This year, like usual, the area east of the DVP hasn’t done too well in Winterlicious. Here, our four picks on the Danforth.

Stadtländer argues that the quarry would result in the loss of prime Ontario farmland and would threaten local wildlife and the integrity of much of Ontario’s freshwater resources, since the proposed land is below the water table. “It’s some of the best farmland in Ontario, and it’s only 100 kilometres away from Toronto,” he told The Grid. “We are really only at the dawn of local food right now. The human population is growing and we really have to secure places where we can grow food.” Perhaps the best comment we’ve heard in reaction to the event comes from David Waters, an Orangeville real estate agent and Foodstock volunteer, who told the Toronto Star: “You can’t eat gravel.” Event details and tickets available here.

The list of contributing chefs is a staggering tour of southern Ontario locavorism:

Toronto:

Paul Böehmer and Milana Lise from Böhmer
Teo Paul from Union
Adam Colquhoun and Robert Bechard from Oyster Boy
JP Challet from Ici Bistro
Lola Kirk from Ruby Watcho
Jeffery Cladio from Scarpetta
Chris Brown from The Stop Community Food Centre
Jamie Kennedy from Jamie Kennedy Kitchens
Aaron Bear Robe from Keriwa Café
Fabio Boni and Michael Sangregorio from Local Kitchen and Wine Bar and Bar Salumi
Luis Valenzuela from Torito Tapas Bar
Victor Barry from Splendido and The County General
Albert Ponzo from Le Select Bistro
Hiro Yoshida from Hiro Sushi
Anthony Walsh from Bannok and Oliver and Bonacini Restaurants
Carole Ferrari from Locale Café
Carl Heinrich and Ryan Donovan from Marben
Michael Sacco from Chocosol Chocolate Traders
David Kokai from Loïc Gourmet
Anthony Rose from The Drake Hotel
Derek Bendig and Colen Quinn from Pangaea
Zane Caplansky from Caplansky’s
Evelyne Gharbirian from Hearty Catering
Rodney Bowers from Hey Meatball
Matty Matheson from Parts and Labour
Derek Zavislake from Merchants of Green Coffee
Keith Froggett from Scaramouche
Lorenzo Loseto from George Restaurant
Rob Gentile from Buca Restaurant
Patrick McMurray from Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill, Ceili Cottage
Joshna Maharaj
Steffan Howard from Palais Royale and Casa Loma
Kevin McKenna from Globe Bistro, Earth Rosedale and Earth Bloor West
Phillip Heilborn from Earth Bloor West
Trish Donnelly from Chef Donnelly Catering
Brad Long and Sarah Kuntz from Belong Café
John Higgins and Oliver Li from George Brown College
Daisuke Izatsu from Kaiseki Sakura
Christopher Palik from L-Eat Catering and Paese Ristorante
Daniel Muia from Mogette Bistro
Joe Levesque from the International Centre
Graham Pratt and Christine Fancy from The Gabardine
Giacomo Pasquini from Vertical
Aubrey Demers
Bertrand Alépée from The Tempered Chef
Fawzi Kotb from Veloute Bistro and Catering
Nick Laliberte from Poutini’s House of Poutine
Dawn Woodward and Edmund Rek from Evelyn’s Crackers
Jacob Sharkey Pearce from Two Brothers Inc.
Linda Burnside and Kevin Walters from Alternative Grounds
Alexandra Feswick from Brockton General
Diane Cartwright from Whole World Trade Ltd.
Jeff Brown and Jennifer Rashleigh from Delight
Lesia Kohut from LPK’s Culinary Groove
Anton Potvin and Nick Liu from Niagara Street Café
Johan Maes from Goed Eten

Durham:

Michael Schmidt and Chef Carey McLellan from Glencolton Farms

Mississauga:

Erica Trabulsi from The Culinary Art School of Ontario

Shelburne:

Rob Uffen from Rob Uffen’s Trout House

Rosemont:

Ross Midgley and Beth Hunt from The Globe Restaurant

Owen Sound:

Robin Pradhan from Rocky Raccoon Café

Creemore:

Michel Masselin from Chez Michel
Dave Nesbitt from Creemore Coffee Company
Don Akehurst from Sovereign Restaurant

