Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
The year’s best launches turned their backs on glamour and glitz in favour of honest food and easygoing ambience. When the economy plunged, they looked like prescient geniuses
See the Top Ten New Restaurants 2009 »
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- <h2>1. NOTA BENE</h2><br /> <p>Leave it to others to be cute or romantic—Splendido’s spacious sib offers smart sophistication, effortless service and good food. Chef David Lee’s menu suits the suits who flock here for lunch but also gives gourmets their lobster cobb salad before the ballet. <em>180 Queen St. W., 416-977-6400.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>2. BLACK HOOF</h2><br /> <p>From a tiny open kitchen in the narrow, dimly lit space, owner-chef Grant van Gameren inducts worshippers into the cult of charcuterie while co-owner Jen Agg mixes wickedly original cocktails. Open til 2 a.m. some nights, it’s a magnet for tired chefs and discerning food obsessives. <em>928 Dundas St. W., 416-551-8854.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>3. FRANK</h2><br /> <p>A restaurant worthy of the AGO’s dazzling redesign, Frank is poised at the point where populist meets elite. The all-Ontario wine list matches chef Anne Yarymowich’s menu of elegant, imaginative comfort food. Brunch here is becoming the city’s favourite rendezvous. <em>317 Dundas St. W., 416-979-6688.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>4. LOIRE</h2><br /> <p>French cuisine takes a modern Toronto turn in chef Jean-Charles Dupoire’s hands. His co-owner, veteran sommelier Sylvain Brissonnet, runs the coolly serene little room. Unpretentious but classy and good value, it’s a fine addition to Harbord Street’s burgeoning restaurant strip. <em>119 Harbord St., 416-850-8330.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>THE HARBORD ROOM</h2><br /> <p>Pepto-pink walls notwithstanding, this welcoming, 22-seat gem is a sociable frame for Cory Vitiello’s assured cooking. With a plate of oysters at the bar or on the back patio in summer, it defines the relaxed neighbourhood hang. <em>89 Harbord St., 416-962‑8989.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>6. ATELIER THUET</h2><br /> <p>With blood pudding crêpe, pork belly pot au feu and poached egg, Marc Thuet’s gourmet store–cum–funky restaurant is no place for vegetarians. Liberty Village carnivores, however, delight in the expert charcuterie and Alsatian-inspired mains. <em>171 East Liberty St., Unit 153, 416-603-2777.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>7. MILDRED’S TEMPLE KITCHEN</h2><br /> <p>The beloved Mildred Pierce’s long-awaited sequel is far more polite, even austere in its wide-open, concrete space. Donna Dooher’s dishes are delicious, measured and righteous, from an app of gnudi with fried sage to a figgy pudding finale. <em>85 Hanna Ave., 416-588-5695.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>8. GRACE</h2><br /> <p>So much is right: the room’s warm mood, the tiny, well-edited menu, and the mellow crowd. Dustin Gallagher’s cooking aims for cozy domesticity with an urban edge—and often achieves it. The apple terrine topped with blue cheese is irresistible. <em>503 College St., 416-944‑8884.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>9. DELUX</h2><br /> <p>Owner-chef Corinna Mozo blew in from Boston to join Ossington’s fashionable revolution. Shabby-chic decor plus confidently prepared bistro food with an occasional Cuban sparkle more than satisfy Delux’s loyal constituency of the hungry hip. <em>92 Ossington Ave., 416-537-0134.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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- <h2>10. GILEAD CAFÉ</h2><br /> <p>This sunlit space in a Corktown laneway is the front for Jamie Kennedy’s catering kitchen—hence the scrumptious pastries, soups, sandwiches and (naturally) fries. J. K.’s penchant for beautifully executed Canadian comfort food finds perfect expression. <em>4 Gilead Pl., 647-288-0680.</em></p>
- (Image: Lee Towndrow)
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
- Top Ten New Restaurants 2009
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By James Chatto | Photography by Lee Towndrow
See the Top Ten New Restaurants 2009 »
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