Restaurant in Toronto, Canada
Hotel dining that earns independent credibility.
Joni Restaurant at the Park Hyatt Toronto is a Modern British bistronomy concept with genuine credentials: ranked #148 on Opinionated About Dining's 2024 list and driven by Canadian regional sourcing that changes with the season. Book for an early dinner reservation or weekend afternoon tea; the Living Room next door handles casual drop-ins without a full booking.
If you have been to Joni before, the question is not whether to return but when. Chef Merlin Labron-Johnson's kitchen at the Park Hyatt Toronto runs on what the restaurant calls a "micro" seasonal approach, meaning the menu shifts with genuine frequency rather than the token quarterly swap most hotel restaurants manage. A second visit in a different season is a materially different meal. A first visit is worth booking on its own terms: Joni holds a ranking of #148 on the Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants list (2024) and entered the same list at #170 in 2025, with a Highly Recommended recognition for Leading New Restaurants in Europe in 2023. For a hotel restaurant in Toronto, that is a serious credential set.
The room at 4 Avenue Road is designed to be looked at as much as eaten in. The ellipse-shaped dining room, the curated ceramics from the Gardiner Museum, and the handwoven by Indigenous artist Nadia Myre above the fireplace give the space a considered cultural weight that most hotel dining rooms skip entirely. The atmosphere runs warm rather than formal: this is a bistronomy concept, meaning the mood is relaxed but the cooking is not. Noise levels are conversational at lunch and during early dinner sittings; the room fills and gets livelier as the evening progresses, so if you want to talk across the table without effort, an early reservation is the right call.
The kitchen sources from a tight roster of Canadian producers — B.C. spot prawns, Ontario trout, Quebec foie gras , and rotates based on what those producers are actually delivering. That means spring and summer visits align with lighter, seafood-forward cooking, while autumn and winter lean into richer preparations. The specific dishes change, but the playful register stays consistent: a Caesar salad reworked with confit pork belly, a sourdough butter pasta finished with miso, beeswax-poached lobster. These are menu items confirmed from the venue's own record; the format and sensibility they represent is what you are booking.
Weekend afternoon tea is a separate reason to visit, served in tasting-menu style with courses arriving one at a time. You can select a preference for sweet, savoury, or both. It features tea-infused cocktails and a Park Hyatt house blend developed with local purveyor Sloane Tea. If you are visiting Toronto over a major holiday , New Year's or Easter specifically , the large-scale family brunch experiences are worth planning around.
For food and wine enthusiasts interested in how Canadian regional sourcing compares across the country, Joni sits in an interesting conversation with AnnaLena in Vancouver, which pursues a similar producer-driven philosophy on the West Coast, and Tanière³ in Quebec City, which takes a more immersive tasting-menu approach to Canadian terroir. Joni is the most accessible of the three in format and commitment level.
Labron-Johnson trained in and around the Modern British tradition before arriving in Toronto. For context on where that culinary lineage sits at its highest level, CORE by Clare Smyth in London and Moor Hall in Aughton represent the leading of that category in the UK. Joni is not trying to replicate that register in Toronto; the bistronomy framing deliberately softens the formality. But the technical foundation shows in the details.
If you are building a broader trip, other Canadian restaurants worth knowing: Jérôme Ferrer - Europea in Montreal for contemporary French technique, Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Lincoln for wine-country dining in Ontario, and The Pine in Creemore for a more rural Ontario experience. Narval in Rimouski is worth noting for serious food travellers covering eastern Canada.