Collingwood:

Gareth Carter from Men with Knives
Leona Nyman and Andrea Greyerbiehl from Azzurra
Jeremy Korten from Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill and Blue Mountain Restaurant
Mark and Christine Kraus from Espresso Post
Scott Chalmers and Andrew Barber from Simplicity Bistro
Christophe and Wispy Boivin from Tremont Café
Joelle Rogers from Tesoro Restaurant
Mike Duffin from One99 Broadway
Roger Genoe from Ravenna Country Market

Singhampton:

Martina Gómez and Jörg Neth from Haisai
Michael and Nobuyo Stadtländer from Eigensinn Farm

Orangeville:

Jason Reiner from The Mono Cliff’s Inn
Alex Johnston from Hockley Valley Resort

Flesherton:

Shawn Adler from The Flying Chestnut

Burlington:

Tobias Pohl-Weary from Red Canoe Bistro

Guelph:

Carin Balint from Garden of Vegan

Niagara:

Paul Harber from Ravine Vineyard
Janice Suarez
Ryan Crawford from The Stone Road Grille

Stratford:

Ruth Klahsen from Monforte Diary

Parry Sound:

Philip Patrick from The Ridge at Manitou

Barrie:

Matthew Flett from Georgian College
Randy Feltis from Oscars
David Keenan from At the Five
Daniel Hong and Anna Kim from Furasato Restaurant
Ceasar Guinto from Cravings Fine Food Market and Catering

Thornbury:

Shaun Edmonsteon and Jennifer Vipond from Bruce Wine Bar

Waterford:

Tracey Winkworth from The Belworth House

Aurora:

Jason D’Anna from Magna Golf Club

Ottawa:

Rob Fraser from Fraser Café

Saskatchewan:

Moe Mathieu

Nova Scotia:

Stefan Czapalay from Culinary Design Solutions

• Fully Stocked [Now Magazine]
• Foodstock fights mega-quarry with mega-feast [The Grid]
• In the forest with Michael Stadtlander [Toronto Star]

(Image: turtlemom4bacon)

While the moms (and dads) of Toronto can cook a fine turkey, plenty of chefs have also plumbed the bird’s mysterious cavities. For revelers with a discerning palate (or those too lazy busy to cook their own), we’ve assembled eight great ways to have someone do the Thanksgiving work for you.

• The Globe Bistro is offering a $35 three-course meal featuring a choice of curried celery and apple soup or autumn veggie salad to start, roast turkey or vegetable orecchiette for the main and apple/peach crumble or pumpkin tarts to finish. Globe Bistro. Oct. 9. $35. 124 Danforth Ave., 416-466-2000, globebistro.com

• Toronto’s only castle is serving a generous brunch buffet in the conservatory and library. Highlights include pumpkin bread pudding, scrambled eggs with caramelized pear and brie, Pacific salmon with kale from the castle garden and for the masochistic adventurous, a complimentary shot of “pumpkin pie”: cinnamon schnapps with Irish cream coffee liqueur. Casa Loma. Oct. 9. Start times between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. $51.45. 1 Austin Terrace, 416-923-1171 ext. 202, casaloma.org/seasonal

• The Miller Tavern is open all weekend, serving a three-course harvest dinner that comes with choice of appetizer, roast turkey or rib of beef and pumpkin cheesecake. Miller Tavern. Oct. 8-10. $35. 3885 Yonge St., 416-322-5544, themiller.ca

• Chef Timothy Palmer of the Royal York’s Epic restaurant has put together a complete take-home feast for those who prefer to stay in (or masquerade as classically trained chefs). Busy hosts can buy the full meal, which includes the turkey, butternut squash, sweet potato bisque, pumpkin pie, potatoes, veggies, gravy and cranberry sauce, or just the bird. We suggest interested parties act fast—pre-orders close today. Epic at the Fairmont Royal York. Pickup Oct. 9 to 10. Turkey $129, full meal $185. 100 Front St. W., 416-860-5050, epicrestaurant.ca

• We don’t have all the details yet, but we do know that Amaya has turkey korma on their prix fixe menu this weekend. And really, that’s all we need. Amaya. $29 prix fixe. 1701 Bayview Ave., 416-322-3270, amayarestaurant.com

