Produced by Virtuoso with Destination Canada
July 17, 2024

Poutine, fresh salmon, and other must-try dishes in the Great White North.

Spanning 3.8 million square miles, Canada’s varied landscapes yield an abundance of natural ingredients, and the country’s cuisine reflects its rich cultural heritage. Fishers pull lobster traps from the chilly Atlantic off the coast of Prince Edward Island, Indigenous communities treasure big game in the country’s northernmost provinces, and Québécois farmers tap the region’s sugar-maple trees for sweet rewards every March and April. The good news for travelers: Canadians are happy to share their bounty, whether it’s on a polished plate in a Michelin-starred institution, fireside during an off-the-grid Arctic adventure, or pulled from the shelf of a rural roadside stand. A true Canadian culinary deep-dive could take a lifetime, but this primer on each region’s defining dishes will set you up for a delicious future endeavor up north.

The West Coast: Salmon Reigns Supreme 

Salmon is everywhere in British Columbia: From the Fraser River to the Pacific Ocean, fishers and fish farmers raise, catch, and sell their prizes to local restaurants and markets. Get familiar with British Columbia’s five types of salmon – sockeye, chinook, pink, chum, and coho – and plan a trip in the summer or fall for prime fishing conditions. For centuries, Indigenous communities in British Columbia have revered chinook and sockeye salmon, celebrating the species’ annual runs up the Fraser and Columbia rivers and relying on the fish in its fresh, smoked, and preserved forms for sustenance. In Vancouver, it’s easy to find salmon chowders, burgers, tacos, and sashimi, but for something more unexpected, head to the local Indigenous-owned restaurant, Salmon n’ Bannock, for candied salmon, which is smoked, peppered, and drizzled with maple syrup.

“British Columbia’s culinary scene excels at integrating traditional Indigenous foods with contemporary styles and global flavors,” says Virtuoso travel advisor Dana Johnstone. “It’s vibrant and fresh, and a great example of Pacific Northwest cuisine.”

With fertile soil and a more temperate climate than Canada’s other regions, British Columbia is also home to a flourishing wine industry, centered around the Okanagan Valley. Head to Mission Hill Family Estate, Quails’ Gate winery, or Burrowing Owl Estate Winery to sample syrah, chardonnay, and sparking rosé.  

Reintroducing bison to the Prairie provinces revitalized the ecosystem and reinforced Indigenous culture.Destination Canada

The Prairies: Fresh from the Ranch 

Home to more than 18,000 cattle and bison ranches and rolling expanses of grain fields backed by bluebird skies, Canada’s Prairie provinces – Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba – are agricultural powerhouses. Wheat, oat, barley, and rye crops become bread loaves, crackers, beer, and pasta, and are exported to other parts of the country. Wild blueberries, huckleberries, currants, strawberries, and cranberries thrive in Alberta’s temperate climate in late summer, and travelers can forage for them in forests, meadows, and along riverbanks, and taste the region’s bounty via farm-to-table dining.

The Prairies’ food scene is a love letter to all things local: In Winnipeg, the menu at Deer + Almond features fresh berries, northern Manitoba pickerel, and desserts such as burnt toast and malt ice cream topped with port-stewed berries. Hearth in Saskatoon showcases Saskatchewan staples (pike, potatoes, and honey) through dishes such as potato doughnuts, pike conserva, and honey-glazed carrots. And at the River Café in Calgary, diners can sample the region’s bounty on the fish and game board, a heaping platter of cured meats, trout, seasonal preserves, and rye crackers. 

Poutine, a revered Canadian snack since the 1990s.Destination Canada

Central Canada: International Flair and Beloved Icons 

Toronto’s multicultural scene benefits from Ontario’s surrounding agricultural riches and the Niagara and Prince Edward County wine regions. From dim sum to jerk chicken, classic French fare to Peruvian flavors, the array of restaurants reflects the people who call the country’s largest city home. (Toronto was also the first Canadian city to receive a lauded Michelin guide in 2023.)  

“The chefs and restaurateurs in Toronto are really creative – they’re willing to experiment with different cuisines, establishing a culinary scene that’s constantly evolving,” says Virtuoso travel advisor Shauna Stone. She sends travelers to Michelin-starred Edulis in downtown: “It’s a true reflection of elevated Canadian dining that showcases our rich agricultural heritage.”

Stone also loves Prime Seafood Palace, owned by chef-turned-actor Matty Matheson of The Bear, for a classic steakhouse with a twist. Diners can choose to have the prime rib roast, for example, topped with foie gras or Dungeness crab. “Matty is a Toronto icon,” Stone says.

From Toronto, head to Montréal for the ultimate bagel and poutine pilgrimage. The first stop: St-Viateur Bagel for freshly boiled and baked bagels. Some of the city’s best poutine – french fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy, a traditional French specialty dating back 400 years – is from Chez Claudette, a causal Québécois corner spot in Montréal’s Mile End neighborhood. From there, it’s only a three-hour drive to Québec City. Indulge in even more poutine – and other Québécois favorites such as tourtière (meat pie) and foie gras – at La Buche, a cozy, sugar-shack-inspired restaurant in Old Québec.  

Catch of the day: a lobster straight from the Atlantic.Destination Canada

Atlantic Canada: A Seafood Feast

As you’d expect, a visit to Canada’s eastern coastal and island Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador – isn’t complete without a sampler of the region’s specialties: lobster, mussels, oysters, clams, and scallops. Casual seaside shacks serve the catches of the day in no-frills fashion, while the region’s fine-dining restaurants pair seafood with vintages from Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, Canada’s oldest wine region.

At chef Michael Smith’s FireWorks Feast dinner party on Prince Edward Island, travelers can expect roasted oysters and the catch of the day. (Your Virtuoso travel advisor can secure reservations.) In Halifax, the team at Highwayman Restaurant and Bar prepares locally sourced Nova Scotian seafood with Spanish flair, including smoked trout rillette and chorizo with mussels and tomato broth.

Traditional fried bannock is often served with butter, jam, or as a side for soup.Destination Canada

The North: Hearty and Filling

Forests, fjords, and wide-open spaces span the three territories in Canada’s northernmost region: the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Here in the Arctic, seasons marked by 24 hours of summer daylight and long, dark winters foster a food scene that, by necessity, is as hearty as the folks who call the region home. Ice fishing rewards patience with plentiful Arctic cod and char, which, along with locally sourced big game such as caribou, is known by the Inuit people as “country food.” Pair it with bannock, fried bread with Indigenous origins, for a true Northern meal.

Most travelers venturing into these territories do so with a tour operator as part of an adventure-packed, culturally immersive exploration of the region – sharing meals with Indigenous peoples is a perk of the experience. If you’ve got time to explore on your own, seek out BonTon & Company in the Yukon’s Dawson City, Yellowknife’s Woodyard Brewhouse & Eatery, and Iqaluit’s Nunavut Brewing Company, Canada’s northernmost brewery.