1 day Ago
TORONTO, May 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- louf restaurant near Casa Loma made history by becoming the first Palestinian restaurant on Toronto Life’s 43 rd annual Best New Restaurants for 2025, ranking 7 th on their prestigious list, released today. "This is a watershed moment for culinary diversity and Palestinian representation in Toronto,” co-owner Nicole Mankinen said. “Palestinian cuisine is now on the culinary map in Toronto, and I’m thrilled that Chef Fadi's menu at louf is the landmark.
” Internationally-renowned and Bethlehem-based author, hotelier and restauranteur Chef Fadi Kattan teamed up with Toronto-based entrepreneur Nicole Mankinen to open louf last November after visiting Toronto and realizing that there were no Palestinian casual fine dining restaurants. “I was shocked,” Kattan said, “Toronto is a leading destination for world-class dining and not one casual fine dining restaurant claimed to be Palestinian. I had to change that.
Toronto deserves to embrace our cuisine, which is at the heart of Palestinian culture and hospitality.” Joining the city’s most luminous chefs and restaurants at Toronto Life’s 1,200+ capacity event on Monday, louf offered Kattan’s reinterpretation on the classic khubz falastini bil zaatar w labneh , which features a house-made Palestinian zaatar bread, artisanal local labaneh, Ontario-grown blood sorrel, grape molasses reduction and sumac from Palestine. The dish places key Palestinian flavours among Toronto’s highest levels of culinary artistry.
Rich with storytelling, louf’s menu showcases ingredients imported from Palestine but most are locally sourced - which also recently earned louf its Culinary Tourism Alliance Feast On certification. “I cannot champion farmers in Jenin and Beit Jala who supply our olive oil and not also support farmers and artisans in Ontario. It’s at the heart of our ethos,” Kattan said.
Despite ongoing violence in the region, louf imports include Palestinian olive oil, zaatar, maftoul, sumac, and Dead Sea salt from one of the last family-owned production businesses on the sea. “I’m thankful to our team for making it possible for us to become the first casual fine dining restaurant in downtown Toronto to be proud of our Palestinian identity,” Kattan said. “I am also proud that louf’s presence symbolizes the truth of Palestinian hospitality, which is a proud hospitality, welcoming everyone.
” For further details, please reach our PR team at [email protected] or call Jack Dodson at +1-207-504-6269. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.
globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/398293ae-fbdd-4a44-a9d2-56e4775a24d8.
