Niagara-on-the-Lake's Trius Winery Restaurant was named to OpenTable's 100 Best Restaurants in Canada list for the second year in a row.
OpenTable, the world's leading online restaurant-reservation service, selected this year's list from over 500,000 verified diner reviews and 2,500 restaurants between Nov. 2017 to Oct. 2018. As voted by OpenTable diners, restaurants that made the list were selected based on the minimum overall score and number of qualifying reviews.
“We're a destination for travellers from abroad. We're definitely a place that people have on their radar when they want to celebrate an anniversary, birthday or special occasion,” said Jonathon Ingrao, restaurant manager of Trius Winery Restaurant.
“But we're not limited that because we're also super popular with the locals, who know that there's a consistently super high calibre of service and food quality.”
In speaking to the Canadian-inspired menu, Ingrao attributes much of the restaurant's success to Chef Frank Dodd, who has been with the restaurant for 13 years, alongside the “extensive portfolio” of Senior Winemaker Craig McDonald.
“We have an amazing wine list and winemaker,” said Ingrao.
“We have a really extensive portfolio of wines to choose from and a very hospital, professional staff to suggest wine pairings and help guests with their overall experience.”
Ingrao said OpenTable as a reservation platform has been a really important tool and crucial to their success – and Caroline Potter, OpenTable's chief dining officer, touted Trius Winery Restaurant as one of the region's stalwart establishments.
“We were struck by some of the regional highlights in our diner-generated list of Canada’s best restaurants. As an example, the Niagara region continues to have a remarkably significant number of restaurants that rank among the country’s culinary leaders,” she said.
Also named to the list was NOTL's Masaki Sushi.
“We’re seeing a wide range of cuisines reflected in this list – Peruvian, Japanese, Syrian, Indian. These restaurants were identified based on diner reviews over the course of the year and the diners have spoken by celebrating the culinary diversity that reflects Canada’s population and different countries of origin,” said Potter.
“These restaurants resonate with diners because of their shared commitment to dining and hospitality excellence and allow locals and visitors to experience international flavours.”
The annual list of Canada's best restaurants consisted of 57 restaurants from within Ontario, 21 within Alberta, 13 within British Columbia, seven within Quebec, with the remaining from within Newfoundland and Saskatchewan.
“It’s incredible to see Canada’s diversity, culinary and hospitality excellence showcased in this year’s 100 Best Restaurants list,” Potter said.
