TORONTO – Canada’s best new restaurant sits on the second floor of a barn in Niagara wine country.
An annual ranking by Air Canada’s enRoute magazine crowns The Restaurant at Pearl Morissette for a prix-fixe menu featuring ingredients largely grown on or foraged from the surrounding land.
The winery restaurant is followed by two Montreal eateries — the Italian wine bar Vin Mon Lapin and the wood-fired pizzeria Elena.
Rounding out the top 5 is the French cuisine of St. Lawrence in Vancouver and the classic Italian fare of Toronto’s Giulietta.
They’re followed by Aloette in Toronto, Regina’s Avenue from “Top Chef Canada” winner Dale MacKay, and the small-plate dishes of Bundok in Edmonton.
Then there’s the seafood bar Sand and Pearl in Ontario’s scenic Prince Edward County, and the Victoria dining destination The Courtney Room, an extension of The Magnolia Hotel & Spa.
The winner was determined by enRoute critic Nancy Matsumoto, who dined in more than 30 restaurants in May and June.