Three Winnipeg restaurants on Canada’s 100 best list

Three Winnipeg restaurants have been ranked among the best in the country.

The 2025 Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list was released Monday and includes local fine dining spots Deer + Almond, Yujiro Japanese Restaurant and Nola.

For Nola co-owner Mike Del Buono, it’s a privilege to be included on the national restaurant guide for the first time.

“It’s a very cool honour to be recognized. I’m just so happy for the team; it’s such an amazing recognition for all the hard work they’ve put in,” he says.

Del Buono, founder of Burnley Place Hospitality, and chef Emily Butcher opened Nola at 300 Taché Ave. in 2021. Making Canada’s 100 Best list has been a goal ever since.

“It’s never been our North Star, but we knew that we would be in the conversation one day. We wanted to do this for Emily more than anything, she very much deserves to be on that list,” he says.

This is the latest accolade for Butcher, who has competed on Top Chef Canada and earned gold at Canada’s Great Kitchen Party during her tenure at Deer + Almond.

“It’s such an honour to be included on this list with such esteemed restaurants and chefs,” Butcher said via email. “This is a reflection of the entire team’s hard work and I can’t thank everyone enough for believing in our vision for Nola.”

This is Yujiro’s (1822 Grant Ave.) third appearance on the Canada’s 100 Best list. Owned by prolific local chef and restaurateur Edward Lam, it’s also the fine dining Japanese restaurant’s best showing yet; having climbed the ranks from No. 92 last year to No. 65 this year.

The ranked restaurant guide is compiled and voted on by food professionals and enthusiasts from across the country. This year’s roster included 160 chefs, food writers, diners, critics and restaurant owners.

Deer + Almond (85 Princess St.) is now a fourth-time Canada’s 100 Best honouree and, landing at No. 34 this year, is also enjoying its highest rank to date.

“It’s incredibly humbling and with any craft that you hone and work on; the doors just keep opening and the opportunities keep coming up,” chef and owner Mandel Hitzer says.

“Deer + Almond’s success story is the sum of its parts. It’s the hundreds of people that have contributed and been part of the team.”

Hitzer himself is celebrating some additional props this year, having earned the organization’s annual community leadership award for his unabashed Winnipeg boosterism and for his work with RAW:almond, the annual winter pop-up restaurant.

“It’s always been about building community and giving people opportunities. This is just a really great day, I’m really stoked and really honoured,” he says.

Hitzer and Del Buono are both glad to be representing their hometown on a national scale — especially at a time when customers are eager to support Canadian businesses and as more travellers are opting for domestic vacations instead of trips to the United States.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on our restaurant scene in Winnipeg and if this gives us an opportunity to showcase that even further, that’s a good thing for everybody. Hopefully that leads to more (local) restaurants getting on the list,” Del Buono says.

“There’s nothing else out there that’s celebrating our culinary artistry from coast to coast,” Hitzer says. “It’s also pushing creativity and pushing people like myself to try new things and keep working on what we do.”

Several former Winnipeggers are also represented on this year’s 100 Best Restaurants list. Beba, located in Verdun, Que., and owned by brothers Ari and Pablo Schor, is ranked No. 7, and Vancouver’s Published on Main, led by chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, sits at No. 9.

There were no Winnipeg restaurants included in the organization’s Top 10 best new restaurant list this year. The 50 best bars in the country will be announced May 12.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com