We’re Laila & Adrian, a food and travel focused couple based in Toronto, Canada.

OUR STORY

It all started in August 2021 when Adrian took me on my first Michelin restaurant journey to Saison and Single Thread in California for our Anniversary.

While Adrian’s fine dining experience has spanned over twenty years, for me it was a steep but exhilarating learning curve, eating at 83 Michelin stars and 48 restaurants over the last two years.

While I ran a commercial video company in Toronto as a producer, I never anticipated transitioning to videography, but this quickly became our new passion, through a slow and painful process of learning in the field how to actually make quality videos in real time with no staff, minimal production and budget…we’ve left our early videos up for a good laugh…

CHallenges we faced

Navigating the culinary world in search of exceptional dining experiences has presented us with several challenges, prompting the need for a reevaluation of existing restaurant review rankings.

Traditionally, we have leaned on reputable rankings to guide our decisions on where to invest our time and money, only to encounter inconsistency in our personal experiences. Some of the most celebrated establishments have, unfortunately, fallen short, leading to a sense of unmet expectations.

The lack of clarity in how these rankings are determined raises concerns about potential influences such as politics, bias, and commercial funding within the industry. We've found that the absence of clear and objective breakdowns hinders our ability to comprehend the equal and comparative standings of different restaurants, fostering biased opinions among individuals instead of a universally embraced evaluation system.

The concise online information available, often limited to small, broad write-ups, leaves us lacking the necessary specifics and unfiltered remarks essential for making informed decisions. This becomes particularly significant when planning significant events, occasions, or journeys around these brief descriptions. We've observed that the absence of detailed insights into the dining experiences can result in investing considerable time and resources in traveling to a location, only to find that the meal falls short of expectations. With more comprehensive information, we could have better planned and tailored our experiences to ensure they align with our expectations and aspirations for important occasions and significant journeys.

These challenges underscore the necessity for a more transparent, comprehensive, and dynamic restaurant ranking system that addresses these issues head-on.

OUR GOAL

We’ve decided to undertake the ambitious task of creating our own personal universal ranking system. Our goal is to overcome the limitations identified by developing a global, fluid, and fast-ranking system that captures the essence of dining experiences comprehensively.

Unlike conventional lists, our approach is cinematic and journalistic, aiming to provide an immersive portrayal of each culinary adventure, to make you feel like you’re there! Embracing transparency, we are committed to sharing both the positive and negative facets of each experience—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the awesome.

Our mission will be to extend beyond mere rankings; we aspire to showcase and share highly exciting and innovative food-based experiences. By delving into the stories of chefs, we seek to foster a genuine connection with their passion, offering a deeper understanding of the culinary world.

Our comprehensive and detailed ranking system breaks down evaluations into specific categories, allowing for a nuanced understanding of each facet of the dining experience. Through this, we aim to redefine the standards of restaurant evaluations, providing a valuable resource for those seeking unparalleled culinary adventures.

More than just a numerical evaluation, we aim to be a companion on your journey into the world of fine dining! Come join the S3 Family, we’re so excited to get to know each and every one of you :)