Best New Restaurant: 2003 saw some stiff competition for the title, with lots of new restaurants opening for business, but the winner is Brassaii, 461 King St. W. (tel. 416/598-4730), a stylish bistro with excellent food, top-notch service, and wallet-friendly prices.

Best for a Business Lunch: A sure bet is Canoe Restaurant & Bar, in the Toronto Dominion Tower, 66 Wellington St. W. (tel. 416/364-0054), a see-and-be-seen spot for local and visiting power brokers.

Best for a Celebration: The atmosphere at Blowfish Restaurant & Sake Bar, 668 King St. W. (tel. 416/860-0606), is lively every night. The mix of the glamorous dining room, fine sushi, and a cool crowd gives the restaurant its edge.

Best for a Romantic Dinner: I'm the first to admit that I'm biased, but the Rosewater Supper Club, 19 Toronto St. (tel. 416/214-5888), is my idea of perfect romance (this restaurant was where my husband proposed to me). Relax and let the pampering begin.

Best Decor: Monsoon, 100 Simcoe St. (tel. 416/979-7172), has an award-winning interior design by Toronto firm Yabu Pushelberg. The brown-on-black setting steals attention from the impressive kitchen. Upstart Rain, 19 Mercer St. (tel. 416/599-7246), is easy on the eye, but good luck getting in -- even pop diva Nelly Furtado couldn't do it.

Best View: Forget the obvious choice (360 Revolving Restaurant, in the CN Tower, 301 Front St. W.). Instead, dine at Scaramouche, 1 Benvenuto Place (tel. 416/961-8011), which has a far more elegant perspective. Its floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the downtown skyline.

Best Wine List: The international selection Centro, 2472 Yonge St. (tel. 416/483-2211), is hard to beat. The basement is a wine bar with Italian, Californian, and Australian vintages by the glass; upstairs, the dining room boasts more than 600 bottles from around the world. Prices range from C$32 (US$22) into four figures.

Best Bistro: Bistros often do well with comfort foods, but Biff's, 4 Front St. E. (tel. 416/860-0086), serves up modern takes on classic dishes; its setting goes beyond comfortable to luxury.

Best Italian: Il Posto Nuovo, 148 Yorkville Ave. (tel. 416/968-0469), serves fine modern Italian cuisine in elegant digs -- and the efficient, knowledgeable wait staff makes everyone feel at home.

Best Portuguese: Standing alone on Italian-dominated College Street, Chiado, 484 College St. (tel. 416/538-1910), serves modern Portuguese cuisine. The seafood is flown in daily.

Best Greek: The cooking at Pan on the Danforth, 516 Danforth Ave. (tel. 416/466-8158), will convince you that Pan was really the god of food. This is Greek cuisine updated with panache. Watch out for the midtown restaurant Gus (1033 Bay St.; tel. 416/923-8159) as a challenger.

Best Out-of-Towner: Talk about catching on like wildfire -- the new restaurant Wildfire, at Taboo Resort up in the Muskoka region (tel. 705/687-2233), is a work of art. Give yourself over to the genius chef by having one of the four-, five-, or 11-course tasting menus.

Best People-Watching: Across from the Sutton Place Hotel is Bistro 990, 990 Bay St. (tel. 416/921-9990), where everyone in Toronto but me has made a celebrity sighting. (I'm too busy enjoying the delicious food.)

Best Value: Once again, first prize to Brassaii, 461 King St. W. (tel. 416/598-4730), a stylish new bistro that's got it all. An honorable mention goes to Messis, 97 Harbord St. (tel. 416/920-2186), which has been a training ground for some of the best chefs in Toronto.

Best for Kids: Millie's Bistro, 1980 Avenue Rd. (tel. 416/481-1247), is a family favorite with sunny dining rooms and a special children's menu. A more casual choice would be the deli-style Shopsy's (33 Yonge St.; tel. 416/365-3333).

Best Steak House: Barberian's, 7 Elm St. (tel. 416/597-0335), has boosted the level of protein in Torontonians' diets since 1959. It also serves great martinis and desserts, but what everyone comes here for is the meat.

Best Pizza: A cubbyhole-size eatery in midtown, Serra, 378 Bloor St. W. (tel. 416/922-6999), makes thin-crust pizzas laden with gourmet ingredients.

Best Sushi: Hiro Sushi, 171 King St. E. (tel. 416/304-0550). Chef Hiro Yoshida offers up classically prepared sushi as well as a few unique specialties. But there is competition from Blowfish Restaurant & Sake Bar, 668 King St. W. (tel. 416/860-0606).

Best Afternoon Tea: A very tough call. Afternoon tea in the lobby lounge at the Le Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel, 37 King St. E. (tel. 416/863-3131), has been called the most authentic English tea, and it is divine. But I am partial to the phenomenal lavender-and-rose-infused Rooibos Provence tea that you'll find at Annona at the Park Hyatt, 4 Avenue Rd. (tel. 416/924-5471).

Best Alfresco Dining: The lovely patio at Biff's, 4 Front St. E. (tel. 416/860-0086), is just about perfect. Set well back from the street, it affords terrific people-watching possibilities.

Best If You Have Only One Meal in Toronto and Price Is No Object: While I hate to go along with the crowd, the common wisdom is on the money with North 44, 2537 Yonge St. (tel. 416/487-4897). Great food, great staff, great setting.

Best If You Have Only One Meal in Toronto and Price Is an Object: Look no further than Brassaii, 461 King St. W. (tel. 416/598-4730). For all of the reasons listed above in "Best New Restaurant."

Best Chinese: Lai Wah Heen, at the Metropolitan Hotel, 110 Chestnut St. (tel. 416/977-9899), serves deluxe Cantonese and Szechwan specialties, including a variety of shark's fin soups and abalone dishes. It features several good-value prix-fixe specials at lunch and dinner.

Best Brunch: Who needs bacon and eggs when you can have torta rustica with layers of ricotta, mozzarella, leeks, peas, and smoked trout? This and other glamorous offerings are available at Agora, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W. (tel. 416/977-0414).

Best Desserts: Dufflet Rosenberg bakes up a storm at Dufflet Pastries, 787 Queen St. W. (tel. 416/504-2870). You'll find her name on the dessert list at some of the city's top restaurants.