The Pine

Verdict: Worth the Drive, Worth the Wait

Getting a table at The Pine requires planning. With only 24 seats, a four-night-a-week dinner schedule, and a Michelin star earned in 2024, this is one of Ontario's hardest reservations outside Toronto. Book four to six weeks out as a minimum; weekend evenings and the six-seat chef's counter fill faster. The effort is justified: The Pine delivers a 14- to 18-course contemporary Chinese tasting menu in a converted garage in Creemore that holds its own against anything in the province at the $$$$ price point.

The Restaurant

Creemore is a small town in Simcoe County, north of Toronto, better known for its brewery than for fine dining. The Pine changes that calculus. Chef Jeremy Austin and his wife Cassie relocated here from Collingwood's main street after three and a half years, and the move gave them space to build something more ambitious: a bright, minimalist room that functions as a deliberate blank canvas for food that draws on Austin's years cooking in Italy, Hong Kong, and mainland China.

The physical setup matters to your decision. Twenty-four seats is a small room by any standard. Six of those are at the chef's counter, where you get direct sightlines to two 200,000-BTU commercial woks. Those woks are not decoration. Wok hei, the smoky, high-heat technique central to serious Chinese cooking, is technically difficult to achieve at restaurant scale and nearly impossible outside a purpose-built kitchen. The Pine is built around it. If you care about technique, the counter is worth requesting specifically.

The menu runs 14 to 18 courses and changes with some regularity. Based on documented dishes, the range moves between refined Chinese technique and genuinely surprising combinations: steamed egg custard with bone marrow, fermented cabbage, chili sofrito, and whey emulsion; flat-iron beef tartare with pickled celery, doubanjiang celery-leaf emulsion, and green radish; a sourdough roasted in kabayaki and browned butter served with foie gras ice cream and sour prune jam. That last dish, called The French Concession, is a direct reference to the French neighbourhood in Shanghai and is a fair signal of how Austin thinks: specific, referential, and willing to be playful without losing rigor. A tea egg opens the meal. Sichuan-style dried fried string beans arrive as a cold salad. The carrot jiaozi has been noted by reviewers as a highlight.

Critically for a tasting menu at this price tier, the ingredients are local. Ontario produce anchors a menu built on Chinese technique, which is a combination rare enough to position The Pine as genuinely distinct in the Canadian fine dining conversation. For context, Kissa Tanto in Vancouver works a similar cross-cultural register with Italian-Japanese, and Tanière³ in Quebec City pushes local ingredients through European technique with comparable ambition. The Pine belongs in that conversation. Within Ontario, Eigensinn Farm in Singhampton is the most obvious geographic peer for the destination-dining model, and it's worth knowing both exist in the same region if you're planning a trip north of Toronto.

The wine and drinks program is focused on Ontario with international options now included. It is concise rather than extensive, which at this format is a reasonable choice: the food is the event.

Why Creemore

The Pine is the reason to go to Creemore for dinner. The town is not a dining destination in the way that Niagara-on-the-Lake or Prince Edward County are developing into, but The Pine gives it a anchor that punches well above the local context. If you're planning a weekend in the area, check our full Creemore restaurants guide, our full Creemore hotels guide, and our full Creemore bars guide to build the trip around the reservation rather than treating The Pine as an afterthought. Our full Creemore wineries guide and our full Creemore experiences guide can fill out the weekend if you're driving up from Toronto.

For Chinese fine dining comparisons beyond Ontario, Restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin and Mister Jiu's in San Francisco work the same territory of Chinese technique with strong local and personal identity. Chef Tony Seafood Restaurant in Richmond is worth knowing if you want the canonical Cantonese end of the Canadian Chinese dining spectrum for comparison.

Special Occasion Suitability

The Pine is structured for special occasions by default. A multi-course tasting menu at $$$$ pricing, 24 seats, low ambient noise, and a chef's counter with direct kitchen engagement: this is the format. It works for anniversaries, milestone birthdays, or any dinner where the meal is the occasion. It is not a restaurant for a quick business dinner or a large group. The 24-seat capacity effectively rules out parties larger than six or eight, and the tasting menu format requires commitment to the full experience. If you need a private room or a larger table, this is not your venue.

Among Toronto's $$$$ tasting menu peers, Alo and Jérôme Ferrer - Europea in Montreal offer comparable occasion-dining formats with more seats and a more established booking infrastructure. The Pine trades scale for specificity. That trade is worth it if you can get a table.

Practical Details

The Pine opens Wednesday through Friday evenings (6:30 PM to 10 PM), with a Saturday lunch service (1 PM to 4 PM) and a Saturday dinner service (6:30 PM to 10 PM). Sunday and Monday are closed. The $$$$ price range reflects a full tasting menu format; this is not a venue where you can moderate spend by ordering selectively. Dress expectations are not formally stated, but the Michelin star and price point suggest smart casual at minimum. The address is 7535 County Rd 9, Creemore, a converted garage on the main road into town. Driving is the practical option from Toronto; the town is in Simcoe County north of the city. Google rating: 4.9 from 170 reviews.

Quick reference: Wed-Sat dinner from 6:30 PM, Sat lunch 1 PM; 24 seats; Michelin 1 Star (2024); book 4-6 weeks minimum; $$$$.

How It Compares