- Montreal restaurant Sabayon
ranks first overall, with Toronto's Mhel and Maison de Soma from
Mont-Tremblant in second and third
place
- More than 30 restaurants were visited in 2024 by a single
anonymous reviewer, who assessed all aspects of the dining
experience
- Celebrating 23 years, Air Canada's Best New Restaurants is
the longest running and most respected Canadian restaurant
ranking
MONTREAL, Nov. 4, 2024
/CNW/ - Air Canada revealed its 2024 Top 10 Best New Restaurants in
Canada today at a celebration in
Toronto, with Montreal's Sabayon taking top spot. Led
by acclaimed pastry chef Patrice
Demers and sommelier Marie-Josée Beaudoin, Sabayon offers
intimate afternoon tea and evening dinner services that showcase
locally sourced seasonal ingredients.
In second place, Toronto-based
Mhel, by co-owners Seung-min Yi and Young
Hoon Ji, serves Korean-Japanese dishes with a touch of
magic. Taking third place, Édith Foliot and Didier Lortie's Maison de Soma redefines
farm-to-table dining from a 600-acre property in the Laurentian
Mountains.
"At Air Canada, we are thrilled to share the very best of our
country with the world and for more than two decades, this program
has shone a spotlight on Canada's
vibrant, world-class culinary scene," said Andy Shibata, Vice President, Brand at Air
Canada. "Food is an enriching part of travel experiences and
through this program which supports new businesses, we hope to
inspire travellers with even more compelling reasons to explore our
country."
Now in its 23rd year, Air Canada's Best New Restaurants reviews
dining spots opened across the country between late spring 2023 and
May 31, 2024. Judged by a single,
anonymous reviewer, the Top 10 list evaluates all aspects of the
dining experience, from culinary vision and quality of ingredients
to service and overall team spirit.
This year's Top 10 restaurants were selected by award-winning
cookbook author, Wall of Bakers judge and culinary
journalist Tara O'Brady. Her
gastronomic journey spanned over 30 restaurants in 16 cities
nationwide, from a cliffside bed and breakfast in Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and Labrador, to a bustling kitchen in
Victoria Public Market.
"Every restaurant I visited told an eloquent story about its
community, championing local ingredients and diverse culinary
traditions," said Ms. O'Brady. "Notably, this year is the 'year of
the couple,' with five of the Top 10 (and each of the top three
spots) run by restaurateurs who are partners in both life and
business."
The 2024 Air Canada's Best New Restaurants program saw the
return of special mentions including Dish of the Year, Dessert of
the Year, Cocktail of the Year, Design of the Year, Sides of the
Year and Concept of the Year.
The Top 10 Air Canada Best New Restaurants of 2024
are:
- Sabayon (Montreal,
QC): Intentionality is the thread through each
aspect of this brilliant 14-seat Montreal restaurant, which offers tea and
dinner services by renowned pastry chef Patrice Demers and sommelier Marie-Josée
Beaudoin. It's all in the details here, from cobalt blue cutlery
rests handmade by the couple, to Air Canada's Best New Restaurants'
Dish of the Year, grilled oyster mushrooms capped with a
caramelized arlette and a cloud of sabayon sauce.
- Mhel (Toronto,
ON): The Toronto restaurant features an open
kitchen where chefs with six burners and two charcoal grills add up
to Korean-Japanese alchemy. Mhel also offers Air Canada's Best New
Restaurants' Dessert of the Year: purin, a sweet and simple
Japanese rendition of crème caramel.
- Maison de Soma (Mont-Tremblant,
QC): A farm-to-table restaurant at its finest, on a
600-acre property in the Laurentians, where nearly every ingredient
is cultivated. Whether serving a crunchy and custardy take on
okonomiyaki, a Japanese cabbage pancake, or a tropical tasting
Somananas sour (Air Canada's Best New Restaurants' Cocktail of the
Year), Maison de Soma upends expectations.
