46 Best Restaurants in Canada

With its ever-changing menu and nearly flawless execution, this contemporary Canadian restaurant consistently ranks among Ottawa's top dining spots. It's little wonder it draws everyone from the Rolling Stones to Diana Krall. Begin with sweet-butter poached shrimp on corn cake or tender foie gras topped with black plum caviar and served on cornmeal pancakes. Entrées might include succulent chicken breast on corn risotto, grilled lamb with roasted organic carrots and turnips, and seared scallops with summer succotash, tomato confit, and Serrano ham. Despite its lofty reputation, Beckta has formal but friendly service.

It's a restaurant, it's an oyster bar, and it's a fish market, where the fresh fish selection is impressive and everything is cooked to perfection, making for delicious meals (there are choices for nonfish fans, too). You can also enjoy divine desserts for the finale. Billy's sophisticated vibe is enhanced by soft, jazzy background music.

Ultraluxe decor and magnificent mountain views provide the interior and exterior backdrops for prix fixe, three- to eight-course dinners of regionally influenced French cuisine. The presentation is awe-inspiring, and the food is prepared à-la-minute, so entrées change frequently but have included British Columbia sablefish with tomato, watermelon, and onion; rabbit with nuts, wild berries, and foraged mushrooms; and cinnamon-smoked short ribs. The sommeliers offer two astute wine-pairing options, or you can make your own choices from the impressive list. Dining in this Eden is an experience to be savored. Plan to spend at least three hours.

Started as a pop-up restaurant by some of the city's most creative chefs, Hop Scotch has evolved into one of the city's most sophisticated dining rooms where incredible food and inventive cocktails are to be eagerly anticipated on each visit. The small menu changes often in order to showcase the best in seasonal, local ingredients, and brunch is always amazing. 

Wild-game dishes such as elk and bison are the Klondike's specialty, but it's also known for halibut, salmon, arctic char, and killer ribs. The restaurant meets vegetarians' needs with pasta and other meatless dishes. There's almost always a line at this wildly popular place, but it's worth the wait for some of the best food in town and for the chance to dine in the oldest operating building in Whitehorse.

Victor and Cathy Caracciolo opened Mercato 15 years ago and it has been a local favorite ever since. Mamma Cathy is still in the kitchen every day, whipping up delicious contemporary Italian fare for a constant stream of regular customers; try the family-style mixed grill or Mamma’s handmade gnocchi using the same recipe she learned from her own mama. There’s also a spacious market that sells cheese, meats, fresh-baked bread, handmade pasta, and ready-cooked meals to take home. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

One of the true epicurean experiences in the Canadian Rockies, the Post delivers daring, regionally inspired cuisine accompanied by excellent wines (it's one of only four restaurants in Canada to receive the Wine Spectator's Grand Award). A low, exposed-beam ceiling and a stone fireplace aglow in winter create an in-from-the-cold aura; white napery provides a touch of elegance; and a changing menu keeps things interesting, with dishes that might include Alaskan king crab drizzled with lemongrass-ginger butter, sautéed wild British Columbia halibut in lemongrass-thyme sauce, or Alberta beef tenderloin in bordelaise. With more than 26,000 bottles, the restaurant may well have Canada's best wine collection. For a unique experience with a group of six or more, inquire about the private cellar dining room.

Just outside the Jasper National Park gates, this gourmet farm-to-table restaurant is a hidden gem with wonderful mountain views. The menu changes often, but the food is always made from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients (try the bison burger) and everything, including the desserts, is prepared fresh on-site; there's also about two dozen beer choices including an extensive locally made craft beer list and a fun cocktail and martini menu. The restaurant received the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence several years running and the carefully curated wine list features over 300 well-priced wines---some served by the glass and some by the bottle. There are two seatings for dinner---one between 5 and 6 pm and a second after 7:30 pm.

Easily one of the city's hippest upscale establishments, the Press Gang prepares fish and meat with equal panache, with wines from the well-stocked cellar. A four-course tasting menu (C$160 for two) is also offered. Thick, cold stone walls testify to the building's era (1759), but comfy seating and intimate lighting soften the effect. Local musicians play on Friday and Saturday night.

