Kappo Sato and Restaurant 20 Victoria awarded Michelin stars at Toronto ceremony

Two more Toronto chefs earned feathers in their tuques Wednesday night, each receiving a Michelin star.

The tire company turned culinary kingmaker added Kappo Sato and Restaurant 20 Victoria to its list of Michelin-starred eateries at a ceremony unveiling this year's edition of the guide.

Michelin lauded Kappo Sato, a Japanese restaurant led by chef Takeshi Sato, for its bustling atmosphere and "clever courses."

Meanwhile, Michelin celebrated chef Julie Hyde's Restaurant 20 Victoria for its "pristine seafood and refined sauce work."

The organization also awarded a pair of eateries with "green stars" recognizing their leadership in restaurant sustainability.

Both Frilu, which received a Michelin star last year, and White Lily Diner, which is on the Bib Gourmand list for affordable eats, were recognized for having no-till farms that supply the restaurants.

Toronto now has 21 restaurants on Bib Gourmand list

With the new additions, Toronto is now home to one restaurant with two Michelin stars, 14 with a single star and two with a green star. There are also 21 on the Bib Gourmand list.

"The Bib Gourmand is a designation given to select restaurants that offer good quality food for good value," Michelin said in a news release on Wednesday.

The Michelin Guide entered the Canadian market last year, first in Toronto and then in Vancouver.

Last September, it awarded two stars to only one restaurant in Canada's most populous city: Sushi Masaki Saito, led by chef Masaki Saito.

Saito's New York eatery, Sushi Ginza Onodera, earned a Michelin star in 2017 and two stars in 2018. He left that restaurant to open Sushi Masaki Saito in Toronto's posh Yorkville neighbourhood in 2019.

Another 12 Toronto restaurants received a single star last September.

The following month, Michelin revealed that eight restaurants in Vancouver had received a star. The company will update its Vancouver guide next week.

Quetzal was one of the 12 restaurants to receive a star, and since then, business has been booming.

Steven Molnar, executive chef and partner at Quetzal, said the recognition was unexpected. The restaurant, which says it offers "upscale Mexican cuisine," opened in 2019, a year before the pandemic. Three years later, it received the Michelin star. 

"It was something that we never set out to achieve because we never thought it was possible. But then once we got the star, honestly, it was great recognition and we were all super, super proud to share that with each other," he said.

The star has led to an increase in business, he said. 

"We're fully booked pretty much months in advance now," he said. 

Molnar said it's an honour not only for his restaurant but also for the city as a whole. 

"First and foremost it's going to boost tourism," he said. "It also gives us a footing in the international stage. It also gives us a footing in the international culinary stage."

Toronto food writer and editor Nancy Matsumoto agreed, saying Michelin matters because it is a global brand.

"It has a really big reach and it reaches people who travel a lot and people who really love food," she said.

"I think it's a big deal when it comes to any city. For people who love food and they know the brand, it's kind of like, you know you've arrived, you're in the guide."