Antheia is Ottawa's pick on Air Canada's Best New shortlist

Every September, Air Canada's Best New Restaurants list sends a small shockwave through the country's dining rooms. This year's 30 finalists were announced on September 17, and Ottawa has exactly one name on it: Antheia, chef-owner Briana Kim's restaurant on Somerset Street West.

For a city that often gets overlooked in national food conversations, one spot among thirty is worth celebrating.

How the list gets made

The finalists aren't chosen by public vote. An independent panel of food experts from across the country picks them, working with the restaurant platform DINR. Only restaurants that opened recently are eligible, which is what makes the list a snapshot of where Canadian dining is heading rather than a hall of fame.

This year is also a milestone: the award turns 25. To mark it, Air Canada is launching a searchable guide to every finalist since the first list in 2002, a new "Icons" honour for the chefs who shaped the program, and a dinner series pairing past alumni. It's also giving $25,000 to La Tablée des Chefs for its youth cooking program.

Why Antheia

Antheia is not an obvious fit for a list that usually rewards big personalities and buzzy rooms. It's small and quiet, and it serves a nine-course tasting menu built almost entirely around fermentation: preserves, pastes, broths and ferments that give each dish a remarkable depth of flavour.

That approach has already earned attention. Antheia landed at No. 76 on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list this year, one of the list's new entries. Kim herself is a Canadian Culinary Championship winner.

What happens next

The 30 finalists will be cut to a Top 10, revealed at an event in downtown Toronto on November 16. Whether or not Antheia makes the final ten, the shortlist alone tends to put a restaurant on the radar of diners from outside the city.

If you've been meaning to book, this is a good moment. A small room with a set tasting menu doesn't have many seats to go around.