Nearly 30 Toronto restaurants just ranked among the 100 best in Canada

The annual ranking of Canada's top 100 restaurants has just been released by Canada's 100 Best for 2025, and it should come as little surprise that Toronto's food scene made a huge impression.

It's no secret among locals that Toronto is home to some seriously great restaurants — I have a full-time job writing about them, after all — but it always feels extra special when hometown heroes get recognized on a national stage.

This year's ranking of Canada's 100 best restaurants does exactly that, with Toronto spots occupying more than a quarter of the spots on the list, with a whopping 29 entries.

Rounding out the top five, Alo, Edulis, and 20 Victoria managed to secure third, fourth and fifth place standings, followed by Quetzal (a personal favourite of mine, but that's neither here nor there) in eighth.

The remainder of the top 50 goes on to include Sushi Masaki Saito (16), Aburi Hana (29), Dreyfus (42), Sushi Yugen (43), Bernhardt's (45), and Canoe (50).

The latter half of the list kicks off by recognizing new kids on the block LSL (51) and Linny's (52), followed by Actinolite (53), Bar Isabel (54), Bar Prima (57), Casa Paco (58) and, surprisingly low on the list, Michelin-starred DaNico at 59.

Shoushin (62), Dailo (63), Tajka BBQ (68), Lake Inez (69), Don Alfonso 1890 (70), Osteria Giulia (72), Famiglia Baldassarre (73), and Alma (75) round out the three-quarters mark of the list.

From there, Matty Matheson's Prime Seafood Palace ranks in at 80, followed up immediately by Mhel at 81, Barberian's at 93 and Giulietta capping off Toronto's entries at 96. Phew.

While the major cities in Canada tend to get all the glory as far as cuisine is concerned, a couple of smaller towns and cities in Ontario have also been recognized on this year's list.

No surprise that 2024 Michelin star recipient, Oakville's Hexagon, landed on the list in 14th place, followed by fellow star-holder The Pine in Creemore at 19, and, even more impressive, Jordan Station's Restaurant Pearl Morissette, which also received one Michelin star last year, came in as the big winner of the day, landing at first place.

Cambridge's Langdon Hall also landed a covetable spot at 15, Flesherton's The Gate wound up in spot 84, Owen Sound's Naagan by Zach Keeshig at 92 and St. Catharines' Fat Rabbit at 97.

Just goes to show that the big cities might not be the centre of the universe after all, doesn't it?

Not to be outdone, Toronto's bar scene also made a splash in its own right on the list of Canada's top 50 bars.

Bar Pompette, Civil Liberties, and Library Bar at the Fairmont Royal York, which ranked among the 100 best bars in North America, also got nods in the first, third and sixth spots on the list.

Following that, Cocktail Bar (9), Cry Baby Gallery (11), Mother Cocktail Bar (12), Bar Mordecai (14), Doc's Green Door Lounge (15), Bar Banane (23), XXX (26), Bar Raval (29), Simpl Things (30), Civil Works (32), BarChef (33), Gift Shop (37), Slice of Life (38), Prequel & Co. (40), Godspeed Brewery (41), Writers Room (42) and Compton Ave (50) all landed on the top 50 list.

Toronto may not be perfect, but if these lists are any indication, we sure know how to eat and drink.