As one of the most culturally diverse cities on the planet, Toronto evades categorization. While restaurants in other cosmopolitan cities like Paris or Tokyo have iconic, immediately identifiable cuisines, Canada’s largest city manages to remain a moving target. Some would say its strong suit is the diversity of cuisines; others would point out the Canadian influence across all categories, which emphasizes foraged ingredients and provincially sourced meats and produce.
“Tip-flation” is driving up tip amounts at restaurants, cafés and other businesses. Are they asking too much? Here’s what to consider when you pay. Sixty-two percent of Canadians say they’ve been asked to leave larger tips in recent years, according to an Angus Reid survey from early 2023. This is what’s known as “tip-flation.” Canadians are accustomed to seeing tipping rates start at around 10%, but if you’ve been handed a payment terminal with suggested tip amounts between 18% and 25%, you’ve seen tip-flation in action.
The bar and beverage scene is definitely still catching up and recovering from the impact of the pandemic. A lot of decisions made in physical spaces were reactionary to the ever-changing restrictions and challenges that bars and restaurants have faced. The bar industry was forced to reimagine ways to serve—from bottle shops and take-out programs to virtual experiences, bars and restaurants often had to pivot to new business models despite limitations from spaces that weren’t always designed to meet those needs.
While we love, and I mean love, our local eateries, we can’t help but notice some seriously buzz-worthy food and beverage brands entering Canada’s food chat this year. Check out these international restaurant concepts that opened in Canada for the first time ever, or will do so imminently.
November has been an exciting month for foodies! Not only did we get enRoute’s highly anticipated list of best new restaurants in Canada, but we also got the publication’s collection of top new takeout spots for 2022! This month, the prestigious publication released its picks for Canada’s best spots overall – but they really broke it down for us this time around.
As with Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list, which returned in June after a two-year pandemic hiatus, Toronto and Calgary had a strong showing. Three of the restaurants in the Top 10 are in Toronto (Restaurant 20 Victoria, MIMI Chinese and, in seventh place, Fonda Balam); two in Calgary (Một Tô and Major Tom, eighth).
According to a new report from Restaurants Canada, some restaurant owners are looking to increase their prices by 10 to 15 per cent by the end of this year. The overall goal is to offset the cost of things like soaring inflation, a lack of staff — which sometimes doesn’t allow businesses to operate normally — and the pandemic.
Just over a dozen Toronto restaurants have been bestowed with prestigious Michelin stars—making them the first Canadian eateries to receive the global recognition. At a special presentation held at Evergreen Brick Works Tuesday night, Michelin’s international director Gwendal Poullenec revealed that 13 restaurants would be featured in the guide.
River Café, the award-winning and top-rated restaurant in Canada, made the difficult decision this week to close because of the weather. River Café will open its doors again on Saturday, June 18, 2022 for full dinner service after evacuation and closing to ensure survival as flood waters were rising.
If the past two years have shown Torontonians anything, it’s that our restaurant industry is resilient. Moving with ingenuity and agility, restaurants pivoted to ever-changing public health protocols and worked alongside their vendors and partners to bring Torontonians the comfort of an incredible meal.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.