• For a real harvest experience, Langdon Hall is hosting a Sunday buffet brunch using ingredients grown right on the property. Special holiday à la carte menus are available both Sunday and Monday, and for those with other plans this weekend, the Hall is also offering a six-course Late Harvest Dinner on Oct. 21. Reservations required. Langdon Hall. Oct. 9. Noon to 3 p.m. $55. 1 Langdon Dr., 1-800 268-1898, langdonhall.ca

• In the true spirit of Thanksgiving, the Big Chill is sharing its ice cream, free of charge. Sadly they’re just “mini-cones,” but the holiday requires you to thank them nonetheless. The Big Chill. Oct. 10., noon to 4 p.m. Free. 566 College St., 416-960-2455, thebigchill.ca

• If you find traditional Thanksgiving customs insufficiently nautical, both Mariposa and Jubilee Queen cruises are happy to serve turkey while surfing over the lake. We can’t vouch for the food, but we bet the view is pretty great. Mariposa Cruises. Oct. 8 to 10. 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. $72.95. 207 Queens Quay W., 416-203-0178, mariposacruises.com; Jubilee Queen Cruise Lines. Oct. 9 to 10. Various times. $54.95–$59.95. 539 Queens Quay W., 416-203-7245, jubileequeencruises.ca/toronto-thanksgiving-cruise.htm

Inside the front dining room area of Hardys (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Back in May, we reported on an upcoming barbecue joint, Hardys: A Hogtown Brasserie (its name a riff on Toronto’s pig-farming past) that was setting up shop just a few blocks west of barbecue stalwart The Stockyards. On Friday, the restaurant had its grand opening and we stopped in to check it out.

Inside the restaurant, the front dining room features a large brick mantle with a faux stag’s head and floating shelves that hold books and other knick-knacks. Partway through the restaurant is the bar, fashioned with slender sanded tree trunks. The back has a hoedown feel, with barnboard walls, an alcove for live music (it was jazz on the night we visited) and centrepieces of wildflowers in antique bottles and jars.

On the meat-heavy menu are barbecue classics, made in the kitchen’s industrial smoker (apparently, Toronto Public Health thought a homemade 55-gallon oil drum wasn’t quite legit). The southern-style pulled-pork sandwich with sweet mustard barbecue sauce ($11) is braised for seven hours. The whisky-glazed smoked chicken (quarter chicken $11; half chicken $15), meanwhile, is brined twice for extra juiciness. There’s also a smoked burger ($10) that uses organic, grass-fed Belted Galloway beef and, of course, house-smoked ribs, served with jalapeño cornbread (quarter rack $12; half rack $18). For sides, there are crispy ale-battered onion rings ($6), jalapeño cornbread ($3) and house-smoked mac-and-cheese ($6) with aged white cheddar that’s been smoked for over 24 hours. For extra indulgence, it’s served with optional pork loin that’s been braised for seven hours, diced, then fried until caramelized ($3 extra).

The drink menu focuses on beers and hard liquor (eight brands of whisky) and less on wines and cocktails. The handful of Ontario craft beers on tap includes Nickle Brook’s Green Apple Pilsner ($7), Maple Porter ($6.50) and Belgian White Wheat ($6.50), as well as offerings from Spearhead, Muskoka, Flying Monkey and Steamwhistle.

The menu is a collaboration between owner John Hardy and French-trained chef Trevor Bedard, formerly a private caterer who has worked at Lucien and Globe Bistro and staged at Auberge du Pommier and O&B Café and Grill. With two southern barbecue joints now within shouting distance of each other, we fully expect to see billowing clouds of apple wood and hordes of hungry diners on St. Clair West.

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Hardys: A Hogtown Brasserie, 992 St. Clair Ave. W., 416-901-4100, hardyshogtown.com.

