The diversity of restaurants in Toronto is one of the first things anyone talks about when touting the city's best attributes, and we are inclined to agree.

In 2014, restaurants seemed to veer away from trends that have dominated the scene over the past little while. And though we still love our tacos, it's great to see and try meals that appear to really follow the chef and owners' passions, ranging from Jamaican-Asian fusion to Jewish comfort food to Greek food sans souvlaki to very high-end sushi. In short, it was a compilation of the medley of cultures that make up Toronto.

Of course, the year wasn't without controversy, such as it exists in the food world. Writers are now compelled to note restaurants' "complimentary bread program," because so many spots now charge for pre-meal grains, while food trucks remain embattled in legal red tape and generally confined to special events.

All in all, it was a great year for dining out in Toronto, one that we'd like to celebrate with a "best of" list.

In order to create the list, we took a look at various ratings of restaurants across the city, including Chris Nuttall-Smith's top ten list in the Globe and Mail, Joanne Kates' annual list (which, admittedly came out in June) and BlogTO, as well as the user ratings and reviews on Yelp, Urbanspoon and Chowhound. As well, we took into consideration our own editors' opinions, because frankly, we really like to eat around here.

We then did cross-comparisons based on our findings, and came up with a list of the best of the best. We hope you agree, or at least, are intrigued to try them out. And hey, if you don't, feel free to let us know!

Check out the 22 best new restaurants in Toronto for 2014: