BREAKING: Four of Canada’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants are From Vancouver

When Michelin landed in the city in 2022, Vancouver’s chefs and restaurants were finally recognized for their culinary prowess—and rightly so. Our city’s focus on local ingredients, an international bevy of culinary talent and some of the best dang restaurant design in all of Canada certainly makes for stellar dining experiences.

That’s all to say, Vancouver has been put on the map as a culinary destination—and apparently Air Canada thinks so, too, with four of their Top 10 Best New Restaurants this year coming from our west coast city.

Of 31 finalist restaurants across Canada spanning from St. Johns restaurant Rabble to Victoria’s Rabbit Rabbit, 10 were announced as winners at a ceremony in Toronto this evening. 

Given the sheer amount of new restaurant openings in Vancouver this year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a handful of them made the said list—but we’re delighted to celebrate with them nonetheless.

“From inventive takes on Canadian classics to immersive omakase menus, this year’s winners showcase the bold creativity shaping Canada’s culinary identity today,” writes Andy Shibata, vice president of brand at Air Canada, in a release. 

“Each restaurant tells a story of passion and a deep connection to their local roots, while collectively presenting a vibrant tapestry of the flavours and cultures that define our country. We’re proud to celebrate their vision, honour their craftsmanship, and inspire people to discover more of Canada through its extraordinary culinary diversity.” 

Omakase-forward spot Niwa entered the list at number 10. The East Vancouver restaurant, headed up by chef Darren Gee, serves modern Japanese-style dishes made with west coast ingredients.

Then, crawling up the list at number eight is Sumibiyaki Arashi. The intimate 14-seater ensures that everyone gets a close look at the action at this Mount Pleasant spot, as chef Peter Ho is said to “command fire” with his omakase-style yakitori grilling sensibilities. The spot earned a Michelin star at the Vancouver ceremony earlier this year.

Contemporary restaurant Nero Tondo took sixth place on the esteemed list. Like Sumibiyaki Arashi, the spot hosts less than 20 diners (18 to be exact) in order to serve up the best-of-the-best seasonally inspired dishes from chefs Devon Latté and Lucas Johnston, who make sure to highlight B.C.-grown ingredients.

And newly-Michelin starred newcomer Sushi Hyun took fourth place on the list. Chef Juhyun Lee also won the Young Chef Award earlier this year at the Vancouver Michelin ceremony, and for good reason: when he started working in fine dining in Korea as a burgeoning chef, Lee would also dine as a guest in his spare time, making a mental note of the standards he wanted to set for himself. Seems to us like he’s done it.

Notably, other Vancouver restaurants that were on the finalist list included Aegean bistro Selene, Elem and Cambie Village’s June.