Four of Canada’s top restaurants are located in Ottawa, according to a new ranking of the country’s top restaurants. The 2025 Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list was released Monday evening, billed as the “definitive guide to the country’s top culinary destinations.” Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station, Ont., was named Canada’s 100 Best Restaurant for 2025. Atelier on Rochester Street in Little Italy was the highest ranked Ottawa restaurant, ranking 41st on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. Arlo, Riviera and Perch are also on the list of Canada’s top restaurants. “With Canadians increasingly embracing local travel and dining, the 2025 list serves as the ultimate guide to the homegrown talent and establishments shaping our vibrant culinary landscape,” Canada’s 100 Best said in a statement. Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants were selected from 160 voting judges, with each judge asked to submit a list of their top 10 restaurant experiences of the previous year, “ranking them with consideration to service, décor, depth of the cellar and – above all else – food quality.” There were six Ottawa restaurants on the list of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants last year. CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the four Ottawa restaurants on the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list for 2025. Atelier Atelier, located on Rochester Street in Little Italy, ranks 41st on the list, up from 43rd last year. “At first, Atelier seems nondescript. It’s located on an out-of-the-way stretch of Little Italy, in an unremarkable two-storey building. Décor is subdued, mostly black and white, with little to distract the eye,” says Canada’s 100 Best. “This makes sense – a natural canvas for eye-popping dishes, 40 of them, to be exact, organized in small thematic groupings. Very few will have gone by before you begin to appreciate why Marc Lepine is considered one of Canada’s most innovative chefs.” Atelier opened in 2008. According to the website, Atelier will be unveiling a new menu format soon. Arlo Arlo Wine on Somerset Street West ranks 49th on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list, up from 71st last year. “When Arlo opened in 2020, the exceptionally warm Centretown restaurant already had the vibe of an establishment that knew what it wanted to do and how to do it,” Canada’s 100 Best said on its website. “Chalk up that assured start to the bona fides of Arlo’s principals. Co-owner and self-taught chef Jamie Stunt won silver at the Canadian Culinary Championships in 2013. Sommelier and co-owner Alex McMahon worked previously at Fauna and Riviera in Ottawa and also interned at Noma, in 2015. But customers flock to Arlo not to admire CVs. They’re drawn in by Stunt’s concise, ever-changing menus that exemplify playful but potent ingredient-focused Canadian cuisine.” The website adds, “McMahon leans hard into natural wines, but his recommendations are always accessible and his enthusiasm disarming.” Riviera Riviera is located on Sparks Street, just steps from Parliament Hill. Riviera ranks 88th on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list for 2025, down from 28th last year. “Politicos, business types, visiting NHL teams and locals alike congregate here to celebrate, indulge in classic dishes and enjoy some of Ottawa’s best cocktails,” says Canada’s 100 Best on its website. “Jordan Holley and his brigade dispense eye-catching fare, ranging from tartares and crudos to freshly extruded pastas, like spaghetti with lobster. Seats at the bar are hot tickets.” Riviera opened in 2016. Perch Perch, located on Preston Street, ranks 95th on the list of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. “Justin Champagne-Lagarde serves dishes that are creative and refined as you’d expect from a wide-roaming chef,” says Canada’s 100 Best on its website, noting Champagne-Lagarde worked at Atelier in Ottawa and Hawkesworth in Vancouver. “Nine-course tasting menus might include savoury Dijon macaroon with Acadian sturgeon mousse and koji-aged, seaweed-wrapped duck breast with red-wine sauce.” Perch was not on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list last year. Three Ottawa restaurants on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants List last year were not on this year’s list – North and Navy, Supply and Demand and Buvette Daphnée.
