Air Canada has unveiled its 2025 Top 10 Best New Restaurants in Canada – a coast-to-coast sampling of the freshest venues in the country designed to “inspire Canadians to explore through food.”
Air Canada has revealed the finalists for the 2025 Best New Restaurants list, spotlighting 31 trailblazing establishments shaping Canada’s dining culture today. From St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, BC, the finalists reflect the talent, diversity, and creativity fuelling the country’s culinary scene, says the airline.
Hotel restaurants are experiencing a revival among diners, evolving from convenient and comfortable options to refined dining destinations, as 61% of Canadians believe hotels have gotten better restaurant offerings in recent years.
Nine restaurants have received prestigious Michelin stars in the tastemaker’s first foray into Quebec, cementing the province’s reputation as a hot spot for culinary creativity. All nine of the starred restaurants announced recently are categorized as serving contemporary or creative fare.
Global beer brand Heineken has launched a worldwide recruitment campaign to help an independent Irish pub owner find a new successor. Joseph ‘Josie’ McLoughlin owns McLoughlin’s Bar on the rural Achill Island. Situated at the “edge of the world,” the pub rests against the backdrop of the wild, beautiful landscape of West Ireland where ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ was filmed.
For lovers of beer, lagers and ciders, London has an answer that’s off the beaten track: The Bermondsey Beer Mile, a loose collection of brewery bars and liquor stores that stretches well over a mile through the streets and railway arches of south London.
Visitors to Singapore can view (and sample) some of the world’s rarest and priciest whiskies at the Grande Whisky Museum (TGWM), which was recognized by Guinness in 2023 for having (at the time) the world’s most valuable whisky/whiskey collection and the most valuable bottle as well, priced at approximately CDN$134 million and $3.8 million respectively.
Prague has banned organized nighttime pub crawls, which have caused misery for residents and authorities alike. The popular outings of tourist groups moving from bar to bar in the Czech capital’s historic district have been one of the outcomes of overtourism felt across Europe.
It goes without saying that most visitors to Nassau & Paradise Island want to spend as much time as possible soaking in the sun, and the natural beauty of The Bahamas. So, why spend time eating indoors when there are so many bars and restaurants that offer delectable menus paired with spectacular Bahamian views?
For the 23rd consecutive year, Air Canada has named its Top 10 Best New Restaurants in Canada. For 2024, Montreal’s Sabayon took top spot from amongst 30 candidates that were visited in 2024 by a single anonymous reviewer, who assessed all aspects of the dining experience.
It’s been a year since ‘Pilsner Urquell: The Original Beer Experience’ was untapped in Prague and already the interactive attraction, located in a historic building on the city’s landmark Wenceslas Square, rates in the top five for tourists in the Czechia capital.
Beer drinkers, rejoice! Destination Toronto has launched the Toronto Brew Pass, with one-day, three-day, and seven-day options and the choice of 23 distinct craft breweries around the city.
The head brewmaster for Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest brewery, has a secret: He really likes alcohol-free beer. Even though he’s quick to say he obviously enjoys real beer more, Tobias Zollo says he savours alcohol-free beer when he’s working or eating lunch. It has the same taste but fewer calories than a soft drink, he said, thanks to the brewery’s process of evaporating the alcohol.
For decades, Canada’s food courts were cookie-cutter spaces jammed with the same dozen or so chains hawking dishes ideal for lunch breaks or snacking at the mall. But a new wave of dining spaces has thrown that playbook out the window, sandwiching dozens of lesser-known brands with growing followings into chic sites, where both locals and tourists have a dizzying array of cuisines to feast on at a table of their choosing.
There’s nothing better than resting one’s weary feet for a libation while sightseeing. And it’s even better if it’s in a fabulous spot that shows off or enhances the destination, while providing amazing ambiance all on its own. With this in mind, we offer seven sensational venues for a summer sip on a global itinerary of top stops, ranging from Athens to Zurich, and Barcelona to Washington, DC, a few more in between.
