CANADA: For the first time in Canada, Michelin has bestowed its prized stars upon 13 restaurants in Toronto.
Around 350 people attended the in-person announcement on Tuesday.
The decision has received mixed reviews, with some praising the amount of restaurants that Michelin has recognized as the largest city in Canada and others criticizing the lack of diversity among the star recipients.
Most of the restaurants who were awarded the stars are located in Toronto’s city centre and feature tasting menus.
Michelin starred restaurants in Canada
Alo, a contemporary French restaurant frequently ranked among the greatest in the world, and Don Alfonso 1890, previously dubbed the best Italian restaurant outside of Italy, is among the one-star winners.
One star was awarded to twelve establishments, denoting “very good in its category.”
Sushi Masaki Saito, one restaurant, has two Michelin stars, indicating that it offers “excellent cooking” and is “worth a detour”.
The restaurant’s renowned chef formerly received two stars for his Manhattan sushi establishment, but he now resides in Toronto.
17 restaurants received the Bib Gourmand award from Michelin, which honors excellent cuisine offered at a competitive price. Some restaurants received praise for their sommeliers, service, and beverage choices.
Bib Gourmand winners include Indian Food Street Company, a tiny restaurant inspired by the ancient coffee shops found in Delhi and Mumbai, and Grey Gardens, a popular Toronto restaurant operated by Jen Agg.
The winners made history by becoming the first restaurants in Canada to receive a Michelin rating, a coveted honor that dates back to the creation of the tyre company in 1889 but has since come to represent success and reputation in the food and hospitality sectors around the world.
Since the guide’s initial release in May, a discussion about whether Michelin would adequately represent Toronto’s diverse culinary landscape in its selections—a discussion already common in US cities like New York and Los Angeles—has erupted in that city.
Toronto’s restaurants have received recognition from culinary writers for providing both cultural and geographical diversity in their cuisine. Toronto is also Canada’s largest and most diverse metropolis.
It is also a city that features both a busy centre and outlying suburbs, with regionally and internationally famous eateries scattered across the city.
The city’s tourist organization, Destination Toronto, expressed optimism that Michelin’s presence will increase tourism and foster homegrown talent.
The Michelin guide is “one more way for [Toronto] to put itself on the map,” according to Toronto Mayor John Tory, who was present during the announcement on Tuesday.
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