Chef Takeshi Sato celebrates being awarded a Michelin star in Toronto on Sept. 27.Jason Lowrie/The Canadian Press
Toronto’s Kappo Sato has claimed the top spot of Air Canada’s 2023 list of Canada’s 10 best new restaurants.
Led by chef Takeshi Sato, the Japanese restaurant also has a prestigious Michelin star and features a tasting menu that is prepared entirely in front of guests.
British Columbia eateries follow with Whistler steak house Wild Blue in second place and Victoria seafood eatery Marilena Café and Raw Bar in third.
The top 10 list will be featured in the November issue of Air Canada’s “enRoute” magazine and online at CanadasBestNewRestaurants.com.
The restaurants were selected by food critic Amy Rosen, who also authored “Canada’s Best New Cookbook” – a collection of recipes from restaurants that made previous top 10 lists.
The 2023 list features restaurants that opened across the country between late spring 2022 and June 2023, and deliver “exceptional experiences” when it comes to food quality, service and culinary creativity.
Now in its 22nd year, Air Canada says this is the longest-running cross-country restaurant ranking and the only one that uses “a single, anonymous reviewer.”
Rounding out the top 10 list are:
- Rizzo’s House of Parm in Fort Erie, Ont.
- Petit Socco in Winnipeg
- Bonheur D’Occasion in Montreal
- Folke in Vancouver
- Le Molière par Mousso in Montreal
- Espace Old Mill in Stanbridge East, Que.
- Darlings in Bloomfield, Ont.