Second year in a row Jordan Station’s Restaurant Pearl Morissette has finished in the top five of Canada’s 100 Best annual restaurant ranking. Only Niagara eatery to make the list. Photo credit: Canada’s 100 Best/Sarah Annand
Local residents looking to try one of the top restaurants in Canada this year don’t have to travel far to do so.
According to Canada’s 100 Best magazine, the fifth-best restaurant in the country in 2023 is Jordan Station’s Restaurant Pearl Morissette.
Opened in 2017, the Lincoln establishment is no stranger to the magazine’s top 100 list, finishing fourth place last year, 17th place in 2020, and 14th in 2019.
“As it enters its sixth year, the subtly renamed Restaurant Pearl Morissette continues to educe and hone the very essence of elevated dining in Niagara wine country,” Canada’s 100 Best praised.
In addition to cracking the top five for the second year in a row, Restaurant Pearl Morrisette was also awarded the Best Destination Restaurant for 2023.
The Best Destination honour was one of only eight individual awards given out as part of this year’s rankings.
“Thank you (Canada’s 100 Best) for this special acknowledgment as the Best Destination Restaurant in Canada and #5 Best Restaurant for 2023,” Restaurant Pearl Morissette wrote on Instagram Tuesday.
“This recognition is dedicated to our staff past and present who have helped us build this special place in Niagara.”
The restaurant’s kitchen is headed by Ontario-reared chefs Daniel Hadida and Eric Robertson. The pair help lead a small but diverse team of cooks, farmers, gardeners, and forgers.
According to senior editor of Good Food Revolution Jamie Drummond, though “originally designed to serve oenophiles” coming to taste its parent winery’s unique creations, “Restaurant Pearl Morissette has steadily grown into a gourmet destination in its own right.”
“Over the past five years, (Restaurant Pearl Morissette) has matured from a small dining room for wine-tasting guests into one of the country’s top restaurants, attracting food and wine lovers from all over the world.”
The Jordan Station eatery is Niagara’s only representative on the 2023 list, which was once again dominated by establishments from Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
Montreal’s Mon Lapin took the top spot. Toronto’s Alo finished second. Vancouver’s Published on Main finished third. While Edulis, also of Toronto, rounded out the top four.
Chosen proportionally from across the country, a judging panel of 130 “informed culinary enthusiasts, food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and other food service professionals” scored this year’s competition.
Per Canada’s 100 Best, judges were asked to vote for restaurants “based on the complete dining experience provided – service, decor, the depth of the cellar and, above all else, food quality.”
Each judge had to travel as a competition requirement and vote for a minimum of three restaurants outside of their home region.
To view the complete 2023 list click here.
