This time last year, the future looked awfully grim. We braced for restaurant closures and recessionary menus, but 2009 was surprising. Though we lost some good places (Perigee, Truffles, Alice’s and Gamelle, in particular), and mac-and-cheese quickly wore out its welcome, it was an exciting time to dine out. Anxious restaurateurs dropped corkage fees and slashed wine markups, while chefs cooked up imaginative prix fixe menus. It suited our mood as well as our wallets: these days, Torontonians want informality. We’re still hungry for local produce and nose-to-tail dining, chefs are once again finding inspiration in Italy and Japan, and the city is finally beginning to develop a serious cocktail culture. Most encouraging of all is the number of new restaurants opening. Here, the best of the vintage.
David,
Please please stop with your rambling as you have NOT explored ALL that Toronto has to offer. Where is your mention of Burger’s Priest and the rising tide of burger joints done right? You only seem to concentrate on mentioning restos that are ad noseum mentioned over and over again from one mag to another. Any mention of Zen or Hashimoto or Guu or Frank’s Kitchen or The Black Hoofe? Get over to Chowhound.com and have your eyes opened to what’s available in Toronto. Hey a plate of spaghetti with sauce done right can be heaven. Simplicity is the true mark of great chefs. Splendido? La Maquette? Toronto is culinarily more diverse than you think.
December 31, 2010 at 7:59 am | by JosephThey are not even open. Closed back in the fall of 2010 as is the attached bakery.
January 10, 2011 at 4:25 pm | by Locavore@Brian
Toronto’s museums are far from fabulous.
January 24, 2011 at 7:46 pm | by alexisDavid – you’re clearly a dinosaur, and possibly an ignorant blow-hard.
All the places you list are about 10 years past their prime. And please realize that El Bulli is absolutely nowhere near Madrid, plus it’s closing in 4 months.
Food trends and tastes change. I’ve eaten in some pretty nice places elsewhere, but have been pleasantly surprised by some of Toronto’s new spots like the Black Hoof.
Please enjoy your 5 course, white table cloth, silver service at Le Bernardine. We’ll be trying something new..
February 19, 2011 at 5:30 pm | by DBTOTALLY AGREED — just because there are endangered fish eggs or unnaturally fatty duck livers or strange subterranean fungus on the menu, that’s no measure of the quality of the food. That’s just a price-point power-point justifying the cost of the meal. Good food is good food. Good service is good service.
I’ll take perfectly prepared liver n’ onions served with a genuine smile over charcuterie with a smirk any day.
March 1, 2011 at 8:20 pm | by JoshMattagascar: 6 Garamond Ct. is at DVP and Eglinton; that’s hardly 2 hours away.
March 1, 2011 at 9:05 pm | by VI’m sorry to say that Local Kitchen & Winebar is not worthy of your top 10 new restaurants. It’s a balance between ambience and food for any critic’s choice but sadly this cramped and under-ventilated space failed to deliver on their popular Tortelloni dish with a seriously al dente pasta that was crunchy on the folds and overwhelmed the promising taste. After waiting for people to be moved in to vacated tables from the bar 4 doors down the 3 of us were seated at a table for 6 with a couple at one end who kindly closed the front door every time the staff tried to add some fresh air to the space. When the couple left the maitre de replaced them with a group of four that put an extra spin on the closet feel stifling any thoughts of another glass of wine, dessert or coffee. When informed of the inedible pasta entree the waitress immediately took it up with a manager who while promising to investigate with the kitchen didn’t come back with any findings before we received our bill. Definitely not one of those restaurants we wilt on our “I’d go back” list.
March 4, 2011 at 10:43 pm | by N1G3LEven if I saw a 905 # I’d dismiss it as not being a Toronto restaurant, but 705?? Never been there and don’t even know where it is. Is it up by Sudbury? Ridiculous
March 13, 2011 at 12:01 pm | by Glifti think i might wanna come here!
March 28, 2011 at 8:11 am | by dominiquePEOPLE , …..PASTA IS NOT FINE DINING ….. BOIL PASTA , ADD TOMOTOE SAUCE AND VOILA , ITS A STAPLE FOOD , YES ITS GOOD BUT ITS A STAPLE FOOD LIKE FRIGGIN RICE ……..
WE NEED GOOD RESTAURANTS THAT ENCOMPASS , AMBIENCE , GREAT SERVICE, GREAT FRESH SEASONAL FOOD , FOOD THAT YOU WOULDNT MAKE AT HOME …. THATS DINING , FOR IF YOU JUST WANT TO FILL UP THATS EATING NOT DINING ….. DINING IS AN EXPERIENCE WHERE LOTS OF THINGS COME TOGETHER …..
AND THATS WHY TORONTO DOESNT HAVE FINE DINING .
April 14, 2011 at 6:02 pm | by MichaelA lot of new restaurants and catering companies coming up this year, just look at the change from 2010 to 2011. Our catering company, http://www.icater.ca has been in the top 10 Toronto caterers for many years. Excited to see when a caterers list will come out.
July 13, 2011 at 1:21 am | by Doug