Canada dominates North America's 50 Best Restaurants list, Smyth tops ranking

Smyth’s rise to No. 1 in North America came with a bigger message for restaurant workers than the trophy itself: Canada put 14 restaurants on the region’s 50 Best list, including five in the top 10, and made the continent’s talent race look increasingly Canadian.

The second edition of North America’s 50 Best Restaurants was announced in New Orleans and stretched across 20 cities, with 18 new entries joining the ranking. Voters, a panel of 300 anonymous experts drawn from chefs, restaurateurs, food and beverage journalists, educators and well-travelled gourmets, split their choices across eight North American sub-regions, and the result was a list that put Canadian dining rooms front and center.

Chicago’s Smyth took the top spot after ranking No. 4 in 2025. Calgary’s Eight landed at No. 2 and was named Highest New Entry, while Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Lincoln, Ontario, finished No. 3 and won the Art of Hospitality Award. Mon Lapin in Montreal followed at No. 5, Albi in Washington, D.C. at No. 6, Atomix in New York at No. 7, Quetzal in Toronto at No. 8 and Tanière3 in Quebec City at No. 9.

For kitchens and dining rooms, that kind of recognition tends to change the pace on the floor. Better rankings bring harder-to-get reservations, fuller books, more pressure on tasting-menu pacing and more scrutiny on whether a restaurant can keep up service without burning through cooks, servers, bartenders and managers. It also pushes operators to protect their teams while holding the line on menu pricing, because top-tier hospitality is expensive to staff and even harder to sustain when the room is full night after night.

Canada’s showing was broader than just the top 10. Le Violon in Montreal ranked No. 15, Published on Main in Vancouver No. 17, Edulis in Toronto No. 25, Beba in Montreal No. 27, Mhel in Toronto No. 28, Sabayon in Montreal No. 34, AnnaLena in Vancouver No. 35, Wild Blue in Whistler, B.C., No. 47 and The Pine in Collingwood, Ont., No. 48. That spread across Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Quebec City, Whistler and smaller Ontario and Quebec markets suggests the labor battle is no longer concentrated in just a few big-city dining rooms.

The contrast with 2025 is stark. In the inaugural ranking, Canada had 11 restaurants, with Mon Lapin at No. 2, Restaurant Pearl Morissette at No. 3 and Tanière3 at No. 5, while Atomix took No. 1. A year later, Canada expanded its footprint and turned a regional awards list into a clear marker of where North America’s best-paid, best-trained and most in-demand restaurant teams are being built.