Toronto has landed nine spots on the 2026 edition of Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants, part of a 30-restaurant national list highlighting new dining destinations from across the country.

The finalists were announced as Air Canada marks the 25th anniversary of the annual program, which launched in 2002 and has become one of Canada’s longest-running national showcases of new restaurants and culinary talent.

This year, 13 of the 30 finalists are located in Toronto, Niagara and Collingwood, with Toronto accounting for nine of them.

Nine Toronto Restaurants Make the List

The Toronto finalists for Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2026 are:

• Antylia
• Bar Eugenie
• Liliana
• NL Ginzburg
• OLDESEOUL TAVERN
• Radici Project
• SAMMARCO
• Seahorse
• Zia’s Place

Elsewhere in Ontario, Bar Les Incompetents in St. Catharines, Restaurant Capelin and Revé in the Niagara Region, and LORE in Collingwood also made the list.

The Toronto selections cover a wide range of approaches to dining. Antylia draws on Latin American traditions and Canadian ingredients, while Bar Eugenie takes the form of a neighbourhood bistro with subtle Filipino influences. Liliana combines an Italian menu structure with chef Marvin Palomo’s Filipino heritage and experience cooking in Hong Kong and Toronto.

NL Ginzburg draws from Italian and Jewish influences, while OLDESEOUL TAVERN brings Korean flavours to a neighbourhood tavern format. Radici Project is built around the Italian and Japanese backgrounds of husband-and-wife team Emiliano Del Frate and Kayo Ito.

SAMMARCO reimagines the Italian steakhouse, Seahorse offers a seafood-focused bistro experience in Summerhill, and Zia’s Place takes inspiration from the southern Italian cooking chef Jess Maiorano grew up with.

How Are Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants Chosen?

The selection process begins with a national panel made up of chefs, critics, writers, restaurateurs and other culinary voices. Eligible restaurants must be located in Canada, be independently owned or an independent concept within a restaurant group, offer regular dine-in service and be genuinely new rather than a relocation or expansion.

For the 2026 edition, eligible restaurants had to have opened between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026.

Restaurants are nominated independently by panelists who do not have conflicts of interest. From there, an anonymous culinary expert travels across Canada and visits restaurants as a regular guest would. The finalists and eventual Top 10 are then determined using the program’s evaluation framework in collaboration with DINR.

The program is designed to be more than a conventional restaurant guide. Over the past 25 years, Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants has helped introduce diners and travellers to emerging Canadian culinary talent and restaurants shaping the country’s evolving food culture.

Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants Celebrates 25 Years

The 2026 edition also introduces Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants Icons, a new recognition honouring influential chefs whose restaurants previously gained national attention through the program. The inaugural group of Icons will be announced alongside this year’s Top 10.

Air Canada and the Air Canada Foundation are also contributing $25,000 to La Tablée des Chefs’ national Kitchen Brigades program. The initiative works with high school students to develop cooking skills, teamwork, leadership, creativity and food literacy.

The anniversary celebrations will also include a national dining series presented by DINR, bringing together alumni of the Best New Restaurants program for special menus and one-night-only chef collaborations.

When Will the 2026 Top 10 Be Announced?

The 30 finalists will be narrowed down to the 2026 Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants Top 10 on November 16, when the winners are revealed at an event in downtown Toronto.

The celebration will bring together this year’s finalists, chefs, media and members of Canada’s culinary community while also marking the program’s 25th anniversary.

For Toronto diners, the finalist announcement offers nine new restaurants to explore before the national Top 10 is revealed.

See all 30 Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2026 finalists.

For more information, visit Air Canada’s full announcement.