MICHELIN Guide Toronto & Region expands in year three with four new Stars

• Four restaurants earn a MICHELIN Star for the first time
• Selection expands territory in year three to include Toronto & Region
• Second MICHELIN Green Star added to selection
• 100 total restaurants, 30 cuisine types reflected in selection

TORONTO, Sept. 18, 2024 — This evening, the MICHELIN Guide announced the 2024 restaurant selection for the MICHELIN Guide Toronto & Region, marking an expansion of Toronto’s selection territory in year three.

DaNico, Hexagon, Restaurant Pearl Morissette and The Pine were each awarded one MICHELIN Star, with Restaurant Pearl Morissette also being the newest Green Star restaurant in the selection. Toronto & Region now holds 15 one MICHELIN Starred restaurants, two Green Stars and a two MICHELIN Star restaurant, with Sushi Masaki Saito remaining atop the list.

“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. “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.”

In addition to four new Starred restaurants, the Guide boasts four new Bib Gourmands: Berkeley North, Conejo Negro, Guru Lakshmi and Rasa. The full selection, including Green Stars and Recommended eateries, totals 100 restaurants and 30 cuisine types represented.

Here are the new One MICHELIN Star and Green Star restaurants, with Inspector notes from each (Inspectors’ comments in full on the MICHELIN Guide website and mobile app):

One MICHELIN Star

DaNico (Toronto; Italian cuisine)

Wondering if DaNico is worth a stop? You can take it to the bank—quite literally, as the restaurant is nestled inside a former bank building. Inside, dark colors, linen tablecloths, and plush seating set a sophisticated tone, but the irreverent artwork proves they don’t take themselves too seriously. Chef/partner Daniele Corona cooks Italian food with a global influence. Choose from a multicourse prix-fixe or a chef’s tasting menu to enjoy items such as wild Pacific crab served over thin, noodle-like vegetables, garnished with trout roe, and finished tableside with a Sicilian green olive coulis. Then, house-made basil bottini filled with smoked burrata is nestled in a creamy sauce for a dish that delivers dialed-in flavor.

Hexagon (Oakville; Contemporary cuisine)

This stylish restaurant in downtown Oakville could get by on looks alone with its sliding patio doors, wrap-around terrace, and an interior that is at once cool and casual. But for Chef Rafael Covarrubias, he’s got a lot more in mind. The menu reads familiar – beef tartare, oysters, fish – but what emerges from the kitchen are beautiful, soigné works that are refined, original, and substantial. Potato foam, brown butter, and roe are clever pairings with Hokkaido scallop. Pasta is a highlight, like corn agnolotti with Manchego, but so too is the short rib. And for dessert, cheesecake is surprisingly light and savory thanks to strawberries and a nutty almond cookie. To see this kitchen at its most ambitious, guests can book a tasting menu in advance.

Restaurant Pearl Morissette (Jordan Station; Contemporary cuisine)

This 42-acre destination in the picturesque Niagara region is the full experience. A restaurant, winery, orchard, farm, and bakery, Restaurant Pearl Morissette is a powerhouse. With great pride for Canadian ingredients and respect for the seasons, Chefs Daniel Hadida and Eric Robertson make the most of their surroundings to enhance their spontaneous tasting menu’s dishes, as in free-range pork, slow roasted over a peach wood fire, glazed with sweet potato miso, and plated with hazelnut jus. Yes, there is plenty of wine available, but don’t miss the accomplished juice pairing either. The meal may conclude sweetly, with a buckwheat sable cookie, honey whipped cream, honeycomb-shaped tuile, and honey ice cream. Meanwhile, the warm team keeps the tasting moving at a friendly clip.

The Pine (Creemore; Chinese/contemporary cuisine)

Located in charming Creemore, north of Toronto in Simcoe County, find this culinary landmark housed in a chic space that was formerly a gas station. Run by Chef Jeremy Austin and his wife, Cassie, The Pine is a distinct dining experience that is informed by the chef’s years working in China. A meal here draws on authentic flavors delivered with striking creativity and conviction on an ever-evolving menu. A gorgeous tea egg kicks things off; the Sichuan-favorite dried fried string beans arrive as a cold salad; and the carrot jiaozi is a delightful dumpling; but those are merely a few of the treasures on offer.

MICHELIN Green Star

Restaurant Pearl Morissette (Jordan Station; Contemporary cuisine)

Initiatives: sourcing ingredients directly from local farmers; 2-acre regenerative garden supplies herbs, eggs, flowers, fruits and vegetables for seasonal menu; overwintering and cellaring techniques in garden; native planting and indigenous ingredients.

Bib Gourmand

The MICHELIN Guide Inspectors added 4 restaurants to the Bib Gourmand list, which recognizes eateries for great food at a great value: Berkeley North, Conejo Negro, Guru Lukshmi and Rasa.

MICHELIN Special Awards

In addition to the Bib Gourmand and Stars, the Guide announced four Special Awards:

The MICHELIN Guide Ceremony is presented with the support of Capital One.

