The Dish Power Rankings: muddied waters edition

The Dish Power Rankings: muddied waters edition

The-Dish-Power-Rankings

Toronto Life’s roundup of the restaurants with the biggest buzz, the longest lineups and the toughest tables to snag.

After four weeks in the top spot, Edulis gets bumped for a red-hot new barbecue restaurant. Meanwhile, OddSeoul continues its steady rise.

  1. Electric Mud BBQ (new this week)
    Leave it to the guys from Grand Electric to open a new barbecue joint with no advance publicity and still conjure a lineup on opening day. Don’t bother calling ahead for a reservation (unless you want to hear the hilarious faux-Southern accent on the answering machine).
  2. Edulis (↓1)
    There are three ways to get a table at Edulis: eat early, eat late or wait until Sunday March 17. The Black Hoof’s Jen Agg recently tweeted about a “note perfect meal” there.
  3. Playa Cabana Cantina (no change)
    Toronto’s best new taco bar keeps drawing big crowds to the Junction (next weekend’s bookings are already picked over), while sending spillover to the original Annex location, where there’s a ten-day wait for a table at 7 p.m.
  4. Farmhouse Tavern (↑1)
    Snagging a reservation at this locavore locale entails sending a text to owner Darcy MacDonell. For weekend services, dozens receive a polite “no.”
  5. Rose and Sons (↓ 3)
    The brunch waiting list tops out at half an hour at Anthony Rose’s tiny diner. Dinners are still raucous affairs, even though its getting a little easier to land a table.
  6. OddSeoul (↑2)
    Diners at the new Korean-American snack bar from the Han brothers on a Saturday night are greeted with a pulsing wall of intense sound and heat (and a long wait). If you get in, get the The Loosey.
  7. Porzia (↓1)
    There’s a limited amount of time that a restaurant can hold the title of Parkdale’s buzziest opening (see #1).
  8. Shōtō (↓4)
    We’re starting to see increasing next-day availability at David Chang’s 22-seat tasting menu restaurant. Weekends still require Momofuku website jujitsu.
  9. Patria (no change)
    Charles Khabouth’s buzzy Spanish restaurant is becoming the place for celebs and professional athletes to drop big money on dinner. Spotted this week: crooner Matt Dusk and Buffalo Bill C. J. Spiller.
  10. Guu (new this week)
    The original Toronto line-up magnet now takes reservations—goes to show what a little competition in the izakaya market can do.

Honourable mentions: Hawthorne gets a rave from The Star (our verdict: a solid one star) and fine dining institution Splendido is getting into the brunch game.

Dropped off the list this week: JaBistro and Playa Cabana.