The Best Cafés in Canada
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The best cafés in Canada, according to the experts: AAA, Canada's 100 Best, and the Michelin Guide have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. River Café comes out on top, and the good stuff runs deepest in Vancouver and Calgary.
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Maha's and Fable Kitchen hold the next two places. Eater and the Michelin Guide show up on more of this list than any other guide.
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Rank 1. River Café
Rocky Mountain Canadian Café
Sitting on a small island in the middle of the Bow River, surrounded by Prince's Island Park, this rustic dining room feels like a cabin that wandered into the city and decided to stay. Exposed wood, stone, and vintage fishing gear set the mood, and fireplace tables are fought over in winter with quiet desperation. The kitchen commits to Canadian and Albertan ingredients only, landing on Canada's 100 Best list. The patio, when weather allows, is the whole argument.
The awards
- AAA AAA: Three Diamonds
- Canada's 100 Best Canada's 100 Best: #42 · Best Restaurants
- AAA Three Diamonds
- Canada's 100 Best #42 · Best Restaurants
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Rank 2. Maha's
Egyptian Café
The honey-cardamom latte greets you at the coffee bar before you've even found a seat, which tells you something about the priorities here. Maha's is a brunch cafe in Leslieville serving Egyptian home cooking, no reservations, breakfast and lunch only. The lentil soup, thick with vinegar-soaked onions and charred pita, is the dish that reportedly started the whole project. The Michelin Guide has taken note.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Eater Eater: The 38 Best Restaurants in Toronto, Canada
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Toronto, Canada
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Exposed brick, two wood counters facing an open kitchen, and a menu that takes brunch seriously enough that dinner feels like a bonus. This Kitsilano cafe runs farm-to-table without making a production of it, turning out eggs Benedict, Johnny cakes, and challah French toast to a room that fills fast on weekends. The Michelin Guide has given it a Bib Gourmand, which tracks. Order the rösti.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 4. Mano Cornuto
Italian Café
The awards
- Tastet 101 Must-Try Restaurants in Quebec
Why #4, not #5
Both places show 65. This one's exact Score is 65.1 and the next is 64.7, so it ranks first. We round what you see, but we rank on the exact number.
- #4 Mano Cornuto (this place) 65.1
- #5 Wicked Cafe 64.7
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Rank 5. Wicked Cafe
Café
A blue pond-glazed crème brûlée with a chocolate rubber duck floating in it tells you everything about this Fairview cafe. The pastry team drops new creations every few weeks, leaning hard into theatrical presentation, and the coffee keeps pace with seasonally inspired latte art. The kind of place where the dessert case stops people mid-stride, and the igloo cakes shaped after Nanaimo bars are not even the weirdest thing on offer.
The awards
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Vancouver
Why #5, not #4
Both places show 65. This one's exact Score is 64.7 and the one above is 65.1, so it ranks second. We round what you see, but we rank on the exact number.
- #4 Mano Cornuto 65.1
- #5 Wicked Cafe (this place) 64.7