In 2018, Chad McGehee opened Side Hustle Brews and Spirits, an Abu Dhabi-branded brewery and distillery with funky camels on its cans and playful names familiar to anyone living in the United Arab Emirates. The only problem was it was illegal to produce alcohol in the country, so his company made its hoppy India pale ale in the United States and then imported it to the UAE for sale.
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is maturing like the fine whiskeys it showcases. A new-look Bourbon Trail unveiled this month will lead visitors to large and small distilleries alike, linking relative newcomers and age-old brands in a collective strategy to build on bourbon tourism’s popularity.
An artisan roastery based in the Helsinki has introduced a coffee blend that has been developed by artificial intelligence in a trial in which it’s hoped that technology can ease the workload in a sector that traditionally prides itself on manual work. It is only apt that Kaffa Roastery’s “AI-conic” blend was launched in Finland, a Nordic nation of 5.6 million that consumes the most coffee in the world at 12 kg per capita annually, according to the International Coffee Organization.
Whether it’s green beer, a drop of Irish whiskey or a pot of poitín, having a drink on St Patrick’s Day (or anytime really in Ireland) is considered the norm. And while far be it from us to be thinking about not drinking while in the haze of St. Patrick’s Days (it’s a weekend, really, not a day), it does happen we’re told.
The owners of a quirky 18th century British pub unlawfully bulldozed after a mysterious fire last year have been ordered by a local council to rebuild it – and to stick to its original, lopsided dimensions.
Ho Chi Minh City, a culinary haven renowned for its vibrant street food scene, has embarked on an international campaign to showcase its unique and transformative cuisine. Spearheaded by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the campaign has enticed audiences worldwide since December with its compelling video titled “All You Can Eat.”
“Hidden in plain sight behind a secret door,” and situated in one of London’s most historic and cherished buildings, the Síbín whisky bar has launched a global “Whisky Passport” designed to take patrons on a flavour journey beyond the British capital with some of the world’s best vintages.
The Tour d’Argent already boasts a 320,000-bottle wine cellar, a world-famous duck recipe and a storied 441-year history. Now, the legendary Paris restaurant is about to serve up its “plat de résistance”: a front-row view of two of the biggest events of 2024 – the renaissance of Notre Dame Cathedral and the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Recently we reported that Barcelona bar Sips was named the “World’s Best Bar” for 2023 in the annual 50 Best ranking sponsored by Perrier. But with 49 other entries and a host of other unique cocktail-related categories, there is plenty more to tell, such as which establishment finished second.
With a raise of the glass to the importance and continued growth of wine tourism, the United Nations World Tourism Organization recently hosted its annual conference on the subject in La Rioja, Spain, one of the world’s leading wine tourism destinations.
The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023 List is out and Barcelona bar Sips has taken top honours. It’s the second time an establishment from Spanish city has taken the top spot in as many years, following Paradiso’s triumph in 2022.
Guinness will soon have a new home in the heart of London. Work is underway at ‘Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard,’ which is located near Neal Street in Covent Garden. The 4,600-sq.-metre microbrewery will build on the success of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and the opening of Johnnie Walker Princes Street in Edinburgh in 2021.
The 2023 Canada’s Best New Restaurants Top 10 have been unveiled by Air Canada, with Toronto restaurant Kappo Sato taking the coveted top spot. In it’s 22nd year, the list is the longest running and most respected Canadian restaurant ranking. More than 30 restaurants across the country were visited by a single anonymous reviewer in determining the rankings.
Sandals Resorts is expanding its innovative off-site dining program to Nassau, Bahamas. First debuting with the opening of Sandals Royal Curaçao in June 2022, the “Island Inclusive” program celebrates and supports locally owned restaurants by giving select Sandals guests access to some of the destinations’ top dining experiences – all included with their booking.
National Rum Day may be Aug. 16, but every day is rum day in Jamaica, with travellers able to sip the rich, molasses-based liquor all year round courtesy of a host of classic distillers and in a variety of locations – from simple road-side bars to historic sugar plantations.