1890 (Toronto)
71. Mystic (Halifax)
72. Osteria Giulia (Toronto)
73. Famiglia Baldassarre (Toronto)
74. Shokunin (Calgary)
75. Alma (Toronto)
76. Au Pied de Cochon (Montreal)
77. Juliette Plaza (Montreal)
78. Portage (St. John's, N.L.)
79. Parcelles (Austin, Que.)
80. Prime Seafood Palace (Toronto)
81. Mhel (Toronto)
82. Burdock & Co. (Vancouver)
83. Heni (Montreal)
84. The Gate (Flesherton, Ont.)
85. Otto (Kitano Shokudo) (Montreal)
86. Nola (Winnipeg)
87. Elisa (Vancouver)
88. Riviera (Ottawa)
89. The Fish Man (Richmond, B.C.)
90. Nora Gray (Montreal)
91. Damas (Montreal)
92. Naagan by Zach Keeshig (Owen Sound, Ont.)
93. Barberian's (Toronto)
94. Maenam (Vancouver)
95. Perch (Ottawa)
96. Giulietta (Toronto)
97. Fat Rabbit (St. Catharines, Ont.)
98. Melba (Quebec City)
99. ELEM (Vancouver)
100. Claire Jacques (Montreal)
Canada's Best New Restaurants 2025
Rank / Restaurant / Opening Date
1. Le Violon (Montreal) June 2024
2. LSL (Toronto) May 2024
3. Linny's (Toronto) September 2024
4. DOPO (Calgary) November 2024
5. Takja BBQ (Toronto) April 2024
6. Mystic (Halifax) September 2024
7. Juliette Plaza (Montreal) February 2024
8. The Gate (Flesherton, Ont.) December 2023
9. Naagan by Zach Keeshig (Owen Sound, Ont.) November 2024
10. ELEM (Vancouver) November 2024