And then there were 10: Air Canada has revealed its esteemed list of winners of its annual Canada's Best New Restaurants awards.
Among the Top 10 is one sole Vancouver restaurant, Gary's, which placed ninth. The intimate South Granville European-style bistro run by business and life partners Bailey Hayward and Matthew Bishop has been a critical and customer darling since its late 2023 debut.
It's been a banner inaugural year for Gary's, as the restaurant was among the finalists for this year's Van Mag Restaurant Awards' Best New Restaurant, and in October, the spot landed on the Michelin Guide's 2024 list of Bib Gourmand (value-driven) Vancouver restaurants. Hayward also won the Guide's hospitality award this year.
Announced Monday night (Nov. 4) in Toronto, the "Top 10" of Canada's Best New Restaurants of 2024 was culled from a longer list of 30 finalists announced back in September. There were five local spots (and a sixth in the Metro region) on that "long list" for what is one of the nation's most respected dining awards programs.
Sadly, that means Vancouver's Bravo, Dovetail, Lila, and Osteria Elio Volpe, and Fort Langley's Ancestor Café did not advance to the winning tier.
It's a 'love story' for Gary's in Vancouver
Of Gary's, the publication's designated diner, "eater-in-chief" Tara O’Brady, who took on the task of eating at all 30 of the finalist restaurants, points to the "love story" of its owners and their "meet-cute" as co-workers at another Vancouver restaurant, along with the love story of the respect for the fresh, local, seasonal ingredients deployed there.
As the overall results bear out, several of this year's winning spots happen to be run by couples.
Montreal's Sabayon claimed first place; overall, three of the Top 10 are from Quebec, while four are in Ontario. In addition to Gary's, Victoria's Café Malabar (5th) represents B.C.
Air Canada has been recognizing the nation's best restaurants with its awards program since 2002.
For the 2024 awards, the judging panel that drew up the long list of 30 finalists considered restaurants that opened between late spring 2023 and May 31, 2024. O'Brady then took 19 flights and tried 176 dishes to come up with her rankings.
The Top 10 Air Canada Best New Restaurants of 2024 are:
- Sabayon (Montreal, QC)
- Mhel (Toronto, ON)
- Maison de Soma (Mont-Tremblant, QC)
- Takja BBQ House (Toronto, ON)
- Café Malabar (Victoria, B.C.)
- Parapluie (Montreal, QC)
- Bar Prima (Toronto, ON)
- Fat Rabbit (St. Catharines, ON)
- Gary's (Vancouver, B.C.)
- Crumb Queen/Andy's Lunch (Winnipeg, MB)
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