CANADA’S BEST NEW RESTAURANT IS AMONG THE GRAPEVINES.

An acclaimed winery on the Niagara Peninsula is home to Canada’s Best New Restaurant. The Restaurant at Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station, Ont. — a French-inspired spot amid the grapevines and rolling farmland — has taken top honours on Air Canada’s annual top 10 list.

Co-chefs Daniel Hadida and Eric Robertson have worked at some of Europe’s most prestigious restaurants — including Septime and Le Châteaubriand in Paris, and the now-closed Michelinstarred In de Wulf in rural Dranouter, Belgium. Their combined talents have turned an unassuming black barn in Southern Ontario into an elegant dining destination.

At the Restaurant at Pearl Morissette, Hadida and Robertson offer a dynamic, “carte blanche” set menu consisting of five or more courses for $88 per person. The chefs — both Ontario natives — highlight foraged wild food and ingredients sourced from local, small-scale producers in their ever-changing dishes.

“Working in Europe provided me with the opportunity to see familiar ingredients in an entirely different context, and with new cultural and historical references that I wouldn’t have otherwise had access to,” says Hadida. “The deep roots of the food culture in Europe and the benefits that come with that history is what drives our vision of integrating our restaurant into a sustainable food system.”

Robertson adds: “The excitement and inspiration of producers we work with have become an enormous motivation to us in driving the quality of execution of the restaurant.”

One other rural restaurant made the top 10 list — Sand and Pearl in Picton, Ont. (No. 9) — while Montreal establishments Vin Mon Lapin (Joe Beef ’s latest wine bar) and sleek wood-fired pizza eatery Elena rounded out the top three.

THE TOP 10

10. The Courtney Room in Victoria, B.C.

9. Sand and Pearl in Picton, Ont.

8. Bündok in Edmonton, Alta.

7. Avenue in Regina, Sask.

6. Aloette in Toronto, Ont.

5. Giulietta in Toronto, Ont.

4. St. Lawrence in Vancouver, B.C.

3. Elena in Montreal, Que.

2. Vin Mon Lapin in Montreal, Que.

1. The Restaurant at Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station, Ont.

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