Us Torontonians are a proud lot, and so we should be! We live in Canada’s largest city, a world renowned much loved and visited metropolis. A city that people aspire to relocate to from all over Canada, and a city where many wannabe immigrants set their sights on making new lives. We are a multicultural hodgepodge of peoples and cultures, with an enviable restaurant scene to match. One thing for sure with Toronto, you can find somewhere new and exciting to eat every day of the year.
From Thai to Tibetan, Creole to Cantonese and Polish to Persian, whatever tickles your taste buds, there’s an A to Z of cuisines ready and waiting for you to savour. You really are spectacularly spoiled for choice. In fact, that there are over 7500 restaurants dotted across the 158 neighbourhoods; forming one massive gastronomic heaven for all of us foodies. We Torontonians are a very lucky bunch indeed, and much envied by others across Canada.
So, it is really no surprise (though still marvellous to hear), that once again Toronto served up major success in the annual Canada’s 100 Best Restaurant List of 2022. This list of lucky nationwide restaurants was selected by food critics, industry experts, restauranteurs, chefs and of course food savvy customers. Toronto gained an enviable 22 places in that list! With one of our venues securing a superb second place – Alo, a hidden gem located at 163 Spadina Avenue, serving up glorious French cuisine.
Others in the 22-hit list include Niagara Street’s Edulis (offering up seasonal wild and foraged foods), Canoe located on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower (offering innovative Canadian dishes) and the simply wonderful Sushi restaurant Sushi Masaki Saito on Avenue Road. Let’s also not forget to mention Giulia, also located on Avenue Road (serving up authentic Mediterranean cuisine), the snug and cosy Dreyfus on Harbord Street (with a delightful French menu and wines to match!) and the Michelin star awarded Don Alfonso 1890 on Harbour Square (where you can savour Italian food at its best).
You can find out the other lucky Toronto venues that made the mark by visiting here and also check out the other 80 restaurants selected from across Canada. As an aside, it really is great to see, that not only Toronto and the other large cities stole prime positions in the top 100. Places far afield snatched a place too, such as Pluvio in Ucluelet, British Columbia (where you can dine on the best local products of Vancouver Island), and the Fogo Island Inn, a secluded island in Newfoundland (where you can sample an extraordinary menu of seafood and locally foraged plants and berries).
Coming out of those two years plus of imposed hibernation, we all need as much good news as we can. This list demonstrates that post-Covid, restaurant businesses are still flourishing in Toronto and across the nation. You really can’t keep a good eatery down, and people want to get out there and eat even more so now. Watch this space and keep a keen eye to see what the next year brings us. You can expect even more choices of fabulous places to eat out on the Toronto restaurant scene, that’s for sure.
CHI is dedicated to keeping up with local and national trends in the Restaurant Industry to help serve our customers better and keep them one step ahead. If you are interested in opening, purchasing, or selling a restaurant CHI Real Estate can help. Get in touch with our team today.