Toronto restaurants are firmly in the grip of Summerlicious, which continues to this Sunday, so we decided to find out how the annual prix-fixe fete has treated them. The consensus? It’s been a wild week-and-a-half. “It’s definitely crazier than normal,” the folks at Brassaii told us. “Crazy busy,” echoed the people at Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill, who also had some sage advice for those spurned by packed houses and peculiarly empty tables: “If you’re unsure [of availabilities], call in or swing past, because there are always no-shows” (ah, the infamous Summerlicious no-shows). With less than a week left before the summer food fest wraps up, we got in touch with the 10 restaurants whose menus got the most hits from our list of the 63 best bets to find out whether and when tables are still available.

1. Fabbrica
Lunch is by far the busiest, but any time outside of that you should have good luck.

2. Canoe
No longer taking Summerlicious reservations. Sorry.

3. The Fifth Grill
No specific best available time, but be prepared to be flexible, as they are steadily busy with Summerlicious guests.

4. King Street Social
You shouldn’t experience difficulties getting reservations during the week, but Friday and Saturday are a different story.

5. Luma
For dinner, Thursday or Friday nights are your best bets at the moment. For lunch, weekdays have better availability.

6. Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill
Pick any day, but be prepared to be flexible on the time.

7. Drake Hotel
Thursday is much less busy than Friday, which is much less busy than Saturday. Same deal for both lunch and dinner.

8. Pangaea
At lunchtime, noon to 1:15 p.m. is the busiest. At dinner, it’s between 7 and 8. If you can eat a little earlier or later and avoid the rush, you should be able to get a table.

9. Globe Bistro
The busiest time is 7:30 p.m., but you can generally get a table during most dining hours.

10. Brassaii
Generally, weekday evenings right after work are the best time to secure a table.

DOWNTOWN NORTH | DOWNTOWN SOUTH | EAST | WEST | UPTOWN

Got restaurant news, tips or rumours? Send them to thedish@torontolife.com.

The imported Neapolitan pizza oven at Fabbrica (Image: Karon Liu)

Now in its ninth season, the city-run ’Licious phenomenon (there are both summer and winter incarnations, in case you’ve been living under a pizza stone all this time) shows no signs of tiring, even if every year it seems to enrage more and more curmudgeonly downtown diners who don’t much like sharing their favorite restaurants with the plebes. Summerlicious succeeds precisely because it makes inaccessible restaurants accessible, even if it’s only for two weeks each July. The big list (there are 150 participating restaurants this year) will never include the hottest, newest, most interesting restaurants in the city—those places don’t typically need the help. It typically does include more than its share of dogs. But there are plenty of places in between: proven, well-run, inviting rooms with committed kitchens. We’ve picked a few of the best.

The Drake
read our review | see the menu
Chef Anthony Rose’s smart, homespun cooking puts the lie to the oft-heard Torontonians-don’t-like-to-eat-in-hotels complaint. The Drake is a glaring exception, at very least. Rose’s Summerlicious lunch menu is a steal at $20: choices include sweet tomato alphabet soup, for instance, followed by fried chicken that’s goosed with cumin and dry mustard, then salted butterscotch for dessert. The $35 dinner is also great value, if slightly less of a deal: the menu choices are the same, save the addition of (the freakishly amazing sounding) roast pig with chipotle-stewed beans and pico de gallo.

Fabbrica
read our review | see the menu
Mark McEwan’s newish uptown Italian place mostly plies the “rustic Italian” canon that threatened, like a 40-storey, hideously anthropomorphized bucatino, to overtake the city last year. It’s well-prepared stuff, though: blistery crusted pizzas from the Neopolitan oven, wickedly creamy pastas and outstanding desserts, all in one of the most inspired spaces in town (witness the unisex handwashing area outside the washrooms: it’s neck-wrenchingly beautiful, but also totally confusing if you want to, oh, wash your hands or find a toilet). Though there’s a good-looking $20 lunch menu, dinner’s when you want to be here. The $35 prix fixe choices include polenta with pork ragoût, risotto with peas and guanciale and a chocolate terrine.

Globe Bistro
read our review | see the menu
Ed Ho’s growing empire of high-priced, local-focused kitchens started at this two-storey Danforth location. I’ve eaten well here, and the Summerlicious menus look good. Best bets on the $20 lunch menu: the yellow tomato and gin gazpacho with basil jelly, followed by the farmer’s bi bim bap, made with honey mushrooms, Chioggia beets and garlic scape kimchee, and the panna cotta with sea buckthorn coulis. For dinner ($35), I’d try the Wellington County flatiron steak with duck fat frites.

