Which Restaurant Received The Most Accolades in 2016?

Have you had enough of those “Best X of 2016” lists? So many different opinions about what’s good, and they don’t all necessarily match up because people have different tastes, or something.

Fortunately, we’ve taken the work out of all that reading and boiled down a variety of “best of” lists pertaining to the Montreal food scene to one sole list. We went through the “best restaurants of 2016” lists from each major critic — Jean-Philippe Tastet at Le Devoir, Thierry Daraize at Le Journal de Montréal, and Lesley Chesterman at the Montreal Gazette (Marie-Claude Lortie at La Presse did not publish a list for 2016 on the newspaper’s website). Chesterman also did a series on different dishes in the final weeks of 2016: “best salad”, “best offal”, and so on, and we also counted restaurants mentioned in those.

Then to add some bulk, we tallied up the restaurants who were praised in various Year in Eater posts (minus Chesterman, since her bests were already counted).

Below are the results, which we calculated by awarding one point per (positive) mention of a restaurant. Of course, this is an abitrary exercise: restaurants that opened in 2016 are favoured here because they drew more reviewers — and established names don’t get reviewed nearly as often. Plus, critics tend to visit fine dining restaurants, meaning casual eateries are at a disadvantage. Plus, critics or writers who gave longer lists obviously had more sway — Daraize picked 25 top restaurants, whereas Tastet went with just 10.

But just like brunch and “gourmet comfort food”, readers love lists, so here’s a list of the most-praised restaurants of the last 12 months.

Eight points

• Larrys

Charles N.

A favourite of the writerly respondents to the Year in Eater series, Lawrence’s next-door little brother Larrys was also nominated as a top restaurant by Lesley Chesterman, who praised their small plates and cocktails but had extra love for the service: “Best of all may be the friendly service staff, who make you feel like you’re dining in a friend’s living room (and that friend happens to be a really good cook).”

• Moleskine

Julien F.

Receiving universal critical praise (or even raves), Moleskine with its two levels and two restaurants in one charmed everybody with wood-fired pizza down below, and chef Frédéric St-Aubin’s gastronomic takes on Italian up above. Jean-Philippe Tastet declared that the restaurant moved him, with irreprochable and flavourful offerings.

Seven points

• Foxy

Randall Brodeur/Eater Montreal

This restaurant from the Olive et Gourmando team, which focused on cooking with fire, had no shortage of critical love. Thierry Daraize declared the menu cleverly thought out, with a great exploitation of their fiery grill — not to mention a sharp design scheme.

• Hoogan et Beaufort

Randall Brodeur

Former Les 400 Coups chef Marc-André Jetté opened up his own restaurant with sommelier William Saulnier in Rosemont at the very end of 2015. It had a more relaxed approach than Jetté and Saulnier’s previous posts, but was lapped up by reviewers and the public. “From the beautifully presented food (oh, those pastas!) to the impeccable service, this laid-back but sophisticated restaurant represents so much of what’s great about our city’s food and wine scene today,” wrote Chesterman.

Five points

• Agrikol

Left off the critics’ best-of lists, the writers consulted for the Year in Eater loved this joint venture between two members of band Arcade Fire, and Torontonians Jen Agg and Roland Jean for its ambiance, barbecue offerings, and rum-based cocktails.

• Hvor

With its on-site garden, Hvor dedicated itself to hyper-local, hyper-fresh cuisine where possible, headed up by chef S’Arto Chartier-Otis in a bright and modern Griffintown setting.

• Vin Papillon

Joe Beef owner Dave McMillan’s third opening in Little Burgundy wasn’t new in 2016, but his wine bar was declared one of the city’s most reliable stand-by options by various Montreal food writers.

Four points

• Cadet
• Chasse-Galerie
• Lupita
• L’Express
• Nora Gray

Three points

• Butterblume
• Fiorellino
• Graziella
• Leméac
• Maison Boulud
• M. Mme
• Montreal Plaza
• Petite Maison

Two points

• Accords le Bistro
• Arthurs
• Boating Club
• Bouillon Bilk
• Cafeden
• Escondite
• Foiegwa
• Hôtel Herman
• Joe Beef
• Kitchen Galerie
• Le Filet
• Magpie
• Maison Publique
• Marconi
• Otto
• Tiradito
• Toqué!

One point

• Bishop & Bagg
• Bistro a Vino
• Campo
• Candide
• Carboni
• Chak Wow
• Chez Lavigne
• Chez Tousignant
• Chronique
• Ciel! (Quebec City)
• Crew Collective & Café
• Cru Bar à Huîtres
• Cul-Sec
• Damas
• Dépanneur Le Pick Up
• Dinette Triple Crown
• Emiliano’s
• Garde-Manger
• Hof Kelsten
• Inferno
• Jatoba
• Jellyfish
• Kazu
• La Matraca
• La Planque (Quebec City)
• La Récolte
• La Tamalera
• La Tannerie
• Lawrence
• Le Coureur des Bois
• Le Mousso
• Le Serpent
• Liverpool House
• LOV
• Ma’tine [Closed]
• Maïs
• Mile-Ex
• Pastaga
• Pho Tay Ho
• Pier 66
• Provisions 1268
• Ramen 9000 [Dalla Rose]
• Restaurant Hà
• Saiko Bistrot Izakaya
• Santa Barbara
• Satay Brothers
• Soy
• Sumac
• Super Qualité
• Ta Chido
• Taverne F
• Thaï Sep
• Venice
• Wilensky’s