Whitby restaurant makes Open Table’s top 100 list for best outdoor dining in Canada

A Whitby restaurant has made the cut in Canada’s 100 Most Popular Outdoor Dining Restaurants List from dining guide Open Table.

After a long winter, Canadians are eager to step out and dine al fresco as restaurants see a surge in reservations. OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant technology, compiled the list from customer reviews to help diners find their perfect outdoor dining spot, just in time for the Victoria Day long weekend and the unofficial kickoff of patio season.

Right at the top of the list (it’s alphabetical) is 12welve Bistro & Tapwerks, the dining arm of Brock Street Brewery on Brock Street (natch) in Whitby, which scored 4.5 stars on 525 customer reviews.

12welve Bistro & Tapwerks provides quality to its dishes regardless if it’s traditional fine dining or classic pub fare, or, as the restaurant puts it on its website, “whether a brewmaster burger by day or a Wagyu steak on a Friday night, 12welve Bistro will offer a dining experience like no other in Durham.”

The menu caters to all cuisine – including vegan and vegetarian offerings – and being housed in a brewery, offers beers brewed on site, wines from around the world and hand-crafted spirits.

The outdoor patio, the focus of Open Table’s list, is especially popular.

Nationally, Open Table found Canadians love Italian al fresco. Italian cuisine was the favourite cuisine enjoyed outdoors in 2022, with Canadian cuisine in second. In the GTA, Italian again came out on top, followed by Mexican and international.

April dining was up four per cent in Canada year-over-year, likely a result of warmer temperatures and Canadians enjoying an early start to outdoor dining.

Sixteen Toronto restaurants in total made the al fresco list, as well as four from Oakville, three from Niagara-on-the-Lake, three from York Region and one each from Hamilton, Mississauga, Burlington, St. Catharines and Beamsville.