- Takja BBQ House (Toronto,
ON): This high-end Toronto Korean barbecue (KBBQ)
spot showcases grilled house-dry-aged meats, seafood and seasonal
veg and Air Canada Best New Restaurants' Sides of the Year:
shareable banchan small plates, including kimchi two ways, mustard
greens, spicy jalapeño muchim and a scallion salad.
- Café Malabar (Victoria,
BC): Press the button for service at a kitchen stall in
Victoria Public Market and moments
later a parade of coastal Keralan dishes arrives at communal
tables, from clay pots of fish chatty choru to flaky egg puffs and
lacy rice hoppers.
- Parapluie (Montreal,
QC): At this saucy, white table-clothed bistro in
Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood, platonic ideals of
boulangerie bread and frites accompany eight-minute-20-second eggs
in cloudlike tarragon emulsions and barely-torched trout in
delicate pools of horseradish dill cream so you can soak up every
last drop.
- Bar Prima (Toronto,
ON): A heady mix of determination and bygone glamour are
what make Toronto's Bar Prima a
primo spot and judge Tara O'Brady's
pick for the Air Canada Best New Restaurants' Design of the Year,
where classics like beef tartare come spruced up on a bed of
chives, laced with fermented chili and punctuated with sardine and
bone marrow cream.
- Fat Rabbit (St. Catharines,
ON): Led by chef and co-owner Zach Smith, Fat Rabbit is not your average
restaurant. As a full-time grill house, zero-waste butcher,
live-fire caterer, and grocer, this multi-hyphenate earned Air
Canada's Best New Restaurants' Concept of the Year.
- Gary's (Vancouver, BC):
The first restaurant from industry veterans Bailey Hayward and Mathew Bishop brings supper club vibes to
Vancouver's South Granville
neighbourhood, where locals and visitors alike can spring for
dishes like crudo, gem salad, hen-of-the-woods, and rabbit.
- Crumb Queen/Andy's Lunch (Winnipeg, MB): At this one-two punch of an
eatery in Winnipeg, the day begins
with Cloe Wiebe's naturally leavened
boules and blink-and-you-miss-them viennoiseries. An hour before
noon, Andrew Koropatnick clocks in
with sandwiches on split housemade pizza bianca, shareable pastas,
salads and supplì.
Awards Celebration
The Top 10 restaurants were revealed at a special Air
Canada's Best New Restaurants celebration held
in Toronto on November 4, 2024. Chefs and teams from
the Top 10 restaurants were invited to receive their awards and
share dishes from their winning menus with industry professionals,
Air Canada guests and invited members of the public.
The 2024 edition of Air Canada's Best New Restaurants
is generously supported by Diageo Canada, as returning gold level
sponsor. Air Canada thanks Diageo
Canada for their ongoing commitment to
enriching Canada's culinary landscape.
The full list can be viewed in Air Canada enRoute
magazine's November 2024 issue and
online at CanadasBestNewRestaurants.com.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country's flag
carrier and a founding member of Star
Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation
network. Air Canada provides
scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in
Canada, the United States and Internationally on six
continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air
Canada's Aeroplan program is
Canada's premier travel loyalty
program, where members can earn or redeem points on the world's
largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an
extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners.
Through Air Canada Vacations, it offers more travel choices than
any other Canadian tour operator to hundreds of destinations
worldwide, with a wide selection of hotels, flights, cruises, day
tours, and car rentals. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo,
provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of
destinations across six continents using Air Canada's passenger and
freighter aircraft. Air Canada aims to achieve a long-term
aspirational goal of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. Air
Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX in Canada and the OTCQX in the US.
About Air Canada enRoute
Air Canada enRoute is
Air Canada's award-winning travel media brand published by Spafax.
An inspirational authority for the global traveller, it reaches
passengers at every step of their journey through its multimedia
portfolio, including print, digital channels
(enroute.aircanada.com) and many prestigious programs and events.
The November issue, featuring Air Canada's Best New Restaurants,
will be available in Maple Leaf Lounges and distributed nationally
through Globe and Mail home subscriptions and by direct mail to
Aeroplan Super Elite and Million Miler members. Follow on
Instagram: @enroutemag, #AirCanadaTop10.
Internet:
aircanada.com/media
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