Articles on torontolife.com written by James Chatto.
The TransformersAme is the most stylish restaurant to open in this city in years. It’s also relaxed and recession-friendly. The Rubino brothers teamed up with club king Charles Khabouth to make it happen
Published: January 2010
A Diner’s MarketFaced with dwindling returns, restaurants have had to get creative. Suddenly, servers are friendlier, wine markups have been slashed and prix fixe deals are everywhere. James Chatto on the delicious upside of the recession
Published: July 2009
Beaujolais BrawlJames Chatto wonders if granting a liquor licence to J.P. Challet’s Harbord Street bistro will bring down the neighbourhood
Published: September 2009
Best New Restaurants 2009 — The Honourable MentionsToronto saw many great new restaurants open last year. In our April issue, we name the top 10, but some fabulous places didn’t make the cut. Below, the newcomers that soared, but fell short of our list
Published: March 2009
Best Restaurants 2009 — The Honourable MentionsOur annual list of Toronto’s best restaurants is on newsstands now. It was such a banner year, however, many places had to be cut from our picks. Here, the best of the rest (who could have, would have, should have been in the top ten lists, if only the others hadn’t also been so good)
Published: March 2009
Chain ReactionCasual mass-market restaurants have taken hold on street corners across the GTA. The food’s OK, but it’s by no means cheap. What’s the allure?
Published: January 2009
Culinary ArtThe AGO’s new restaurant, Frank, is an odd combination of posh and populist. Can a place where hoodies and
suits are expected to commingle succeed? Just try to get a reservation
Published: February 2009
Pros and (ex-)ConsMarc Thuet staffed his latest restaurant with convicts, then filmed the chaos for TV. Publicity stunt or a noble deed? As long as the food is great, who cares?
Published: September 2009
The British InvasionIt’s official: gastropubs are the new tapas bars. But with every neighbourhood pub now offering rabbit terrines, it pays to be wary of imposters
Published: November 2009
The New NouvelleThe next era of French cuisine has arrived. And it might well be the start of a unique Toronto style
Published: March 2009
The Search for SparkMost Toronto Thai food is
bland, ketchupy goo. That’s what makes this little place in Greektown seem all the more miraculous
Published: June 2009
Top Ten New Restaurants 2009The 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
Published: April 2009
Top Ten Restaurants 2009These are the places of proven and consistent quality that set the city’s fine-dining standard: the stars in our
gastronomical firmament
Published: April 2009
Be My GuestA 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 2008From 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
Best New Restaurants: Honourable MentionsOur 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 GasGeorge 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
Electric AvenueIn 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, SusurAfter years of acclaim, Susur Lee is closing one of his eponymous restaurants on King St. W.
Published: April 2008
Lighten UpNota Bene has Splendido’s chef
but doesn’t charge Splendido’s
prices. No wonder it’s the hottest new restaurant in town
Published: October 2008
Masala Make-overChic decor, imaginative cooking, polished service. Haute Indian is the next big thing
Published: February 2008
No Place Like Home The venue is intimate, the menu custom-tailored. In this new era of private catering, eating in has never been so glam
Published: December 2008
Out to LunchChildren in the Gobi Desert are better fed than ours. With few exceptions, Toronto schools feed our kids crap
Published: January 2008
Room ServiceA 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 HungryOnly 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
Tarted UpSave room for dessert: Mistura’s crostata di pinoli
is mind-blowingly good
Published: November 2008
Block PartyBaldwin Street is unique in Toronto—a happy-go-lucky hamlet in the heart of town
Published: October 2007
Bounty HunterJonathan Forbes, supplier of exotic Canadiana to the top chefs, comes out of the woods
Published: September 2007
Cool CustomersFirst 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 FiveFour 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 ProjectWhat’s cooking in New York and making its way here? Dispatches from the continent’s culinary capital
Published: June 2007
Sous CityIf 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 CadetBad boy chef Greg Couillard blows into Yorkville, of all places, with his African restaurant, Spice Room–Manyata
Published: March 2007
The Burbs or BustDowntown snobs, get over yourselves. If you want the best, most authentic regional Chinese, take a joyride through the 905
Published: March 2007
The OverachieverA 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 PlacesThey’re simple, satisfying and packed with the city’s most discerning palates. Where chefs eat on their nights off
Published: July 2007
Best Restaurants 2006Torontonians 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
Down to the BistroWhen 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 HuntTorontonians 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 DinnerAfter 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
Musical TablesThe quest for a good meal before The Lord of the Rings unearths at least one glint of gold
Published: March 2006
Niagara CallsNew restaurants, fresh ideas, affordable menus. There’s never been a better time to dine on the peninsula
Published: August 2006
Raising the BarResto-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
Stand and DeliverHis 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 BowlsIn the depths of winter, nothing gives solace and sustenance like an exceptional soup. 2005 was a banner year for stock options
Published: February 2006
Under the InfluenceThrough 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 MajorPan-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 FavoursIn 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 WildWith all that wilderness, why are our restaurants’ game dishes so bland?
Published: December 2005
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