Two Halifax eateries make Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

There are two local Halifax Regional Municipality eateries that have been ranked Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants this year.

According to the publication dedicated to the list, Bar Kismet and Mystic are ranked 21 and 71, respectively, with Mystic also ranked in the Best New Restaurants 2025 list.

Mystic, located downtown, invites guests to an “unparalleled destination” through the Maritimes. It offers two tasting menus and a discovery menu for customers with a focus on seafood.

“With every detail thoughtfully designed, Mystic offers an immersive experience that invites you to explore the unknown and discover the extraordinary,” the restaurants website reads.

Jacob Richler, editor and publisher of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants told CityNews he has yet to visit Mystic but plans on going soon.

“Halifax is interesting because they had so many new restaurants a couple of years ago,” he said. “There was just an explosion of new things.”

More stories:

• Pictou County community focused on search for two young children
• N.S. marks national Emergency Preparedness Week
• N.S. makes increased illegal burning fine permanent

Richler said that the head chef, Malcolm Campbell, is “very talented.”

Bar Kismet, in the North End, is a family-owned and operated eatery that serves “inventive” cocktails paired with fresh seafood and handmade pasta, the restaurant’s website reads.

It offers seafood like scallops, oysters, fish and a variety of pasta dishes.

At the top of the list is a secluded eatery, in Jordan Station, Ont., near Niagara Falls.

Pearl Morissette is an “ambitious fine dining experience” the restaurant says on its website, that changes the menu often and focuses on regional ingredients.

Rounding out the top three is Mon Lapin in Montreal and Alo in Toronto.

Here is the full list of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants 2025:

1 Restaurant Pearl Morissette (Jordan Station, Ont.)
2 Mon Lapin (Montreal)
3 Alo (Toronto)
4 Edulis (Toronto)
5 20 Victoria (Toronto)
6 Eight (Calgary)
7 Beba (Montreal)
8 Quetzal (Toronto)
9 Published on Main (Vancouver)
10 AnnaLena (Vancouver)
11 Le Violon (Montreal)
12 St. Lawrence (Vancouver)
13 Tanière3 (Quebec City, Que.)
14 Hexagon (Oakville, Ont.)
15 Langdon Hall (Cambridge, Ont.)
16 Sushi Masaki Saito (Toronto)
17 Monarque (Montreal)
18 Kissa Tanto (Vancouver)
19 The Pine (Collingwood, Ont.)
20 Montréal Plaza (Montreal)
21 Bar Kismet (Halifax)
22 Cabaret l’Enfer (Montreal
23 Ankor (Canmore, Alta.)
24 Alma (Outremont, Que.)
25 Pichai (Montreal)
26 Baan Lao (Richmond)
27 Bar St-Denis (Montreal)
28 Le Crocodile by Rob Feenie (Vancouver)
29 Aburi Hana (Toronto)
30 Nupo (Calgary)
31 Casavant (Montreal)
32 Botanist (Vancouver)
33 Wild Blue (Whistler, B.C.)
34 Deer + Almond (Winnipeg)
35 Parapluie (Montreal)
36 Pluvio (Ucluelet, B.C.)
37 L’Abattoir (Vancouver)
38 La Cabane d’à Côté (St-Benoît de Mirabel, Que.)
39 Marilena (Victoria, B.C.
40 Mastard (Montreal)
41 Atelier (Ottawa)
42 Dreyfus (Toronto)
43 Sushi Yugen (Toronto)
44 Salle Climatisé (Montreal)
45 Bernhardts (Toronto)
46 Joe Beef (Montreal)
47 River Café (Calgary)
48 Sabayon (Montreal)
49 Arlo (Ottawa)
50 Canoe (Toronto)
51 LSL (Toronto)
52 Linny’s (Toronto)
53 Actinolite (Toronto)
54 Bar Isabel (Toronto)
55 Boulevard (Vancouver)
56 DOPO (Calgary)
57 Bar Prima (Toronto)
58 Casa Paco (Toronto)
59 DaNico (Toronto)
60 Bacchus (Vancouver)
61 L’Express (Montreal)
62 Shoushin (Toronto)
63 DaiLo (Toronto)
64 Gia Vin et Grill (Montreal)
65 Yujiro (Winnipeg)
66 Hawksworth (Vancouver)
67 Toqué! (Montreal)
68 Takja BBQ (Toronto)
69 Lake Inez (Toronto)
70 Don Alfonso 1890 (Toronto)
71 Mystic (Halifax)
72 Osteria Giulia (Toronto)
73 Famiglia Baldassarre (Toronto)
74 Shokunin (Calgary)
75 Alma (Toronto)
76 Au Pied de Cochon (Montreal)
77 Juliette Plaza (Montreal)
78 Portage (St. John’s, N.L.)
79 Parcelles (Austin, Que.)
80 Prime Seafood Palace (Toronto)
81 Mhel (Toronto)
82 Burdock & Co. (Vancouver)
83 Heni (Montreal)
84 The Gate (Flesherton, Ont.)
85 Otto (Kitano Shokudo) (Montreal)
86 Nola (Winnipeg)
87 Elisa (Vancouver)
88 Riviera (Ottawa)
89 The Fish Man (Richmond, B.C.)
90 Nora Gray (Montreal)
91 Damas (Montreal)
92 Naagan by Zach Keeshig (Owen Sound, Ont.)
93 Barberian’s (Toronto)
94 Maenam (Vancouver)
95 Perch (Ottawa)
96 Giulietta (Toronto)
97 Fat Rabbit (St. Catherine’s, Ont.)
98 Melba (Quebec City)
99 Elem (Vancouver)
100 Claire Jacques (Montreal)