Gold: Chez Céline
It’s a vibe, Chez Céline: and a golden spot you can’t help wanting to go back to again and again. J-C Poirier and Margaux Herder’s ode to Quebec’s casse-croûtes “is what you want in your neighbourhood,” said one judge, adding that it’s “comfortable and cozy while being subtly refined, and damn delicious.” Don’t miss “one of the best tartares in the city,” bright with herbs and excellently salty with anchovies. Feature dishes always deliver—case in point is an incredible fennel salad with preserved lemon, grapefruit and smashed Castelvetrano olives.
4298 Fraser St.
chezcelinerestaurant.com
Silver: Le Crocodile by Rob Feenie
Le Crocodile by Rob Feenie takes home silver for chef Rob Feenie’s elegant, elevated French cuisine that follows the seasons—like a melt-in-your-mouth bluefin tuna tartare, paired with a coconut lime leaf broth with just a hint of jalapeno and die-cut daikon. “It’s fresh, modern and all about good ingredients done right,” raved a judge.
100–909 Burrard St.
lecrocodilerestaurant.com
Bronze: L’Abattoir
And in bronze is L’Abattoir’s French with Pac-Rim flavours, excellently executed under the guidance of chef Jasper Cruickshank. Go for the nuoc cham pork jowl confit, with its “clean sharpness of herbal heat, balanced against the sweet char of the meat.”
217 Carrall St.
labattoir.ca
Honourable Mentions
June
3305 Cambie St.
juneoncambie.com
St. Lawrence
269 Powell St.
stlawrencerestaurant.com
