Top 10 Restaurant Openings of 2015 in Mississauga

2015 was an impressive year in Mississauga’s food scene with over 30 new restaurants making Mississauga their home!

Here are the 10 most popular Mississauga restaurants openings in 2015 (based on the number of page views within the first two weeks of the new opening article being published):

10 – Jay’s Sandwiches of The World

Jay’s Sandwiches of The World is located in a plaza on Bloor St. off of Cawthra Rd. in what once was a Portugese take-out spot called Beek Street. Unique for: Aguiar’s interpretation of world flavours (hence the name Jay’s Sandwiches of The World) from Korea to India to Italy and Cuba. The ingredients include everything from kimchi, fig spread, jerk sauce, fried plantain, coco bun, tomato sauce and peameal bacon. All of Aguiar’s sandwiches are made fresh-to-order on fresh bread (never on day-old bread, which if any, are used to make bread crumbs). Jay butchers and prepares all of the meat for the sandwiches with his home-made marinades and spices. He also makes his own sauces including his signature hot sauce – a spicy and sweet blend which is paired with his Jerk Chicken Sandwich.

9 – Kravingz

Lissa Genobaga and Damian Kubarski are a husband and wife team who are self-proclaimed foodies and steadfast local supporters who love their community in Clarkson – an undiscovered area of the city which has a number of gems including theirs – a new brunch spot called Kravingz. Unique for: Made-from-scratch menu which supports local suppliers. They source a number of the ingredients for their dishes from local bakeries and suppliers such as Manila Bakery’s specialty – a Filipino bread roll known as pandesal, produce from A.J. Lanzarotta, and other ingredients from Truscott Bakery and Sheridan Meats. Signature Dish: The Flip Side (house made longanisa which is a Filipino sausage served with crunchy garlic rice and a fried egg), The Polski Benedict (potato placki is a Polish potato pancake served with smoked salmon or peameal bacon, poached eggs and house made hollandaise), Chicken N’ Waffles (crispy fried chicken served with bacon and jalapeno waffles, bacon dressing and coleslaw) and The Islander (jerk corned beef hash, corn and cheddar grits and poached eggs) are so far the most popular.

8 – Stir Kitchen and Beverage Co.

Stir Kitchen & Beverage Co. is a new restaurant located in a plaza along Hurontario St. just north of highway 403. The spacious and open concept venue has exposed ceilings adorned with a myriad of chandeliers and ceiling art and is enveloped in warm colours making the space inviting. The large floor to ceiling windows of this corner unit allows a flood of natural sunlight into the space for the daytime crowd and in the evenings, the space is transformed with soft lighting and various wall mount fireplaces. The menu includes a number of starters including daily house-mademozzarella, chef’s charcuterie (mixture of daily cured meats, bocconcini, house-made preserves and grilled naan bread), beer and kale dip (served with naan, cassava, beet chips and plantain chips), poutine(cheese curds, beer and butter braised mushrooms, applewood bacon and chipotle aioli). You will also find a variety of salads, stone oven pizzas, and mains such as the Stir burger (a decadent burger made with an 8 oz patty topped with a truffle and mushroom duxelle, a grilled steak tip, and demi-glace on a grilled brioche bun.

7 – The Wilcox

The Wilcox Gastropub is located on the corner of Hurontario and Eglinton and is situated in the Wilcox House – one of Mississauga’s oldest Heritage Homes which features Greek and Gothic detailing and was built by Amos and Charles Wilcox in 1850. In a place that serves everything from pork sliders to poutine, Scotch egg, ceviche, cassava frites, braised short ribs, an18oz bone-in rib eye steak and confit of duck leg I’m going straight to the burger. This is one of their signature dishes here called The Wilcox Burger and it didn’t disappoint. The beef is grounded daily and the only one on this list that actually bakes their brioche buns daily. Now that’s dedication!

