Air Canada names thirty finalists for the 2026 Best New Restaurants list

The twenty-fifth edition of the national Best New Restaurants list names thirty finalists, placing six in Quebec and nine in Toronto ahead of the final ten announced in November. The Quebec selections stretch from the Jean-Talon Market, where Paul Toussaint sells smoked meats by the pound at 3 Pierres 1 Feu, to the thirty-seat Bistrot Fortune in Villeray and the table-grill setup at Hana Korean Steakhouse in Old Montreal. Toronto’s nine entries include the tiny, wood-fired Bar Eugenie and the thirty-seat Liliana, both staffed by alumni from previous kitchens, alongside the Italo-Jewish trattoria N.L. Ginzburg and the Mexican-Ecuadorian Antylia.

A thirty-seat room does not succeed because the chef works harder; it survives the rush because the distance between the wood fire and the pass is measured in steps, not minutes. When a brigade relocates from a calibrated engine like Alo or Vela, the timing of the new escapement is already oiled and set to the exact tolerance of the old one. The emulsion holds at Bar Eugenie and Liliana because the heat, the hands, and the thirty chairs were placed at the precise distance required before the first ticket printed.

When a business stalls under the weight of a new quarter, the failure is rarely a lack of effort from the people standing at the counter. The resolution requires moving the heaviest equipment thirty centimeters to the left and bringing in the two hands who already know the rhythm of the rush. Placing the heavy knife and the hot stock at the exact distance from the hand allows the night to resolve itself without a single shouted order.

— Lucien Aubade