A Michelin-recommended chef is opening a Philly cheesesteak joint in a small Ontario town
An Ontario chef boasting multiple entries on the Michelin Guide is taking a turn for the casual with his latest venture.
The name Zach Smith has had a seemingly permanent place on the tip of Ontario's collective culinary tongue lately. The chef and owner behind St. Catharines' lauded Fat Rabbit and Bar Les Incompetents, Smith recently celebrated dual inclusions on the 2026 Toronto and area Michelin Guides.
Not only that, but he's joined forces with his old boss, Grant Van Gameren (Bar Raval, Bar Isabel), to head up the menu at Bar Raval and, most recently, to open Casa Rubia, a new Spanish tapas and steak restaurant in Little Italy.
It's a good thing he's everywhere these days, too, because his food is damn good. Like, really, really good.
With such culinary cachet, it's easy to imagine Smith setting his sights on loftier fine-dining concepts moving forward. But Sunset Steak & Cheese, his next concept, which is set to open this November, couldn't be further from that.
Taking over the St. Catharines storefront that housed the iconic Sunset restaurant for 70 years, the name Sunset Steak & Cheese doesn't refer to hoity-toity wagyu tartare and pule, but a much more modest combination of meat and dairy: the Philly cheesesteak.
Whatever side of the Philly cheesesteak debate you fall on, Sunset has you covered: diners can order the iconic sandwiches with either Cooper Sharp or Cheez Whiz.
The menu also offers similarly nostalgic, pleasingly cholesterol-laden comforts like Italian subs, hot dogs and chili-cheese fries, alongside a drink program of cold beer, shooters, and cocktails curated by Juliana Wolkowski.
In keeping with the restaurant's old-classics-done-right menu, you can expect a similar treatment from the restaurant's retro appearance. The Sunset's original, sun-faded sign remains intact, and designer Keri Maclellan, who is also behind Bar Les Incompetents' interiors, has worked to preserve much of the space's original character.
"Not every restaurant needs to be a special occasion," Smith says. "I'm increasingly interested in restaurants that people can actually go to regularly. Students, families, industry people getting off work, someone grabbing lunch, someone sitting at the bar for a beer. I want all of those people in the same room."
If cheesesteaks, hot dogs and cold beer are on the menu, they surely will.
Sunset Steak & Cheese is set to open its doors on Friday, Nov. 20, and will be located at 180 St. Paul St. in St. Catharines.
