ARVI in Quebec City named
Canada's Best New Restaurant in
18th annual ranking
TORONTO, Oct. 23, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - In a year that saw
an unprecedented number of high-calibre new restaurant openings,
Air Canada and presenting partner American Express are proud to
reveal the Canada's Best New
Restaurants Top 10 list, with Quebec
City's ARVI taking the number-one spot.
ARVI gives new meaning to dinner and a show. Guests can watch
three chefs cook, plate and serve Michelin
Star-worthy food tableside in an intimate
industrial-meets-mid-century-modern setting. In second place is
Vancouver's Como Taperia, a boisterous tapas restaurant run
by three Spanish-cuisine aficionados. This year's third-place
winner is Donna's, a Toronto
neighbourhood favourite where impressively pedigreed chefs meet
granny chic vibes.
The Canada's Best New
Restaurants annual list is created through a panel of leading
industry experts from across the country who recommend notable
restaurant openings and share insider tips. Armed with this
culinary intelligence, an anonymous food critic embarks on an
eating marathon, making reservations under a pseudonym. The margin
for error is slim to none: restaurants got one chance to make a
winning impression on her.
"Air Canada is proud to
champion Canada's innovative food
and drink scene for the 18th year running," says Andy Shibata, Managing Director, Brand, Air
Canada. "By celebrating the diverse culinary creativity on display
across Canada, we are sharing
unique experiences with both Canadians and an international
audience while helping them to explore the country."
"Our partnership with Air Canada and Canada's Best New Restaurants is in its fifth
year, and we're incredibly excited to share the list of top
restaurants across the country", said David
Barnes, VP of Advertising and Communications, American
Express Canada. "Our Cardmembers rely on us to provide them with
elevated access to the best experiences, especially when it comes
to Canada's restaurant and
culinary scene."
From restaurants creating mindful environments and positive
work-life balance to a new crop of plant-forward tasting menus to
nostalgic desserts, this year's best new eateries channel local,
sustainable ingredients with new creativity.
Here is the complete list of Air Canada's Best New Restaurants
2019:
- ARVI (Quebec City): French
chef Julien Masia serves up an
immersive dinner-theatre experience in this Limoilou boîte.
From fresh Gaspesian lobster, lovage and rhubarb to tataki-style
veal rib-eye bathed in a two-year-old cheddar sauce with seared
baby romaine to the five-course showstopping vegetarian tasting
menu, every dish deserves a standing ovation.
- Como Taperia (Vancouver): Crispy on the outside, creamy on
the inside croquettes and mounds of imported Bonilla potato chips
washed down with playful cocktails from the menu's G&T section
are go-tos at this jumping Spain-centric watering hole. Start with rows
of glistening fish from the conservas menu and stay for the
soundtrack.
- Donna's (Toronto): This
laid-back local favourite (think vintage teapots and houseplants)
dishes out food that is anything but casual. Cue blushing slices of
roast pork topped with shaved endive and tarragon and sprat-oil
aioli, and the whole oven-baked sole bathed in a harissa- and
chili-reddened butter sauce.
- Pluvio restaurant + rooms (Ucluelet): Glowing Douglas-fir tables made
from the same tree, rock candles and rustic earthenware set the
tone in this west-coast dining room. Thanks to the chef's
Wickaninnish Inn pedigree, expect to see local ingredients elevated
in dishes like fermented strawberries paired with miso-glazed foie
gras and shortbread.
- Nowhere * a restaurant (Victoria): Mind-boggling food is coming out of
Nowhere, a spot hidden inside an urban mini-mall's courtyard. The
menu is all about sustainable seafood and plant-forward dishes from
rockfish with morels, sea asparagus and green garlic to eggplant-
and cheese-stuffed mezzaluna pasta to a swoon-worthy pork
ragù.
- Dreyfus (Toronto): Two Joe
Beef expats have put their stamp on Harbord Village with
Canada's best new French bistro.
There's the packed, handsome dining room, tightly edited selection
of small-producer wines, escargot oozing with garlic, white wine
and clam liquor, and dishes that pay homage to the chef's Jewish
roots.
- Wayfarer Oyster House (Whitehorse): Yukon fever abounds in this casual northern
dining room (picture octopus coat hooks and an oyster-shell
chandelier), where seared scallops with ginger-scallion jam, enoki
mushrooms and pickled chard stems are paired with a low-alcohol
mint and cucumber kombucha cocktail.
- Pastel (Montreal): From the
tablecloths to the walls to the chairs to the dessert, splashes of
pastel are carried throughout this new, globally inspired eatery.
Housemade breads arrive with a vivid fern-green-coloured cylinder
of butter, and the lime-sherbet green bucatini is spiked with
chlorophyll extracted from leafy greens.
- Dispatch (St. Catharines):
Fizzy fermented, funky cocktails made with upcycled ingredients
meet dishes made with explosively bright North African and Middle
Eastern flavours in this zero-waste kitchen. In addition to the
Aussie chef being environmentally conscious and community-minded,
his food is also completely addictive.
- Ten (Toronto): A 10-course
tasting menu for only 10 people scores a 10 out of 10 for two young
Toronto-based chefs. Don't miss
the seared fiddleheads, pumpkin seeds and sautéed ramps on a pillow
of brioche cream, or the Ontario
white beans, mushrooms and buckwheat, slow-cooked cassoulet
style.
Canada's Best New
Restaurants Video Series
Go
to CanadasBestNewRestaurants.com for behind-the-scenes
videos of this year's top three restaurants: ARVI, Como
Taperia and Donna's. Now also screening on the Canada's Best New Restaurants and Food TV
channels on the inflight entertainment system on most Air Canada
flights.
Awards Celebration
The Top 10 restaurants were
revealed during the annual Canada's Best New Restaurants
event on October 23, 2019, at the Queen Richmond Centre West
in Toronto. Top chefs from across the country gathered to show
off their culinary skills, serving the public, industry
professionals and Air Canada guests flavours from their winning
menus.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international
airline serving nearly 220 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest
airlines in the world and in 2018 served nearly 51 million
customers. Air Canada provides
scheduled passenger service directly to 62 airports in Canada, 53 in the
United States and 101 in Europe, the Middle
East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central
America and South
America.
Air Canada is a founding member of
Star Alliance, the world's most
comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,250 airports in
195 countries. Air Canada is the
only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking
according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also
named Air Canada the 2019 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please
visit: aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada
on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.
About Air
Canada enRoute
Air Canada enRoute is
Air Canada's award-winning travel media brand. An inspirational
authority for the global traveller, it reaches passengers at every
step of their journey through its multimedia portfolio: print
publications (including Air Canada enRoute, the iconic
magazine with 1.6 million readers each month), digital channels
(enroute.aircanada.com) and many prestigious programs and
events.
Follow on Twitter and Instagram: @enroutemag,
#AirCanadaTop10
About American Express in Canada
American Express is a global
services company providing customers with access to products,
insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business
success. American Express was established in Canada in 1853 and offers a variety of
consumer and business products. Learn more at americanexpress.ca
and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and
Instagram.
Internet: aircanada.com/media
SOURCE Air Canada