Although Summerlicious is more generous to diners in the west, here are five of Toronto Life’s east-of-the-DVP favourites.

DOWNTOWN NORTH | DOWNTOWN SOUTH | EAST | WEST | UPTOWN

Rob Gentile (Buca), David Lee (Nota Bene), Andrea Nicholson (Great Cooks on Eight), Paul Boehmer (Böhmer), Teo Paul (Union)

Two thousand of Toronto’s food lovers and makers gathered at the ROM on Sunday for the 21st edition of Toronto Taste. The annual fundraiser—which raises money for Second Harvest—saw more than 60 restaurants and 30 beverage purveyors offering their best to the guests. Burgers and tacos might have been the plats du jour, but new restaurant openings seemed to be the hottest item on the plates of many chefs and restaurateurs we spoke to. Here’s what we heard from Buca’s Rob Gentile, Woodlot’s David Haman, Scarpetta’s Scott Conant, Splendido’s Victor Barry, Top Chef Canada contestants Dustin Gallagher and Andrea Nicholson and many more. Words and images by Renée Suen

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Earth’s owner Ed Ho at the bar (Image: Jag Gundu)

Earlier this year we reported on the closure of My Place, the massive Bloor West Village pub that lasted only a year. Many restaurant owners would find it daunting to take over an 18,000-square-foot space, regardless of location, but Ed Ho (Globe Bistro, Earth Rosedale) saw it as an opportunity to service an area of town that has long been considered a culinary dead zone. His solution: a neighbourhood bistro serving local and seasonal fare paired with a lounge and private event space.

Although Earth Bloor West is similar in concept to Earth’s Rosedale location, the most obvious difference is its sheer size: its kitchens and bars will be ready to cater to 735 guests. The Ron Nuhn–designed dining room is a sleek mixture of dark finishes (slate tiles) and organic elements (reclaimed barn boards), illuminated by stunning pendant lamps made of fabric strips suspended between two metal rings. The chef’s table, made from reclaimed bowling alley flooring, offers groups of six to 18 diners a view of executive chef Kevin McKenna’s open kitchen as they eat.

Besides dinner, McKenna’s “think global, eat local” menu caters to business lunchers, weekend brunchers and lounge enthusiasts alike. Simple options include Ontario pig bits (crispy pork belly, house-made chorizo and rillette, $6) or a 40-day dry-aged rib-eye from Wellington County (starting at $24/8 oz.), red fife capellini with Monforte toscano ($19) and whole roasted daily Ontario fish ($24).

Earth’s back bar features an eye-catching red lacquered bar top and large, L-shaped sofas and ottomans. At the back, a series of small dining tables fit 24 under a shower of un-shaded incandescent lights. Expect to find an extensive and locally driven wine list, including the restaurant’s own wines: Earth Chardonnay and Globe merlot/cabernet blend, both bottled by Cave Spring in Jordan, Ont.

In addition to the 125 that can fit in Earth’s main dining room, the rooftop patio can accommodate 75 and is equipped with its own kitchen. Staying true to the “eat local” mantra, there are plans for a rooftop garden with fresh herbs and produce like tomatoes (eventually, the snaking vines and fruit along the rooftop arbour will become a part of the decor).

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As an event space, each of Earth’s private dining rooms can seat up to 60 diners each. Like at Globe, the open-walled room on the upper mezzanine gives full views of the rooms downstairs, while the one at the restaurant’s rear will be equipped with audio-visual equipment. The restaurant’s enormous 14-foot-tall entranceway also leads to a private catering space in the basement that will eventually hold an additional 300, although it currently houses the group’s bakery.

Earth Bloor West, 2448 Bloor St. W., 416-763-2222, earthbloorwest.com.

Ed Ho (Image: Renée Suen)

After My Place opened, closed and reopened in the space of a couple of years, we finally heard the last nail being hammered into its coffin a few weeks ago. Ed Ho, owner of Globe Bistro and Earth, has confirmed he’s taking over the 18,000-square-foot space and will be using all four floors for his growing restaurant empire: a main floor dining room that fits a hundred, an accompanying bar area that can comfortably seat another 50 to 60, a private dining space in the upper mezzanine (the rooftop patio’s partial kitchen will turn out grilled plates) and a 350-capacity basement. Including bar and patio standing room, that’s space for about 735 people. “Clearly, I’ve lost my mind,” Ho told us.

