Best New Restaurant
PERHAPS NOTHING SPEAKS MORE to the resilience of the industry than the number of new rooms that opened during the pandemic. It takes a certain type of dreamer/lunatic to look straight into the eye of a hurricane and say, “Let’s go sailing.” (Although, to be fair, when your banker demands you go sailing, it may be more about financial obligation than straight-up courage.) And even limiting the candidates to spots that opened in late 2019 and 2020—the scope of this year’s awards (the 2021 rooms will be on next year’s slate)—still left us with the most competitive race we’ve had in years.
And after all of the votes were tallied, it was the spectacularly low-key Oca
Pastificio that emerged with the Gold. The place screams focus, but it never feels studied: there’s chef/owner Greg Dilabio, dialled in at the front of the open kitchen and steadfastly hand-making the sublime pastas that form the bulk of the small chalkboard menu. There’s his business partner, Antoine Dumont, making everyone in the small room forget about the wait (this is no-reservation territory) and transporting you to what feels like that perfect trattoria you happened upon during your trip to Italy years ago. The entire effect is that of comforting brilliance at a shockingly low price point.
Our Silver winner is also defined by brilliance, in this case that on frequent display by head chef Gus S tie ff en ho fer Brands on and hisu ber-capable kitchen.
Published on Main was one of the most ambitious openings we’d seen in years when it opened its doors on a stretch of Main Street more used to craft beers than a Michelin-star-worthy tasting menu. The room was gathering some serious word of mouth for its high-wire cooking and unflinching devotion to the best ingredients when the pandemic hit. But while others retreated, S tie ff en ho fer Brands on stayed the course for month after gruelling month. Everything coming from the kitchen continued to be exacting, with the team never accepting less than perfection with every dish as the world strived to return to normal. Taking the Bronze is Sean Reeve and company’s crazy mash-up of Italy and Southern U.S. that is Fraser Street’s
Say Mercy! The novel concept required a constant balancing of richness and acidity, seriousness with fun, and Reeve’s kitchen executed night in, night out. All the while, the team simultaneously spearheaded the Staff Meal initiative that saw a small cadre of restaurants helping front-line workers with food, and crafted affordable takeout for the rest of us.