One Toronto restaurant awarded new Michelin star, while two others lose theirs
Published September 19, 2024 at 11:39 am
The inspectors from the famed and acclaimed Michelin Guide have once again bestowed one of the world’s top culinary honours on some southern Ontario restaurants, recognizing hotspots in Toronto, Oakville, Niagara (Lincoln, to be precise) and Creemore.
Yesterday evening, the guide (which is, yes, affiliated with the well-known tire company) announced the 2024 restaurant selection for the Michelin Guide Toronto & Region, marking an expansion outside of Toronto proper and into other parts of the GTHA.
The guide expanded its reach to Canada for the first time in 2022, giving several top Toronto restaurants–think fine-dining mainstays such as Alo, Edulis, Osteria Giulia, and Sushi Masaki Saito (the only Canadian restaurant with two stars for exceptional cooking)—recognition for their elevated dishes.
This year, Toronto restaurant DaNico joined Hexagon (Oakville), Pearl Morissette (Lincoln resto that’s also a green star recipient for its sustainable ingredients) and The Pine (Creemore) as one of four new additions to the prestigious list.
Alobar Yorkville and Yukashi have lost their stars, while Nordic restaurant Frilu closed in July.
Toronto and the surrounding region now have 15 one-Michelin-starred restaurants, two green-starred-eateries and a two-star restaurant (the aforementioned Sushi Masaki Saito).
“As we toast to year three of the Michelin Guide in Toronto, we are excited to see the selection expand beyond the city center, with new and emerging talent being spotlighted,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guides, in a statement.
“We are very pleased to welcome four new eateries into the family of Michelin-starred restaurants and hope this serves as encouragement for the restaurant community to continue raising the bar. The chef and culinary teams’ passion is evident with a strong focus on indigenous ingredients and sustainable gastronomy.”
DaNico, located in a historic bank building in Toronto’s Palmerston-Little Italy neighbourhood, is helmed by Michelin-star Chef Daniele Corona, who created the restaurant in partnership with Liberty Entertainment Group and Don Alfonso (another Michelin-starred resto).
On its website, operators say DaNico offers “modern Italian culinary traditions accompanied by exceptional service and uniquely bespoke design.”
The guide says the resto’s sophisticated aesthetic is complimented by “irreverent artwork” that keeps the atmosphere a little more light-hearted. As for food, the guide praises the chef for infusing classic Italian fare with international touches, such as wild Pacific crab served over “noodle-like vegetables” and garnished with trout roe and a table-side drizzling of Sicilian green olive coulis.
While Michelin-starred outposts tend to be more luxurious, the guide also offers nods to more affordable restaurants that do one (or more) dish really, really well. Restaurants that earned Bib Gourmands (a category that recognizes friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices) went out to Berkeley North (Hamilton), Conejo Negro (Toronto), Guru Lakshmi (Mississauga) and Rasa (Toronto).
The guide announced four special awards for those who went above and beyond in wine, service, and culinary creations. Shayne Herbert at Azura (Toronto) received the Michelin Exceptional Cocktails award, while Ashleigh Forster at DaNico received the Michelin Sommelier award.
Lamine Martindale from Conejo Negro received the Michelin Outstanding Service award, and Hexagon Chef Rafael Covarrubias walked away with the Michelin Young Chef/Culinary Professional award.
Other Toronto and southern Ontario restaurants received recommendations, which could be considered an “honourable mention” that recognizes excellent cuisine.
Restaurants that received Michelin-recommended status include Azura (Toronto), Bar Goa (Toronto), Down Home Farmhouse Restaurant (Markdale), Famiglia Baldassarre (Toronto), Fat Rabbit (St. Catharines), Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa (Cambridge), Lucie (Toronto), Mama Fatma Turkish Cuisine (Vaughan), Northern Smokes (Scarborough), Quatrefoil (Dundas area in Hamilton), Som Tum Jinda (Toronto), Taline (Toronto), Tamarind Modern Indian Bistro (Mississauga), Trius Winery & Restaurant (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and Zen Japanese Restaurant (Markham).