Note: Cactus Club Cafe moved into the Hall of Fame in 2024, and was not judged in the Best Chain category this year.
Gold: Nook
Multiple locations
nookrestaurants.com
Silver: La Taqueria
Multiple locations
lataqueria.com
Silver: Sula
Multiple locations
sulaindianrestaurant.com
It’s a two-fer for Nook, scoring gold again this year for its cozy, comforting rooms that “nail rustic Italian in a way many one-off Italian spots struggle to,” as one judge said. Perfect cacio e pepe and simply elegant margherita pizzas speak to the chain’s ability to consistently deliver excellence, and its housemade pasta is perhaps best spotlighted in the orecchiette with spicy fennel sausage and chili. La Taqueria takes home silver for great-value items like its pescado estilo baja, made with battered wild fish and topped with chipotle and poblano mayo, “and when the room is packed and noisy, it’s a blast of a place to spend a few hours,” noted one judge. And Sula nabs bronze for its meld of traditional Indian dishes with modern twists—like the marvai gassi, a spectacular dish of Salt Spring Island mussels with caramelized onions, tangy with tamarind and coconut.
Honourable Mentions
Bufala
Multiple locations
bufala.ca
Maruhachi Ra-men
Multiple locations
maruhachi.ca
