Toronto Life is changing how we score restaurants

Don’t worry—it’s nothing drastic: we still evaluate restaurants on a scale of one to five stars, and we continue to only review places that we believe are worth a visit. But we’ve changed our scale to be a little more generous, and a little more intuitive. Before, one star meant a place was good; now it means fair. Two stars meant very good; now it means good. Three stars meant excellent; now it means very good. Four stars meant extraordinary; now it means excellent. And five stars meant absolutely perfect: an extraordinary, totally flawless, unparalleled dining experience. No restaurant ever achieved that score. Now our highest rating means exceptional, and there are a handful of restaurants that have earned it: Auberge du Pommier, Kaiseki Yu-Zen Hashimoto, Momofuku Shoto, Buca Yorkville and Sushi Kaji. You can read more about what the new stars mean here, or find out how we’ve scored your favourite restaurant by searching for them in our listings.