Best New Restaurants
From a space-age crystal to a former courthouse, our 2008 edition explores the top new restos from a banner year on the Toronto dining scene
Published: April 2008
James Chatto
Articles on torontolife.com written by James Chatto.
Be My Guest
A friend comes to town and wants to eat quintessential Toronto cuisine. Where to go? What to do?
Tips from a professional eater
Published: July 2008
Best New Restaurants: Honourable Mentions
Our list of Toronto’s top 10 new restaurants is out. Yet with so many stellar places opening these days, four high-quality eateries had to be cut from our picks. Here, the best of the rest
Published: April 2008
Cooking With Gas
George Brown has given its chef school a massive makeover and a sleek new restaurant on King where the city’s next Susurs can strut their stuff
Published: September 2008
Cutting Edge
Delux
Electric Avenue
In a matter of years, Ossington has gone from no-go to boho. With Foxley and Delux, it’s become a culinary destination
Published: May 2008
Goodbye, Susur
After years of acclaim, Susur Lee is closing one of his eponymous restaurants on King St. W.
Published: April 2008
Head for the Hills
L’Unita
Masala Make-over
Chic decor, imaginative cooking, polished service. Haute Indian is the next big thing
Published: February 2008
Out to Lunch
Children in the Gobi Desert are better fed than ours. With few exceptions, Toronto schools feed our kids crap
Published: January 2008
Room Service
A Super Bowl theme? Brazilian barbecue? In the era of private dining, chefs are allowing patrons to design their own menus—and anything goes
Published: August 2008
Status Hungry
Only 150 restaurants in the world have Relais & Châteaux’s
Grand Chef seal. Langdon Hall is sparing no expense to get it.
The story behind their quest for grandeur
Published: June 2008
Best New Restaurants
Block Party
Baldwin Street is unique in Toronto—a happy-go-lucky hamlet in the heart of town
Published: October 2007
Bounty Hunter
Jonathan Forbes, supplier of exotic Canadiana to the top chefs, comes out of the woods
Published: September 2007
Cool Customers
First Blowfish, then Kultura and now Colborne Lane—how a kid from Flemingdon Park ended up bringing gastronomy to (gasp) the hipster set
Published: May 2007
High Five
Four years in the making, the ROM’s new dining operation is one of the most anticipated restaurant launches in recent history. Can it live up to the hype?
Published: August 2007
Manhattan Project
What’s cooking in New York and making its way here? Dispatches from the continent’s culinary capital
Published: June 2007
Sake Night in Canada
Sous City
If you’re dining out on a Sunday or Monday night, chances are the sous-chef is cooking—and you didn’t even notice. Meet the culinary stars of the future
Published: February 2007
Spice Cadet
Bad boy chef Greg Couillard blows into Yorkville, of all places, with his African restaurant, Spice Room–Manyata
Published: March 2007
The Burbs or Bust
Downtown snobs, get over yourselves. If you want the best, most authentic regional Chinese, take a joyride through the 905
Published: March 2007
The Overachiever
A hit TV show, a catering company, three restaurants and a gourmet grocery store on the horizon. Mark McEwan in hyper-drive
Published: November 2007
Trading Places
They’re simple, satisfying and packed with the city’s most discerning palates. Where chefs eat on their nights off
Published: July 2007
Amadeus
Best Restaurants 2006
Torontonians are spoiled for choice. Our best restaurants, laden with talent and abuzz with energy, generate endless culinary delights—and at prices that leave foreign visitors gasping in envy. This year—a year of Wagyu beef and six-part desserts, tasting menus and vegetable foams—we celebrate those who have outperformed the field
Published: April 2006
Cava
Down to the Bistro
When three local masters of haute cuisine start
serving choucroute, steak frites and tapas, it may be
time to acknowledge a trend
Published: June 2006
Egg Hunt
Torontonians love to do brunch. We ignore our diets. We even drink! And our restaurants gleefully step up
to the plate
Published: May 2006
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
After nearly two decades of reviewing restaurants, our dining columnist has one of the most recognizable faces in the business. So he tried a new one on for size
Published: November 2006
Lai Toh Heen
Life of Pie
Musical Tables
The quest for a good meal before The Lord of the Rings unearths at least one glint of gold
Published: March 2006
Niagara Calls
New restaurants, fresh ideas, affordable menus. There’s never been a better time to dine on the peninsula
Published: August 2006
Raising the Bar
Resto-lounges are multiplying like bunnies, but only a few have
managed to master the hybrid. How to satisfy both heat-seeking
clubbers and fine diners alike?
Published: August 2006
Science Fare
Stand and Deliver
His doctors told him he would never cook again. Seven years later, Pascal Ribreau is one of the city's most accomplished chefs
Published: September 2006
Super Bowls
In the depths of winter, nothing gives solace and sustenance like an exceptional soup. 2005 was a banner year for stock options
Published: February 2006
Treadwell
Under the Influence
Through his short, bright career, Scot Woods has been obsessed with bringing the world’s cuisines to his cooking. Other chefs should take note
Published: December 2006
Asia Major
Pan-Asian hot spots are sprouting like long beans on Queen, College and Bloor, and no wonder. The food is fresh, cheap and easy on the eye
Published: October 2005
Small Favours
In our nothing-for-nothing culture, the amuse-bouche—that tiny, edible “Hi” from the chef—was almost gone until a few amusing restaurateurs came along
Published: November 2005
The Call of the Wild
With all that wilderness, why are our restaurants’ game dishes so bland?
Published: December 2005