The cozy main-floor lounge serves casual comfort food. The top-level restaurant serves more elaborate dishes—perhaps, maple-rosemary braised short rib with Saskatoon berry sauce or grilled Arctic char with beetroot risotto—in a modern dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows, wood-plank walls, and dark-wood tables. The nightly, three-course, "trust me" menu is a good value for adventurous eaters who don't mind letting the chef decide what's for dinner. There's a nice selection of reasonably priced wines (by the glass or bottle), cocktails, and craft and draft beers.

Alberta is world-famous for its beef, and this restaurant is a great place to sample it, along with pork, lamb, and sustainable wild game and seafood. All steaks are hand-cut on-site and grilled on cherrywood, and everything, from the butter to the garnishes, is made in-house. Try the Brant Lake Wagyu beef tenderloin or share the dry-aged Tomahawk rib eye, which is carved tableside. Seafood choices include Arctic char, East Coast lobster, and scallops with zucchini puree and pork belly. There is one vegetarian option on the menu.

Well-chosen antiques and original artwork create a vibrantly chic atmosphere for what has always been one of Whistler's top fine-dining restaurants. Local farmers grow produce exclusively for Araxi's chef, who also makes good use of regional cheeses, game, and fish. The food is fresh and innovative, best described as Pacific Northwest cuisine. Seafood is a specialty, so while you can certainly order a superbly prepared beef tenderloin, it's dishes like alder-smoked Arctic char or handmade pasta with wild prawns, scallops, and mussels that steal the show. The two-tier seafood tower is a must-try for seafoodies who love to graze and share. Wine aficionados take note: the wine list is 43 pages long. A heated patio is open in summer, and the lounge is a popular afternoon and après-ski spot, especially for its oyster bar.

Popular with the business community and with a loyal local following, this upscale lunch and dinner spot above the King Street Ale House has a cool urban interior and a rooftop garden patio. The menu includes pasta and flatbreads, seafood and vegetarian choices, and dishes such as house-brined chicken breast with arborio rice, raita, and naan bread; Wagyu rib eye; and pork tenderloin with Parmesan-whipped potatoes and vegetables.

This Northern Italian restaurant is a classic big-night-out choice. Subdued lighting, elegant furnishings, fresh flowers: all the details have been attended to, and ditto the food, which is impressive and satisfying. Excellent seared foie gras is always on the menu, as is veal scaloppine sautéed with lobster and topped with a creamy garlic-and-cognac sauce. Prices on the specialty wine list go as high as C$600, but there are also fine bottles for under C$50.

A gondola ride to 7,700 feet brings you to this beautiful, mountaintop chalet with floor-to-ceiling windows and soaring cathedral ceilings; the views of the surrounding peaks are unrivaled. Despite being Canada's highest restaurant, the chef uses fresh local ingredients to create elegant dishes like beef tenderloin served with haskap berry (also known as honeyberries) port sauce and truffle roasted potatoes. Available for lunch, apres-items, and dinner, reservations are recommended.

Installed in a heritage building across from the Grand Parade, this restaurant is splurge-worthy. While classics like oysters Rockefeller and seared scallops never disappoint, inventive seafood dishes such as lobster-crusted haddock and a 6-pound flash-fried lobster tower elevate the menu. This is also a great place for steak, wagyu burgers, and other delectable items from the grill. Tables are backlit through a wall of stained glass, and the seafood is so good locals keep coming back. 

Bring a healthy appetite and a love for delicious slow-roasted meat when you visit this authentic Brazilian house of barbecue. With rodizio-style dining, you pay one price and skewers of perfectly roasted steaming meat are carried to your table and sliced onto your plate until you tell them to stop. Delicious hot cheese buns and more than a dozen salads and side dishes can be enjoyed alongside the meat dishes. A wide variety of drinks, including cocktails, craft beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages, are also on the menu.

