Toronto’s dining scene has been a whirlwind of dynamic, diverse and eclectic this year, as evidenced by our curated list of the 12 best new restaurants. We believe in getting the real scoop from insiders, which is why we tapped into the city’s culinary elite, from Michelin stars to celebrity chefs, to bring you their top picks.
Next on our list: Celebrity chef, and restaurateur Nuit Regular, known for turning up the heat with her vibrant street food and inventive dishes. We asked her to share her thoughts on the best new addition to they city’s dining scene. Keep reading to discover her exciting selection.
Chef Regular’s Pick: The Dorset
“I’m not very familiar with British food so I didn’t know what to expect, and I really enjoyed the food at The Dorset.,” chef Regular recently told us. “The food was so comforting and delicious, and I really loved the focus on fish and seafood. The space is beautiful and so cozy!”
The Dorset
Ryan Lister has a hit on his hands: comfortable, out of the ordinary — yum. By the time you sidle up to Lister’s bar at the Dorset for a Dorchester’s Pimm’s $17), you’ll have earned it. Despite the glee emanating from the latest Oliver & Bonacini assembly line, the proximity to Front Street and the Gardiner still evokes shivers. Gussied up British pub fare (cottage pie, $26; Atlantic salmon, $34) is fresh, innovative and cracking, plus a whole new world unfurls itself around The Dorset inside The Well, which is like the Eaton Centre as reinvented by Frank Gehry, which is why you haven’t yet been. Lister is a bonafide British culinary celebrity, and his seaside, Dorset-inspired menu is evocative of a freer, less shopping mall–enclosed world, where the cooking is still able to reach beyond King Street and splash us with English Channel dreams. The Sunday roast, the English breakfast ($24), the Scotch Dutch egg ($18) — the satisfying and satisfyingly served British favourites line up before diners like Adele, Fleet Street and so many English things (but not Brexit) that we love. Eat casually on the main floor at the bar or venture upstairs for something more refined. 457 Wellington Street W.
VIBE: Comfy and cosy, like sitting in your grandfather’s favourite chair.