Book Joni if you want a hotel restaurant that earns its place on independently ranked lists rather than coasting on the hotel's name. The seasonal sourcing commitment gives you a genuine reason to return, and the bistronomy format means you are not locked into a long tasting menu. For Toronto's fine dining tier, this is one of the easier yes decisions on the table.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joni Restaurant | Modern British | When Park Hyatt Toronto reopened in September 2021 after an extensive revitalization, it unveiled the new Joni Restaurant. Offering a novel “bistronomy” concept, Joni takes casual bistro dining and elevates it with techniques of modern gastronomy.; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #170 (2025); When Park Hyatt Toronto reopened in September 2021 after an extensive revitalization, it unveiled the new Joni Restaurant. Offering a novel “bistronomy” concept, Joni takes casual bistro dining and elevates it with ... **Our Inspector's Highlights All diners will find something on the bistro-French-international menu to pique their interest. The menu includes options for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free lifestyles.Be sure to take in the design features of the Toronto restaurant: the curved, ellipse-shaped dining room; the curated art displays from local Gardiner Museum; an intricately handmade woven tapestry by Indigenous contemporary visual artist Nadia Myre, hanging over the fireplace; and a stunning contemporary staircase.If you’re short on time, the Living Room (adjacent to Joni) offers casual hotel-lobby-esque seating for on-the-go guests looking to stop for a quick coffee, cocktail or glass of wine with a quick bite.For drinks, cocktails are classic with a cheeky twist, and there is a comprehensive, perfectly organized wine list.If you’re staying over the holidays like New Year’s or Easter, be sure to enjoy one of the specially curated, large-scale family holiday brunch experiences at Joni.** **Things to Know:** The Food Fun takes on dishes like the Caesar salad with confit pork belly, the Southern fried Pheasant, the sourdough bread and butter pasta with miso, or beeswax poached lobster are just an example of the kitchen’s playful side.Ingredients focus on a “micro” seasonal approach with many local purveyors, featuring B.C. spot prawns, Ontario trout or Quebec foie gras.Afternoon tea is served on weekends. It’s a luxury tea experience in a tasting menu style, where courses are delivered one at a time and you can select a preference of sweet, savory or both.The drinks menu also features zero-proof, non-alcoholic cocktails as well as tea-infused libations during afternoon tea and its very own signature Park Hyatt #4 blend by local tea purveyor Sloane Tea. **Treatments:** Amenities Bar Breakfast Brunch Business casual Dinner Gluten-free options Kid friendly Lunch Reservations recommended Valet parking Vegetarian options **Amenities:** 4 Avenue Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 2E8; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #148 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top New Restaurants in Europe Highly Recommended (2023) | Easy | — | |
| Alo | Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Sushi Masaki Saito | Sushi, Japanese | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Aburi Hana | Kaiseki, Japanese | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Don Alfonso 1890 | Contemporary Italian, Italian | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Edulis | Canadian, Mediterranean Cuisine | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Joni Restaurant and alternatives.
Joni sits inside the Park Hyatt Toronto at 4 Avenue Road and runs a bistro-French format with modern gastronomy technique — what the kitchen calls 'bistronomy.' Chef Merlin Labron-Johnson sources tightly from Canadian producers, so the menu shifts with what's in season. The room is worth arriving early to take in: an ellipse-shaped dining room with ceramics from the Gardiner Museum and a handwoven piece by Indigenous artist Nadia Myre above the fireplace. It ranked #148 on Opinionated About Dining in 2024, which signals this is a serious kitchen, not just a hotel convenience.
Book at least one to two weeks out for standard dinner service; holiday brunch events around New Year's and Easter fill significantly faster given their curated, large-format nature. Weekend afternoon tea also warrants advance booking given the tasting-menu style format and limited seatings. If your dates are fixed, earlier is safer — OAD recognition draws destination diners alongside hotel guests.
The venue is set up for groups, with the main ellipse dining room and an adjacent Living Room space for lighter, more casual gatherings. For larger parties wanting a sit-down meal, the main dining room is the better fit; the Living Room suits smaller groups stopping for cocktails or a quick bite. Holiday brunch events are explicitly designed as large-scale family experiences, making those dates well-suited to bigger groups.
Yes — the room and the format both carry the occasion. The weekend afternoon tea runs as a tasting-menu-style experience with courses delivered individually, which works well for celebratory lunches. For evening occasions, the bistro-French menu with Canadian sourcing (B.C. spot prawns, Quebec foie gras, Ontario trout) gives the meal enough substance to justify the setting. An OAD Top 150 ranking in 2024 means you are not just paying for the hotel address.
Alo is the right comparison if you want a more dedicated tasting-menu format at the top of the Toronto market. Edulis is the better call for a smaller, more intimate room with serious seasonal cooking at a quieter register. Sushi Masaki Saito and Aburi Hana serve a different format entirely, so the choice there comes down to whether omakase is what you are after. Joni sits in a practical middle ground: full bistro menu, dietary options across vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free, and a hotel setting that suits out-of-town visitors.
The venue data lists 'business casual' as an amenity descriptor, so smart, put-together clothes are appropriate without requiring formal wear. Given the Park Hyatt setting and OAD ranking, underdressing will feel out of place. Think polished casual for lunch or afternoon tea, and step it up slightly for dinner.
Yes — vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are all listed as part of the menu format, and the kitchen's seasonal approach means these are integrated into the main menu rather than treated as afterthoughts. The bistro-French menu is described as offering something for all diners, so groups with mixed dietary needs are a reasonable fit here.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
