This destination restaurant in Niagara was named Canada’s best for the second consecutive year

Clockwise from left: the kitchen at Restaurant Pearl Morissette, raw mackerel, fava beans and brown butter at Mon Lapin, and duck and sweet gale at Tanière3. PHOTOS BY Scott Usheroff/Dominique Lafond/Audrey-Eve Beauchamp

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For the second year in a row, Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station, Ont., took the top spot on the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list. Led by chef-owners Daniel Hadida and Eric Robertson, the acclaimed Niagara restaurant continues to gain accolades, recently winning North America’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Art of Hospitality Award 2026, earning its second Michelin star in last year’s Toronto and region guide and placing third on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

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“The attention to detail is really extraordinary,” says Jacob Richler, editor-in-chief and publisher of Canada’s 100 Best. He recalls a visit to Restaurant Pearl Morissette in March. Before the first guests arrived, Hadida and chef de cuisine Liam McLoughlin tasted every dish on the menu together. Richler has dined out a lot over the years, and he’s seen many chefs occasionally dip their spoons into a dish to taste it. He’d never seen this kind of “preemptive strike” before.

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“To make sure that everything was as intended with such diligence was pretty interesting,” says Richler. “I just find it symptomatic of their attitude. They’re always looking for a way to raise the bar, and they’ve done it consistently.”

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As with Montreal’s Mon Lapin before it, which was No. 1 for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024 and No. 2 in 2026, Richler adds that Restaurant Pearl Morissette has a strong sense of place. “That’s always reassuring, because what’s the point of going on a journey if things are going to taste like home?”

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Quebec City’s two-Michelin-starred Tanière3, and Quetzal and Edulis, both in Toronto with one Michelin star each, rounded out the top five. This year’s ranking marks an unprecedented 11 straight years in the top 10 for Edulis, owned by chefs, and married couple, Tobey Nemeth and Michael Caballo.

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“All the restaurants in the top tier of the list are pretty extraordinary places by any international standard, I believe. I’m lucky enough to travel a lot, and I can say that with a fair bit of confidence,” says Richler.

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An all-Canadian judging panel of chefs, sommeliers, restaurateurs, food writers and industry professionals selected the restaurants on the 2026 Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list.

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This year’s ranking includes a new pricing guide — ranging from “$” for $100 or less for dinner for one (before tax and tip), to “$$$+,” which means “watch out” — and C100B Recommends, a selection of discoveries drawn from judge nominations, which will be added to the website year-round.

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Sumibiyaki Arashi (No. 17), a one-star, 14-seat, yakitori-centred omakase experience in Vancouver, was named Canada’s best new restaurant, followed by Rôtisserie La Lune (No. 21) and Limbo (No. 23), both in Montreal for the top three.

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Peter Ho is the chef-owner of Sumibiyaki Arashi, where Richler says that each cut of chicken, from thigh to heart, is immaculately cooked and perfectly sauced. The meal “becomes an exploration of flavour and texture in a very subtle way,” he adds.