Kingston Restaurant Guide '13

Over the past four months, I have resto-hopped 21 of Kingston’s most prominent restaurants with instagram in hand and critical taste buds in-tact. The idea was to provide a comprehensive review of the Kingston restaurant scene. Despite Kingston’s small size, it is a culinary wonderland and rumoured to have the highest restaurants per capita. Therefore, this was no small task. It was, however, a tasty and useful one.

At the top, Le Chien Noir ★★★★★ continues to grace Kingstonians with French comfort food, and does it with so much consistency and spirit at a ridiculously affordable price, that it might well be as good as any restaurant in Toronto. The steak frites have become a weekly ritual, as have the “duck fat frites (with aioli) and a balsamic salad sides that are so difficult to choose between, so half-and-half is always a compelling compromise”. It is truly a celebration of food, health and life, as proclaimed on its menus.

Le Chien Noir’s sister restaurants did almost as well, with Harpers ★★★★ and Atomica ★★★★ each reaching for the stars in their respective categories, and soaring enough to grab four of them. Harpers is the quintessential haute-burger-bar, complete with “cutlery and serviettes are stashed at every table for a definitively self-serve environment”. That is probably a good thing, given how deliciously messy the food turns. It is much better than the chain restaurant, the The Works ★★.

Woodenheads: Poulet Baton Rouge — Woodenheads: Poulet Baton Rouge

Atomica is least like its companions. It is an “ultramodern hub with florescent blue bar lights that are too foolish for haute-cuisine. It is hard to find Atomica a place in Kingston’s scene, jutted between pizza-connoisseur Woodenheads and posh-Olivea”. It “makes a veritable challenge for staple-status in Kingston, and almost reaches it.”

The other family of restaurants, Chez Piggy ★★★ and Pan Chancho ★★★★ were diametrical. Pan Chancho proved to be a compelling breakfast and brunch (better than Windmills ★★★ and Aquaterra ★★★★) while Chez Piggy was only suited to oldies who like the ugly chairs and flavourless food. Another let down was The Kingston Brewing Company, which served a surprisingly bad beer. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Casa Domenico, which has fallen so far from its hayday; it now serves inedible paninis and over-dressed Caesar salads.

Sima Sushi ★★★★★ and Woodenheads ★★★★★ are without any doubt leaders in their categories (including, their waitresses, I understand). The Michelin star definition of the top restaurants is “worth a special trip”, a standard that is met and surpassed by any of these top restaurants, but in particular Woodenheads. It has defined a new genre of pizzeria. “Its pizzas are not the single topping Neopolitans that seem to define culinary expectations” but rather ones that “are filled to the brim with forward, guilt-inducing toppings”. And Sima, the meticulous and intricate sushi-shop, is miles ahead because of the details. For example, the “white ginger or the single pearl of edamame” on the rice.

Perhaps the most surprising success is Olivea ★★★★★, an Italian restaurant that has unidentifiable yet delightful notes, such as the “chicken that is brick-pressed to colourful perfection. Burn marks are so satisfyingly bitter.” It is a sparsely decorated abode that is overwhelmingly comfortable to dine at.

Hopefully, this guide has elucidated the treasures of Kingston from the unspectacular. By no normalization the average score of 3.3 is exactly the same as the score I accorded to the Summerlicious restaurants of the summer. This is an implicit endorsement of the quality of the Kingston food scene. In all, 16 of the 21 restaurants were satisfactory; and four of them are commendable to the highest degree. To those lucky enough to call Kingston home and those who come to travel, bon appetite.