Air Canada Unveils the List of Canada’s 30 Best New Restaurants for 2026
September 18, 2026 Team Contributor
What started as a unique initiative by Air Canada about 25 years ago has become one of the longest-running national new restaurant rankings, embedding some of the finest culinary hotspots in the public consciousness. A milestone for Canada’s largest airline and the country’s flag carrier.
Air Canada has unveiled the 30 finalists for its Best New Restaurants 2026 list. Air Canada will reveal the Top 10 at a marquee event in Toronto on November 16.
Curious to know who made the cut? Let’s unpack it.
Meet the panelists and the finalists
Selected independently by a panel of culinary tastemakers in collaboration with DINR, this year’s 30 final entries include restaurants that opened between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026.
The connoisseurs claim they have tapped into the quintessential Canadian dining scene and given space only to the most deserving, reflecting the evolving food culture.
This year’s list was shaped by a refreshed panel of roughly 30 critics, chefs, writers, and food storytellers spanning coast to coast, from Halifax and Fredericton to Saskatoon and Vancouver.
Names on the panel include acclaimed Vancouver chef David Hawksworth and Edmonton’s Shane Chartrand, alongside a wide mix of regional food writers and Instagram-recognized voices shaping how Canadians discover where to eat.
A good look at the list, or for those who are familiar with the yearly ritual, should know that nominees have been taken from all over, from Vancouver and Revelstoke to Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal, and the Niagara Region:
“For 25 years, Air Canada has celebrated the people and plates defining Canadian dining,” said Andy Shibata, Vice President, Brand at Air Canada.
Each finalist benefits from being on the coveted list. They can join DINR, the program’s collaborator, where they will be showcased as Canada Best New Restaurant finalists. They also gain exclusive reservation access, editorial features, and entry to upcoming culinary events.
Nurturing the Canadian dining culture since 2002
Many of today’s popular dining spaces and restaurants owe their success to Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants program, which began as a novel experiment in 2002 to give new restaurants in Canada visibility.
Take Alo, for example. When Patrick Kriss opened the Toronto restaurant in 2015, its ambitious concept — a refined, blind, multi-course tasting menu — was a bold gamble.
A year later, the restaurant received a major national boost when Air Canada enRoute named it Canada’s Best New Restaurant for 2016, placing it at No. 1 on its annual list.
That recognition helped put Alo firmly on Canada’s culinary map, although its rise was the result of sustained recognition rather than a single award.
The restaurant went on to appear at No. 90 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2020 and, when the Michelin Guide made its Canadian debut in Toronto in 2022, Alo was awarded one Michelin star.
A well-timed honour for chefs
To mark 25 years, the programme is introducing Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants Icons, a new hall of fame honouring chefs who first gained national recognition through the list. Air Canada will announce the inaugural inductees alongside the Top 10 in November.
Earlier this year, Air Canada also rolled out a searchable guide covering every finalist since 2002. Sifting through the repository is akin to navigating a living archive of two and a half decades of Canadian culinary talent.
For the love of food, fun, and flying
There’s more than just the listing. The programme has a country-wide plan to bring these culinary stories to Canadian diners through experiences crafted for them. Here’s how.
First, Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants Dining Series from DNIR will feature exclusive, one-night-only collaborations between celebrated program alumni. It will give chefs from across the country a chance to put their best foot forward and create unique dishes. You can find details and book through Air Canada enRoute.
Second, Air Canada is partnering with leading culinary festivals to feature honoured culinary talent. Keep an eye on the DINR app or your Aeroplan loyalty profile for exclusive reservations or point-redemption experiences at the nominated restaurants.
If a trip built entirely around where to eat sounds like your kind of itinerary, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to plan it solo. Here on this platform, food-focussed travellers can meet advisors who know Canada’s dining scene city by city, and build an itinerary around it.
Let’s come back to the awards.
There’s more on the menu- raising new talent
The program must be seen as more than a yearly rhythm of coast-to-coast restaurant scouting. It aims to upskill the coming generations. Alongside the Air Canada Foundation, this year’s edition includes a $25,000 contribution to La Tablée des Chefs’ Kitchen Brigades program.
The programme teaches high school students cooking, teamwork, and food literacy. That brings Air Canada’s combined support for the initiative past $500,000.
In the words of Andy Shibata, “This year isn’t just about looking back at the icons who transformed our food culture; it’s about fuelling the future. From the 30 standout finalists on this year’s list to the young aspiring chefs entering the kitchen for the first time, we’re proud to back the talent, diversity, and creativity driving Canadian dining forward.”
The final November reveal
The wait would soon be over. On November 16, Air Canada will reveal this year’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants in downtown Toronto. The occasion will bring together the finalists, media, food lovers, VIPs, and the chefs behind some of Canada’s leading dining destinations to celebrate food with fervour. It is an exclusive, invite-only celebration.
Until then, share this 30-restaurant longlist with your friends and family. Tell us how many of those you have visited.
Ready to turn that list into an actual trip? If you are searching for a travel advisor near me, find one here. Skip the search and talk to one who already knows the reservation game. A meeting ground for Canada’s best travel advisors and travellers with real taste in food, fun, flying & much more!
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