Top 50 Restaurants in Canada 2013: Numbers 41 to 45

Report by Vacay.ca Staff

The countdown of the 2013 Vacay.ca Top 50 Restaurants in Canada continues with entries from the farthest point in the west, across the prairies and to the biggest cities in the east. Here is the list of restaurants 41-45.

41. THE POINTE at the Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino, British Columbia
Chef: Nicholas Nutting
Website: www.wickinn.com/restaurant.html. Cuisine: Pacific Northwest
Telephone: 250-725-3100. Twitter: @WickInnBC
2012 Rank: 27
Price range: $28-$36 for dinner entrées; four-course tasting menu for $80.
You must order: Tofino Halibut ($36), served with wild rice, celery, black garlic, and Bamfield seaweed broth.
Need to Know … from Vacay.ca Managing Editor Adrian Brijbassi: This magical place overlooking the Pacific not only has one of the best settings for a restaurant in the world, it delivers as classy a dining experience as you’ll find anywhere in Canada.

Read more about what to enjoy at the Wickaninnish Inn

42. NORA GRAY, Montreal, Quebec
Chefs: Emma Cardarelli
Website: noragray.com. Cuisine: Modern Italian
Telephone: 514-419-6672.
2012 Rank: New entry
Price Range: $19-$39 for main courses.
You Must Order: Deer Tartare appetizer ($14).
Need to Know: Nora Gray is chic and contemporary, a casual fine dining restaurant that is about food and friendliness. It just so happens that Cardarelli’s food is sure to make her and her enterprise lots of friends.

43. TEATRO, Calgary, Alberta
Chef: John Michael Macneil
Website: www.teatro.ca. Cuisine: Italian
Telephone: 403-290-1012. Twitter: @TeatroCalgary
2012 Rank: New entry
Price Range: Main courses, $27-$45; 10-course tasting menu for $135.
You Must Order: Foie Gras-crusted Prime Grade Alberta Beef Tenderloin ($45), prepared sous vide and served with mushroom duxelle, buttered carrot and puff pastry.
Need to Know: Elegance abounds at this classy establishment that’s a favourite for special occasions, including weddings and anniversaries. Fine Italian cuisine that benefits from Alberta’s bounty of cattle and grains.

44. LEE, Toronto, Ontario
Chef: Susur Lee
Website: www.susur.com/lee. Cuisine: Asian Fusion
Telephone: 416-504-7867. Twitter: @SusurLee
2012 Rank: New entry
Price Range: $7-$32, from small plates to large that can be shared, or not.
You Must Order: Top Chef Green Curry Chicken ($28), the award-winning dish featured on the popular TV show. It features sweat pea polenta, butter almondine, pineapple, chili mint and spiced tomato jam.
Need to Know: In a city that has attracted international chefs in recent years, Lee is a bona fide Toronto-made star with culinary accolades around the world. Although he has restaurants outside of the country, his eponymous eatery in his hometown doesn’t suffer any lack of attention. It’s fascinating food that shows off Toronto’s multicultural nature.

memories-regina

The dining room at Memories has been a popular spot with the people of Regina and visitors to the city since the restaurant opened in 1989.

45. MEMORIES FINE DINING, Regina, Saskatchewan (A Public Favourite!)
Chefs/Owners: Thomas Siarkos and Nik Selimos
Website: memoriesdining.com. Cuisine: Greek and Mediterranean
Telephone: 306-522-1999. Twitter: @Thomas195855
2012 Rank: New entry
Price Range: Entrees range from $18-$40.
You Must Order:  The Rack of Lamb ($40) received high praise from voters in the Vacay.ca public poll.
Need to Know … from Vacay.ca Follower Fashia Moleski: I spent six months travelling Europe and still missed the welcoming atmosphere and incredible food of Memories. Going to Memories is like going home. Everyone is happy to see you and the food is just the way you have always liked it.

Read more praise for Memories from Canadians, including former NHL and CFL greats

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More About the Vacay.ca Top 50 Restaurants in Canada 2013

Restaurants 6-10: See the video covering Toronto’s favourite and others
Restaurants 11-15: 
See the video covering 5 great chefs
Restaurants 16-20: 
See the video covering the 2013 People’s Choice winner
Restaurants 21-25: 
See the video featuring Araxi in Whistler, B.C.
Restaurants 26-30: 
See the video showing Brooklyn Warehouse in Halifax
Restaurants 31-35: 
See the video featuring Momofuku in Toronto
Restaurants 36-40: 
See the video and read about the top restaurant in New Brunswick
Restaurants 41-45: See the video for these restaurants
Restaurants 46-50: See the video covering the beginning of the countdown

2012 results, judging and more information: Visit the Top 50 Restaurants webpage for full details

Foodie of the Year Contest: Vacay.ca is giving away a luxury getaway that includes airfare, hotel accommodations and dinner to the Top 50 restaurant of the winners choice. See details here.

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Rod has previously worked for Canoe.ca and is currently freelancing for Huffington Post Travel. He’s also written travel articles for the Toronto Star and Up! Magazine. Living in Toronto but raised in the small central Ontario village of Holstein, Rod is a country boy at heart who has never met a farmer’s market he didn’t like.

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