Taste something on this list?
Get the RankIt app to rank your favourite dishes and see how your picks stack up against the locals.
Free · No paid placements · Made for people who actually ate there
Guide · Ontario
Discover Ontario's top restaurants for Christmas dinner, New Year's Eve, and festive holiday dining in 2026.
Every December, the same restaurants fill up with the same reservations. The steakhouse on King West books solid by October. The hotel dining room becomes a checkbox on someone's corporate calendar. But this year, Ontario has better options, and locals know it. The restaurants where people are actually choosing to spend their holiday meals are smaller, more deliberate, and built around something more interesting than tradition for tradition's sake.
These are places where the kitchen shifts with what Ontario's farmers have available in winter. Where the wine list reflects genuine knowledge instead of markup. Where you can linger for three hours and nobody treats it like a turnover problem. Some are tucked into neighbourhoods you might not expect. Some are worth driving for. All of them understand that holiday dining should feel like an occasion, not an obligation.
The guide below skips the predictable chains and the obvious reservations. Instead, it points to the restaurants where locals are making their December bookings: from cozy neighbourhood spots where you can still get a table to destination-worthy places where the meal itself becomes the conversation for months afterward.
This intimate 40-seat restaurant in Ossington is built for the kind of slow, deliberate meal the holidays demand. The seasonal tasting menu shifts with Ontario's produce, and the kitchen's restrained elegance means every plate feels like a gift.
A Kingston institution that transforms into something magical during the holidays with a menu that balances comfort and ambition. The kitchen sources from local farmers year-round, so come December, you're getting the best of what Ontario's winter larder offers.
Spanish tapas done right, with a kitchen that respects tradition but isn't afraid of technique. Holiday dining here means building your own feast from small plates meant for sharing, which makes it perfect for groups or anyone who wants variety on their plate.
Just over the Quebec border but worth the drive from Eastern Ontario. This is French-inflected comfort food in a historic brownstone, executed with enough precision that it feels special but never fussy.
Modern Italian where the pasta is made in-house and the ingredient list reads like a love letter to seasonal cooking. For the holidays, expect the kind of handmade ravioli and braises that make you understand why people travel for food.
A bowl restaurant that transcends the category with grains, vegetables, and proteins sourced from Ontario producers whenever possible. Customizable, nutritionally transparent, and surprisingly elegant for something so casual.
Raw oysters, fresh seafood, and cocktails crafted with the same care as the food. The lighting is intimate, the vibe is celebratory, and there's something inherently festive about oysters and bubbles.
Northern Thai cuisine built on bright, balanced flavours and a kitchen that treats spice as an asset, not a weapon. The dining room is warm and lively without being overwhelming, and there's real skill in every dish.
Israeli food that's both rooted in tradition and genuinely innovative. The menu encourages sharing and lingering, so it's built for the kind of extended holiday meal where conversation matters as much as the food.
Roman cuisine in the nation's capital, where the kitchen understands that simplicity and quality ingredients are inseparable. The pasta is exceptional, the seafood preparations are restrained and elegant, and the wine program reflects genuine knowledge rather than pretension.
The window is narrower than most people think. For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, book by early November if you're targeting the restaurants in this guide. Late November is still possible at some spots, but your options collapse quickly. New Year's Eve and Boxing Day dinners should be reserved by mid-November at the latest. The restaurants listed here aren't massive operations with unlimited capacity, so they fill based on interest rather than calendar date. If you're flexible about dates, the week between Christmas and New Year's offers the best availability and often feels less hectic than the peak nights.
Christmas Eve tends to be busier and more energetic across most restaurants. Kitchens are running full steam, tables are turning, and the vibe skews celebratory. Christmas Day is quieter, more intimate, and often features a different menu or a more relaxed service pace. Some restaurants dial back their kitchen operations on the 25th, so you might find a focused menu rather than their full repertoire. If you prefer lingering without pressure and a more subdued atmosphere, Christmas Day at a place like Edulis or The Sentient Bean offers that. If you want energy and celebration, Christmas Eve is your night. Boxing Day falls somewhere in between, with restaurants hitting their stride again after the 25th.
Yes. Kingston's The Sentient Bean is a serious destination if you're in Eastern Ontario or willing to make the drive. Giuliana in Ottawa ranks among the best options for holiday dining in the province, and the Roman cuisine fits the season differently than Toronto's Italian spots. That said, Toronto's concentration of exceptional restaurants means if you're coming from outside the city for a single holiday meal, the investment in driving or staying overnight pays off. For those based in Southwestern Ontario, Maison Pickle just over the border in Montreal (about three hours from London) offers something you won't find in Ontario. The guide leans Toronto-heavy because that's where the density of serious restaurants gives you the most options, but Kingston and Ottawa have genuine alternatives worth considering if they're closer to home.
Get the RankIt app to rank your favourite dishes and see how your picks stack up against the locals.
Free · No paid placements · Made for people who actually ate there
Community-ranked restaurants, city by city.