Which restaurants made Michelin’s list?
The third annual Michelin Guide was unveiled Wednesday at a ceremony at the History venue in the Beach. This year, the guide went beyond the GTA borders, adding restaurants in Creemore, Niagara, Dundas, Oakville and Hamilton to the list of what the globally influential guide considers to be the best in dining.
No new restaurants received two or three stars this year, the latter being the guide’s highest honour. Toronto’s most decorated spot is still the two-starred Sushi Masaki Saito, an omakase restaurant in Yorkville, priced at $680 per person. Its stars were awarded in 2022.
Michelin’s anonymous restaurant inspectors — the guide’s name for its restaurant critics — awarded single stars to four fine-dining places: DaNico on College Street; Hexagon in Oakville; Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station; and the Pine in Creemore.
“I’m proud to share this award with the team,” said Rafael Covarrubias, 29, Hexagon’s executive chef who also received Michelin’s Young Chef award. “I came to Canada 10 years ago from Queretaro (Mexico) and wanted to be challenged and devote my life to the craft (of cooking) … It’s an honour.”
As for the Bib Gourmand category, which includes restaurants that Michelin considers to have more moderate price points, four were added to this year’s list: Guru Lukshmi in Mississauga, Berkley North in Hamilton, Rasa in Harbord Village and Conejo Negro on College Street.
But it’s the less celebrated “Recommended” nods that are the most varied in both cuisines and locations, with an additional 15 spots this year that include Armenian, Indian, Japanese, Turkish, French and Italian restaurants. There’s a luxury resort in Cambridge and a butcher shop in St. Catharines that operates as a restaurant at night. Also on the recommended list are halal barbecue spot Northern Smokes (a favourite of mine), and Som Tum Jinda, known for its papaya salad — its sister location already has a Bib Gourmand marker from the Thai Michelin Guide.
“It’s the most prestigious recognition in the world,” said Jason Bangerter, executive chef of Cambridge’s Langdon Hall, which is on the Recommended list. “When I was young, my dream was to work for a Michelin-starred restaurant and now we have multiple ones here.”
One Star DaNico, Toronto
Opened in September 2023, this Italian restaurant run by the Liberty Entertainment Group, offers a $225 tasting menu combining Ontario ingredients and Italian cuisine. A $150 three-course set menu is available. Executive chef Daniele Corona is also the chef at the Toronto outpost of Don Alfonso 1890,
which also has a Michelin star. Its sommelier, Ashleigh Forster, also won a best sommelier award from Michelin this year.
Hexagon, Oakville
The contemporary French restaurant has been a fine-dining destination in Oakville since 2018. A multicourse tasting menu costs $175, and there are à la cart dinner and lunch menus, as well as a $55 two-course Sunday brunch with a kids menu. Its executive Rafael Covarrubias also won a Michelin Young Chef award this year.
Restaurant Pearl Morissette, Jordon Station
This lunch and dinner fine-dining restaurant is located on its namesake winery in the Niagara region. A multi-course tasting menu using French techniques and seasonal local ingredients costs $185. A recent dish added to the menu includes Canadian Dungeness crab served with edible flowers, jalapeno oil and pureed squash. The restaurant won an additional Michelin award for sustainability this year.
The Pine, Creemore
The guide’s first Creemore entry is this $185 per person seasonal tasting menu restaurant. Its latest menu features nods to Chinese cooking with dishes like carrot dumplings, fish balls and rhubarb sweet soup. The restaurant first opened in Collingwood in August 2020 before reopening in its current spot this past April. It’s also a favourite of the annual Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants guide, making the list for three consecutive years.
Bib Gourmand Berkeley North, Hamilton
This casual spot serves staples like its house burger, fried chicken sandwich and tuna poke bowl for lunch. For dinner, the menu adds house-made gnocchi, pan-seared trout from Manitoulin Island, and striploin steak with fries. There’s also a snack menu during late afternoon Happy Hours.
Conejo Negro, Toronto
Combining Caribbean, Creole and Latin flavours, dinner spot Conejo Negro (the name means black rabbit in Spanish) opened in November 2023 and serves dishes such as gumbo, firecracker shrimp, and a mac and cheese with cavatappi, roasted poblano and topped with chicharron. Its co-owner Lamine Martindale won an additional Michelin award for providing diners with exceptional service.
Guru Lukshmi, Mississauga
This spacious South Indian lunch and dinner restaurant known for its extensive dosa options and chai has been a staple for years. It also has a Jain menu for those who don’t eat garlic and onions.
Rasa, Toronto
The decade-old Harbord Village restaurant serves family-style plates such as grilled octopus with green mole and pumpkin seed crisp, as well as truffle gudi on its dinner menu. Its sister restaurant, Sara, was added to Michelin’s recommended list in 2022.