Toronto’s dining scene is coveted, but sometimes the best way to refresh your palate is to exit the city altogether. And just over an hour away from Toronto in Ontario’s Niagara region, Fat Rabbit and its younger sister establishment Bar Les Incompetents are ideal places to start.
Nestled in St. Catharines at 34 Geneva St., Fat Rabbit was started in 2023 by chef and co-founder Zach Smith.
The exterior of Fat Rabbit, located at 34 Geneva St. in St. Catharines.
Irelyne Lavery/Toronto.com
Smith grew up on the coast of British Columbia before moving to Toronto in 2008. He lived in the city for just over a decade and spent four years working as chef de cuisine at Toronto’s beloved Bar Raval before relocating to Niagara in 2020.
“I really saw a lot of opportunity in this town,” Smith told Toronto.com.
‘Getting it onto the plate’
Originally, the plan for the restaurant was to open as a butcher shop. Now, as it has redefined the dining scene in St. Catharines, it runs as a whole animal butchery, with menus that follow what the local farms and seasons provide.
Operating on a zero-waste model, diners will also find a deli-counter and refrigerators packed with charcuterie, lamb chops, sausage, and tenderloin to cook your own Fat Rabbit meal at home.
“If we’re going to be buying whole animals, we need to make sure that we’re moving it, and getting it out the door, getting it onto a plate,” Smith said.
“So, the food, and the menu really reflects that being No. 1.”
And only a few years in, Fat Rabbit is already Michelin-recommended and listed in the top 50 of the 2026 Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list.
On the menu diners will find the Caesar schnitzel, made with pork loin, Caesar dressing, olives, Cantabrian anchovies, and Parmigiano Reggiano for $50. Or there’s the beef tartare tartine, made with pea butter, for $30.
Craving a burger? Fat Rabbit’s has caramelized onion, gruyere, pickles, and dijonnaise. It costs $26.
For something smaller, there’s charcuterie, or the $24 broccolini fritti — tempura fried broccolini, doused in taleggio cream sauce, with bagna cauda, honey, and lemon.
And for dessert, the indulgent sticky toffee pudding is on the menu, if you plan to save some room for it.
Dishes at Fat Rabbit, including the burger and Caesar schnitzel.
Irelyne Lavery/Toronto.com
“We make everything in house and there’s tons of labour involved in that. When we’re trying to come up with new dishes or weekend features, it’s really just taking a look at the butchery and seeing what we have to move,” Smith said.
“It’s basically like two avenues, what did our farmers bring us today and what cuts of meat do we have lots of in the butchery?”
And according to Smith, operating the restaurant this way has made him a better chef.
Fat Rabbit: ‘Growing up’
Earlier this year, Smith returned to Bar Raval as executive chef and co-owner, although he remains based in Niagara with his hands full on his St. Catharines projects.
On May 22, Fat Rabbit will expand its dining room to accommodate more guests at the restaurant.
Inside Fat Rabbit’s dining room expansion, opening May 22.
Irelyne Lavery/Toronto.com
Currently home to 30 seats, the restaurant will soon grow to hold 90. And the expansion will also include a private dining room for groups of 10 to 20 guests.
“It represents growth, like us growing up,” said Smith.
Bar Les Incompetents
Chef Zach Smith and his team working in the kitchen behind the raw bar at Bar Les Incompetents.
Irelyne Lavery/Toronto.com
And while Smith no longer works the line at Fat Rabbit, you’ll find him in the kitchen at Bar Les Incompetents, a “seafaring counterpart” to the Geneva Street restaurant built around seafood, cocktails, and nostalgia.
“Every town needs a good seafood restaurant,” Smith said, reciting childhood memories of grabbing crab straight out of the ocean with his father back in B.C.
“Seafood is like a celebration.”
Located at 386 St. Paul St. inside a historic theatre building only a two-minute walk from Fat Rabbit, Les Incompetents opened at the end of 2025.
Its tongue and cheek name comes from a scene in “Home Alone” and you’ll even find the movie’s poster plastered in the restaurant, alongside other subtle nods to the film.
Subtle nods to “Home Alone” at Bar Les Incompetents include the tap handles.
Irelyne Lavery/Toronto.com
“We really just wanted to play into what everybody really loves and that’s nostalgia,” Smith added.
The menu features $26 Peruvian scallops with sweetbreads and sauce meunière or make your selection directly from the raw bar.
Arrive early to grab the off-menu crab sandwich special, a delicacy that is prepared in limited quantities and consistently sells out during every service.
The sandwich is made by deep frying an entire softshell crab and stuffing it onto a sesame brioche bun with shredded cabbage and a tartar sauce that’s loaded with caviar.
The crab sandwich at Bar Les Incompetents.
Irelyne Lavery/Toronto.com
And for something alcoholic, the $17 Americano Holiday is made with Dolin Genepy, Cocchi Americano, sparkling wine, and grapefruit.
The future for Chef Smith
With a number of accolades already under his belt, Smith isn’t just focused on the immediate future of Les Incompetents and Fat Rabbit — he’s building a legacy intended to last for decades.
“I want this place to be around in 20 years,” he said.
“I want to be nationally known as one of those iconic places that have been around forever.”