“This restaurant is going to be bigger than any restaurant we have, and while I don’t have any precise plans on the expansion of the empire, it was a good opportunity from an opportunist’s point of view,” he explained. In particular, Ho managed to secure a reasonable rent, and the My Place owners had already conducted a lot of necessary renovations to the kitchens, washrooms and bar. “All I needed to do was to change the decor: painting the walls, changing the light fixtures and buying new furniture.” He hopes the location will be open as soon as May.

The basement remains a challenge. “I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment with what we’re going to do with the downstairs space where the sports bar used to be—it has a capacity of 350. We can use it as a catering space for 200. From an operational standpoint there’s so much space that we can consolidate some of our operations and prep, or set up our in-house baking into a sort of commissary kitchen here.”

More generally, Ho told us that his goal all along has been to build a neighbourhood bistro—“an everyday place to eat out at as opposed to a finer dining place that you only go to once and a while.” Although he had to shelve that concept when he came across the space for Globe Bistro in 2006, he was able to follow his original plans in 2009 with Earth in Rosedale. While he recently pulled out of a proposed Earth 2 in Mississauga, Ho tells us that Bloor West was a perfect spot. “There aren’t very many restaurants offering local and seasonal foods, or lounges where you can have a nice glass of wine in the west end.”

We’re told that menus at both Earths will be identical.

Earth, 2448 Bloor St. W., earthbloorwest.com.

(Image: Renée Suen, from the torontolife.com Flickr pool)

January is upon us, and for many hungry Torontonians, that means one thing: Winterlicious. The menus are less predictable than previous years—crème brûlée’s out,  lentils du Puy are in—so even the ’Licious haters might have a reason to take advantage of the festival this year. We’ve already named the 12 menus that we think are the best bets, but that doesn’t begin to cover it. Here, find Toronto Life’s 62 favourite Winterlicious restaurants, complete with menus, reviews and reservation numbers.

Winterlicious runs from January 28 to February 10. Reservations are accepted from January 13 onward (January 11 for American Express users).

The 'Sauga continues: Mississauga will have to live without a Ho-McKenna restaurant—for now (Image: Seekdes, from the torontolife.com Flickr pool)

After many months of demolition and construction, and many dollars spent, restaurateur Ed Ho (of Globe Bistro and Earth) is walking away from his ambitious Earth 2 project in Mississauga. For now, Ho isn’t saying much, lest the lawyers become involved, but it seems he and his financiers could not see eye to eye, disagreeing on the direction of the project, and other deal-breaking details. “I can’t compromise to make a new partner happy,” Ho explained. “And I am not in this for the money. I left Bay Street for the love of this.”

“This,” of course, is the restaurant business—particularly the farm-to-fork ethos that Ho and chef Kevin McKenna were poised to bring to the ’burbs in a big way. The space, a former Lone Star Grill near Square One, would have seated 250 inside, with about half as many more on the patio.

While Ho laments the end of his involvement, he remains mum on whether the project will continue without him and McKenna. “It’s a shame because I was very optimistic, and I grew to love Mississauga, the city and the people. People in the area were very excited about the project, too. Everyone who poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the project is disappointed, but I learned a lot.” And as for the future? “I always have something up my sleeve. But I’m smarting a bit right now.”

The east end’s main thoroughfare has long been known for two things: Greek food and the Taste of the Danforth. Over the past many years, though, homebuyers drawn to the subway line have slowly turned the long strip of two-storey brick buildings into a bustling neighbourhood that has attracted a rich selection of fine shops, independent coffee houses, Thai joints and haute cuisine restaurants. The Danforth has reached a wonderful maturity that we think should be celebrated. Here are 21 of the best reasons to cross the viaduct. By Matthew Hague. Photography by Devin Jeffrey.

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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.

By James Chatto, Photographs by Brendan Meadows and Ryan Szulc, Illustrations by Jack Dylan