Gold Winner Mezza Lebanese Kitchen

Silver Winner Tako Sushi & Ramen

Bronze Winner 9 + Nine Chinese Cuisine

When one door closes, many more open. That’s kind of how it’s working for Mezza Lebanese Kitchen this year. The recent closure of the more formal Quinpool location (your Best Middle Eastern / Persian pick) made room for the brand to continue to grow its fast-casual locations, which seem to be popping up just about everywhere. Including Clayton Park. “It’s been open for under a year, its a shocker!” says Mezza’s Ryan Oxner of the Best Clayton Park Restaurant win. “We were even pleasantly surprised about how well business was doing there. It’s far surpassed our expectations.” Finally giving the family-centric area its shawarma fix, the Lacewood Drive location offers a quick and healthy option for both take-away and eat-in, which Oxner says is a nice contrast to some of the other restaurants nearby.