6 – Mongolian Hot Pot

The new Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot opened up in Mississauga on Sept 8 after Labour Day. This will be the fourth one in the GTA and the eighth one in Canada. There are also locations in the US, Japan and China. A metal pot is the centerpiece of the Little Sheep dining experience. Each hot pot is filled with a steaming broth that is decorated with an assortment of fresh ingredients such as goji berries, jujubes, black cardamom pods, ginseng and herbs. Every table has a stove top where you can control the temperature of the broth. You can sit with a group where the stove top is in the middle of the table and everyone shares one big pot, or you can go solo and have a stove top with a single smaller pot all to yourself. This is an all you can eat hot pot experience, so get ready to get stuffed. Unique for: Mongolian hot pot right at your table. Food Menu: Without getting into every single thing on the AYCE menu, the standout items to cook in the broth were garlic chicken, quail eggs and lamb wonton.

5 – Sindhi

Sindhi is a new restaurant concept by Hemant Bhagwani, the founder and executive chef behind the popular Amaya group of restaurants. Sindhi takes you on a journey through the Indian sub-continent, highlighting colourful street food rich in textures and exotic flavours. Unique for: Bhagwani’s concept is dedicated to presenting the flavours of Indian street food vendors — flavours that take him back to his childhood. He hopes those same flavours will create the same pleasant nostalgia for other South Asian immigrants. He also hopes they’ll impress those who simply love authentic Indian cuisine.

4 – Carinderia

Carinderia is a new Filipino restaurant that specializes in authentic Filipino cuisine – a concept created by owner and local resident Dolly Flores. Carinderia is defined as an eatery that sells native home cooked meals. The restaurant is unique for serving authentic Filipino cuisine, including native sweet delicacies – sweets Flores defines as authentic Filipino desserts – with pre-Spanish and pre-Chinese influences. Everything from the sauces to the ingredients for a popular Filipino frozen treat called halo-halo are all made from scratch by her team of chefs who have worked in kitchens in Israel and California. The menu is categorized into various sections including merienda (a light meal, typically enjoyed late in the afternoon in the Philippines), iced dessert & parfait, kakanin (native sweet delicacies), smoked/grilled/BBQ, soup, fiesta (dishes typically reserved for weekends or special occasions in the Philippines), gulay (vegetables), isda (fish and seafood) and spicy dishes.

3 – Border MX

This new place has garnered a lot of attention since it opened because Mississauga doesn’t have many authentic Mexican joints. The chef is from Mexico, so she knows her stuff and makes truly authentic dishes in her Mexican kitchen. The menu offers traditional Mexican dishes, including fajitas, tamales, flautas and pork carnitas. Friday and Saturday nights are reserved for Chef Rico’s regional Mexican specials such as Tongue Tacos (self-explanatory) and Pozole (a soup made of pork or chicken broth with hominy and other garnishes). We tried he pork and fish tacos and they were both delicious, as you can see from the picture.

2 – 17 Steakhouse and Bar

17 Steakhouse and Bar is by far the most impressive new opening of 2015 (and there are only a few months left).Millions were spent redesigning the majestic 32,000 sq. ft. space filled with over the top features such as a gorgeous oversized fresh water aquarium filled with a colourful array of African cichlid fish that’s visible from both the main bar and one of the two private dining rooms. The menu includes a number of U.S., Ontario and Alberta prime cuts of beef, including the tenderloin, strip loin, prime T-bone, porterhouse and tomahawk. You will also find Japanese A5 wagyu and a reasonably priced American flat iron wagyu at $40 for 8 oz. Other options include oysters, ahi tuna, seared scallops, tempura shrimp, fish options, salads, duck confit, bison tenderloin, risotto, chicken, braised back ribs, charcuterie board, calamari and a seafood tower.

1 – Door FiftyFive

Imagine you’ve been whisked away to a Queen West bar. Since it opened just over two weeks ago, this place has been crazy. Even on weeknights, when other bars in the area are dead, this place is busting at the seams with people and with good reason. Get ready to be amazed. Every aspect of this place — including the space and menu — has been designed with the utmost thought to detail. Although the food menu is only about five per cent of entire menu (there are only 13 items), you will find interesting takes on southern classics, such as chicken and waffles, Rub Me the Right Way beef brisket, Boars Gone Wild smoked sausage, bison chipotle frank, blackened shrimp and gumbo cheddar grits and the boss platter (BBQ sampler platter). All of meat is smoked with SmokinLicious’ cherry wood and sugar maple wood chips, which “gives a nice sweetness to meat.”