When we think of Canada’s best restaurants, we might first look to the big cities—they seem a better environment for high-end restaurants to thrive in.
Toronto, Vancouver, and other cities have a lot to offer, but we shouldn’t contain our search for great food to the metropolises. Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants of 2025 were announced earlier this month, and cottage country is represented from coast to coast.
#92 Naagan
Owen Sound, Ont.
At Naagan, chef Zach Keeshig draws on his upbringing on the Nawash First Nation reserve near Owen Sound Bay. The menu, which fluctuates with the local, seasonal produce available to the restaurant, features what Keeshig calls “progressive Indigenous” cuisine. His extensive culinary background (including at other restaurants on this list!), paired with his passion for sharing his Ojibwa culture, presents patrons with a 12 course dinner. Naagan is right at home in the heart of Owen Sound, sitting halfway between Georgian Beach and Sauble Beach.
#84 The Gate
Flesherton, Ont.
Another acclaimed chef with experience at several of Canada’s 100 Best restaurants, Jonathon Gushue, has also settled outside of the city. The Gate brings European cuisine, made in-house with local ingredients, to Flesherton, Ont., a municipality in Grey County. Having only opened in December 2023, The Gate was named to a second 100 Best list in 2025: on the roster of Best New Restaurants, they placed eighth. They’ve garnered strong support in their short time in Flesherton by engaging with their community, offering takeout lunch, cooking classes, and events in addition to their classic in-house experience.
#79 Parcelles
Austin, Que.
Parcelles, located a few minutes’ drive from Lake Memphremagog, brings a casual touch to fine dining. In the winter, you’ll sit inside by the wood-burning fire and enjoy a fixed menu made with foods grown on-site or farmed locally. In the summer, you’ll enjoy a choice of vegetable dishes and wood-fired pizzas, to be eaten outdoors among the gardens. Their wine menu is all natural and also largely local, so it’s a good thing you can walk there from the lake. However, while the restaurant itself is casual, the experience takes some planning—reservations for winter dining take place on the first day of the preceding month (December 1st for January bookings), and their summer meals must be reserved the day before.
#38 La Cabane D’à Côté
Saint-Benoît de Mirabel, Que.
Quite like the last entry, La Cabane D’à Côté also offers two seasonal dining experiences in the Quebec countryside. From May to August, you can picnic in the orchard with a meal made from seasonal produce, and from late August to October, the menu includes a selection of grilled and prime cuts of meat. They also accept groups of up to 16 people to reserve the property for an evening. Their Quebecois cuisine shifts between oysters, duck, crab, chicken, but their list of 15 ciders are always available.
#36 Pluvio
Ucluelet, B.C.
Ucluelet is a small municipality on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island with a population that has only recently broken 2,000. The ocean, the temperate rain forest, and the fishing village all feature year-round tourist destinations,including Pluvio. Their Canadian cuisine is sourced from regional forests, farmers, and fishers, and is served in five courses. Ucluelet has many cottages and cabins along the shore and hidden in the forests, but for those looking to linger longer in the village, Pluvio doubles as a boutique hotel with four rooms (plus, they’ll give you free breakfast!).
#19 The Pine
Creemore, Ont.
The Pine has become a Canada’s 100 Best staple in recent years. At number 19 this year, The Pine blends culinary techniques from around the world to createCanadian cuisine. Chef Jeremy Austin draws on his experience cooking in Europe and Asia to present a 14- to 18-course menu that pulls from Chinese and French tradition. Despite the international influence, Jeremy and Cassie, his wife and business partner, have stayed true to rural Ontario—all the ingredients are homegrown, and the restaurant is less than 30 km away from its original location in Collingwood, Ont.
Honourable mention
#1 Pearl Morissette
Jordan Station, Ont.
Restaurant Pearl Morissette strives to recreate the European ideal of destination dining. Their 42-acre property houses their winery, bakehouse, restaurant, farm, and peach orchard. The prix fixe menu rotates seasonally, but is always French inspired and always made from domestic products.
Why does this destination dining experience miss out on our list? It’s the destination of it all. While Pearl Morissette is only 30 to 40 minutes from coastal Lake Erie towns, such as Port Colborne and Long Beach, it is much closer to major highways than it is to the cottage. But, if you’re up for the commute, you can spend the drive home recounting just how amazing the food was.
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