If beef's your passion, then you don't get much better than Hy's, a hard-core steak house that's famous for the quality of its Alberta Prime fillets, porterhouses, and New York strips. Beef Wellington comes in a handmade flaky crust, and there are steak and lobster combos. This menu will appeal to everyone, even vegetarians. The place is dark, moody, and just right for a candlelit dinner, a secret rendezvous, or a more formal affair. Service is impeccable and discreet.

Grab a window seat or a spot on the patio to enjoy the spectacular view from Waterton's only lakefront restaurant. This is the place in the park for a steak dinner—locally produced Alberta beef plays a starring role on the globally inspired menu. The petite filet mignon with garlic butter, the bison rib eye with chimichurri sauce, and the peppercorn New York strip are all good bets, but so are the Mumbai butter chicken, teriyaki-glazed salmon, and Asian-style stir-fried vegetables. There are also several vegetarian options, and pasta dishes can be made gluten free for an extra charge. The wild Saskatoon berry pie is a great local choice for dessert.

Nothing is left to chance at this five-star restaurant in the Lake Leamy casino. Service is first class, from the choice of complimentary spring or sparkling water to the fresh linen napkin waiting every time you return to your table. Chef Serge Rourre, in the open kitchen, brings a contemporary twist to classic French cuisine. Rack of caribou is served in a crushed-nut-and-juniper-berry crust. Langoustine tails and seared scallops top an oatmeal galette accompanied by squash puree. The five-course Grand Menu Dégustation du Chef (C$90) and eight-course Menu Gastronomique (C$115) can be paired with wines chosen for each dish. Ask for a window table. The view of the lake makes for a romantic and memorable evening.

Exposed stone walls, original paintings, and chic furnishings make for a serene (if dark) dining atmosphere in this restored heritage building right downtown. With two different menus (one for dinner, one for the bar) and a wine bar upstairs, this restaurant covers it all: the short but classic dinner menu features steak, seafood, lamb, and poultry while the bar menu displays some international influences. There's a lengthy international wine list with a decent selection available by the glass in addition to many cocktails.

In a handsome 1906 firehouse across from the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, McKelvie's is that rare find that hits the sweet spot between upscale and down-home. Though all the menu mainstays are here, from oysters Rockefeller to surf and turf, the best bets are the contemporary twists on seafood classics. Although the restaurant has been in business for over 30 years, its look is as fresh as the ingredients used here.

Named for the former dairy it now inhabits, Model Milk serves upscale comfort food (think burgers, fried chicken, and roasted cauliflower) beneath chandeliers made of glass milk bottles and brick walls, concrete floors, and steel beams that recall the building’s industrial heritage. This trendy restaurant has been on every best restaurant list since it opened in 2011; don't miss the small plates to share like the roasted Alberta carrots or the house pickles or cabbage chips. Some Sundays, the chef whips up prix-fixe three-course meals served family-style. 

Although Calgary is 500 miles from the nearest salt water, Modern Ocean manages to serve up mighty fine seafood---Hawaiian ahi tuna is a local favorite, as is the BC halibut. The sister restaurant to Modern Steak, Modern Ocean provides diners with the same upscale experience in a sublime dining environment. Sustainability is also on the menu: their seafood is ethically caught or farmed in Canada. It's a great place to dine for a special occasion.

Part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains Resorts collection, the dining room at Emerald Lake Lodge is famed for its Rocky Mountain cuisine, with roots that go back to the hearty meals prepared by the mountain guides and the fine dining served in the early CPR rail cars. The seasonal menu features selections like free-range elk striploin served with foraged mushroom terrine or seared Skuna Bay salmon for dinner, or breakfast options like a wild boar chorizo breakfast burger; the resort sources its game meat from its own ranch near Calgary. There's an excellent selection of British Columbia and international wines, a good cocktail selection, popular beers and spirits from around the world, and the scotch-lover won't be disappointed with the single-malts. Seating options included window-side with impressive views of the lake, on the porch, or next to the massive stone fireplace.