Air Canada Unveils the Finalists for Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2025
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The Top 10 Best New Restaurants 2025 will be unveiled on November 17 in Toronto at an event hosted by Chef Chuck Hughes.
This year, 31 finalists have been selected from across Canada, from St. John’s to Victoria, reflecting the creativity and diversity of the Canadian culinary scene. Each establishment stands out for the quality of its dishes, its service, and its ability to deliver unique dining experiences.
The restaurants in the running opened their doors between May 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025. The selection was carried out independently by Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants national panel, made up of recognized professionals from the restaurant industry. To ensure authentic evaluations, an anonymous culinary expert visited each restaurant just like a regular guest. In partnership with DINR, the finalists were chosen and the Top 10 was determined through a rigorous and methodical process.
The finalist restaurants include, among others, Bona Fide, Claire Jacques, Le Violon, Molenne and Panacée in Montreal, as well as aKin, General Public and Linny’s in Toronto.
Foodies are invited to discover these restaurants and experience Canada’s vibrant and dynamic culinary scene.
Celebrating Canadian Excellence
This unveiling ceremony will highlight the finalist restaurants that stand out for their creativity, the quality of their dishes, and their contribution to the Canadian culinary scene.
As a reminder, in 2024, the ranking was dominated by Sabayon restaurant, located in Montreal, led by pastry chef Patrice Demers and sommelier Marie-Josée Beaudoin.
In second place on Air Canada’s 23rd ranking of Canada’s Best New Restaurants was Mhel, located in Toronto and run by Seung-min Yi and Young Hoon Ji. This restaurant features Korean-Japanese cuisine, including the Dessert of the Year: a Japanese-style crème caramel made with Ontario maple syrup.
In third place, Maison de Soma by Édith Foliot and Didier Lorti, located in Mont-Tremblant, earned top honours. This establishment offers the Cocktail of the Year, called Le Somananas: an explosion of flavours featuring pineapple sage blended with Rosemont whisky, Distillerie Mariana amaretto, and Bourgoin verjuice.
Here are some other restaurants worth a visit:
- 4th place: Takja BBQ House, Toronto;
- 5th place: Café Malabar, Victoria;
- 6th place: Le Parapluie, at Montreal;
- 7th place: Bar Prima, Toronto;
- 8th place: the Fat Rabbit, in St. Catharines;
- 9th place: Gary’s, Vancouver;
- 10th place: Crumb Queen/Andy’s Lunch, Winnipeg.
This year, 31 finalists have been selected for the 2025 ranking, spanning from St. John’s to Victoria, and will be featured on the DINR platform, which offers access to exclusive reservations and original content about Canada’s culinary scene. Food enthusiasts will have the chance to discover these restaurants before the official Top 10 announcement.
All winners will be featured on the Air Canada Best New Restaurants website, as well as in the November issue of Air Canada enRoute magazine.
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With this program, Air Canada aims to inspire travellers to discover the country.
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