Hotels

The restaurants join the MICHELIN Guide selection of hotels, which features the most unique and exciting places to stay in Toronto and throughout the world. Each hotel has been chosen by MICHELIN Guide experts for its extraordinary style, service and personality — with options for all budgets — and each can be booked directly through the MICHELIN Guide website and app. The selection for Toronto features the city’s most spectacular hotels, including sustainability pioneers like 1 Hotel Toronto, standouts from the “Plus” collection like the Hazelton and the SoHo, cutting-edge boutiques like Ace Hotel and the Drake, and dependable luxury stalwarts like the Ritz-Carlton.

The MICHELIN Guide is a benchmark in gastronomy. Now it’s setting a new standard for hotels. Visit the MICHELIN Guide website, or download the free app for iOS and Android, to discover every restaurant in the selection and book an unforgettable hotel.

The 2024 MICHELIN Guide Toronto selection:

Toronto’s 2024 MICHELIN-Starred restaurants

Toronto’s 2024 MICHELIN-Green-Starred restaurants

Toronto’s 2024 Bib Gourmand restaurants

Toronto’s 2024 Recommended restaurants

The MICHELIN Guide in North America

Michelin announced its first North American Guide in 2005 for New York. Guides have also been added in Chicago (2011); Washington, D.C. (2017); California (San Francisco in 2007, statewide 2019); Miami/Orlando/Tampa, Florida (2022); Toronto (2022); Vancouver (2022); Colorado (2023); Atlanta (2023), Mexico (2024), Texas (2024) and Quebec (2024).

About the MICHELIN Guide

Recognized globally for excellence and quality, the MICHELIN Guide offers a selection of world-class restaurants.

• The famous one, two and three MICHELIN Stars identify establishments serving exceptional cuisine that’s rich in flavor, remarkably executed and infused with the personality of a talented chef.
• The Bib Gourmand is a designation given to select restaurants that offer good quality food for a good value – often known as personal favorites among the inspectors when dining on their own time.
• The MICHELIN Green Star honors restaurants that are pioneers in sustainable
• Recommended restaurants and special professional awards are also highlighted by the MICHELIN Guide inspectors.

The MICHELIN Guide remains a reliable companion for any traveler seeking an unforgettable meal and hospitality experience. The Guide was first published in France at the turn of the 20th century to encourage the development of car mobility as well as tire sales by giving practical advice to motorists. Progressively, the Guide has specialized in restaurant and hotel recommendations. Michelin’s inspectors still use the same criteria and manner of selection that were used by the inspectors in the very beginning.

The restaurant selections join the MICHELIN Guide selection of hotels, which features the most unique and exciting places to stay around the world. Visit the MICHELIN Guide website, or download the free app for iOS and Android, to discover every restaurant in the selection and book an amazing hotel.

Thanks to the rigorous MICHELIN Guide selection process that is applied independently and consistently in more than 45 destinations, the MICHELIN Guide has become an international benchmark in fine dining.

All restaurants in the Guide are recommended by Michelin’s anonymous inspectors, who are trained to apply the same time-tested methods used by Michelin inspectors for many decades throughout the world. This ensures a uniform, international standard of excellence. As a further guarantee of complete objectivity, Michelin inspectors pay all their bills in full, and only the quality of the cuisine is evaluated.

To fully assess the quality of a restaurant, the inspectors apply five criteria defined by Michelin: product quality; mastery of cooking techniques; harmony of flavors; the personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine; and consistency over time and across the entire menu. These criteria guarantee a consistent and fair selection so a Starred restaurant has the same value regardless of whether it is in Paris, New York or anywhere else in the world.

About Michelin North America, Inc.

Michelin is the leading mobility company and manufacturer of life-changing composites and experiences. For more than 130 years, Michelin has made contributions to human progress and to a more sustainable world. Michelin is constantly innovating to manufacture high-quality tires and components for critical applications for demanding fields, including mobility, construction, aeronautics, low-carbon energies and healthcare and offer the finest experiences, from providing data- and AI- based connected solutions for professional fleets to recommending outstanding restaurants and hotels curated by the MICHELIN Guide. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America has approximately 23,500 employees and operates 35 production facilities in the United States (michelinman.com) and Canada (michelin.ca).

About Capital One

At Capital One we’re on a mission for our customers – bringing them best-in-class products, rewards, service, and experiences. Capital One is a diversified bank that offers products and services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. We use technology, innovation, and interaction to provide consumers with products and services to meet their needs. Through Capital One Dining and Capital One Entertainment, we provide our rewards cardholders with access to unforgettable experiences in the areas they’re passionate about, including dining, music and sports. Learn more at capitalone.com/dining and capitalone.com/entertainment.

Tags: Bib Gourmand, fine dining, Food, green star, MICHELIN, michelin green star, Michelin Guide, Michelin restaurant, Michelin Stars, Toronto, Toronto & Region, Travel