Fanning The Flames

Two One-of-a-Kind Restaurants Fuel Even More Excitement About Niagara’s Food Scene

While Niagara has long been a go-to destination for top-notch Canadian farm-to-table and wine country cuisine, recent accolades from food critics for two very different restaurants is creating an all-new level of excitement about dining in the region.

A Niagara Benchlands Pearl Harvests Big Attention

In-the-know foodies have been vying for a table at Jordan Station’s Restaurant Pearl Morissette for years. In place of a traditional sign, a large red Cardinal on the side of the road just outside Jordan Village serves as the first hint for diners that they’re in for a one-of-a-kind experience. In the past several months, that long country lane that leads from the bright red bird to a dramatic black barn has welcomed an impressive crew of food critics. Based on their reviews, it’s safe to assume they drove out after their meals with the satisfied smiles of the very well fed.

Restaurant Pearl Morissette offers a fine dining experience showcasing an ever-changing menu of regional ingredients to reflect the European ideal of destination dining in the heart of agriculture. The indoor dining room, perched on the top floor of the Pearl Morissette winery, has floor-to-ceiling windows boasting views of the 42-acre property’s regenerative farm. Guests have the option of adding wine pairings or non-alcoholic garden pairings to the ever-changing prix fixe menu.

When MICHELIN Guide Inspectors descended on Niagara for an inaugural visit to the region in 2024, the meticulously curated food and wine experience at Restaurant Pearl Morissette earned the region its first-ever MICHELIN star, as well as a MICHELIN Green Star for the property’s noteworthy sustainability efforts. More recently, Restaurant Pearl Morissette, which has been methodically making its way onto the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurant listing since 2020, was celebrated as Canada’s number one restaurant on the 2025 list.

Ways To Experience Restaurant Pearl Morissette and Its Partner Properties

●      Reserve a Dining Room lunch or dinner.

●      Book a Chef’s Table experience for your group of four to six guests.

●      Stop by for a walk-in glass of wine or tasting flight at the Pearl Morissette Winery Bottle Shop.

●      Reserve a 60-minute Nucleus Tasting experience at the Pearl Morissette Winery Bottle Shop.

●      Visit RPM Bakehouse in Jordan Village, where walk-in guests can enjoy excellent coffee, scratch-baked pastries, fresh plates from the garden, small bites and Pearl Morissette wines indoors or on the patio.

While you’re in the neighbourhood, other nearby Niagara Benchlands foodie favourites to consider adding to your to-try list include Vineland Estates Winery Restaurant, The Bistro at The Good Earth Food Co. and Wine, The Restaurant at Peninsula Ridge, Megalomaniac Food+Drink, Revalee Brunch Cafe, and Inn On The Twenty Restaurant.

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A St. Catharines Whole-Animal Butchery Makes The Cut

Whether diners choose to think of it as a restaurant inside a butcher shop, or a butcher shop inside a restaurant, Downtown St. Catharines’ Fat Rabbit has food lovers hopping to secure a table. MICHELIN Guide Inspectors seem to have been equally as enamoured with the concept following their 2024 visit, recognizing the restaurant for delivering “flavors in spades,” and giving it a much-revered MICHELIN Guide recommendation. In 2024, the restaurant also earned the number eight spot on the Top 10 list of Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants.This year, Fat Rabbit also had the honour of joining Restaurant Pearl Morissette as the only other Niagara name on the Canada’s Best 100 Restaurant listing.

Fat Rabbit Chef Zac Smith brings over two decades of experience in kitchens from Vancouver to Niagara, including time at Matty Matheson’s Meat and Three in Fort Erie. Later this year, he’ll unveil a new French-inspired bar just down the street from Fat Rabbit called, Les Incompetents. Anticipation is building about what Chef Smith will pull out of his hat when the space located within a beautifully restored theatre on St. Paul Street finally opens it doors!

Ways To Experience Fat Rabbit

●      Pop by before 4 pm to enjoy a daytime menu that includes hearty sandwiches, creative takes on smashburgers, a breakfast plate, house-made charcuterie, and baked treats brought in on weekends from RPM Bakehouse.

●      Peruse the thoughtfully curated butcher case, filled with meats sourced from an incredible selection of local farms and butchered in-house. Browse the Bottle Shop, featuring a selection of low-intervention wines from small producers, and shop for take-home treats from an eclectic collection of pantry items.

●      Reserve a table for dinner and graze on a selection of shared plates that make lesser-known cuts of meats sing, creative vegetable dishes, cooked-to-order steaks and chops, and more.

Fat Rabbit isn’t the only restaurant generating buzz about St. Catharines as a dining destination. Other outstanding St. Catharines favourites include Odd Bird, Bolete, Wellington Court, King Street Pantry, picque-nique cafe and wine bar, Beechwood Doughnuts, and Brindle.

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Ready to Plan Your Benchlands Foodie Getaway?

Curate a food-forward getaway exploring the benches, backcountry, vineyards, and villages of the Niagara Benchlands by browsing our Dine, Sip, Farms and Markets, and Events pages. Book an incredible place to call it a night, and you’ve got a winning recipe for one world-class wander!