Off a quiet rural road in Grey County, two co-founders have turned a century-old farmhouse into one of Ontario's most unique Michelin-recommended dining destinations. Featuring a 10-course tasting menu for dinner, as well as a 6-course menu for lunch in the garden on Saturdays, their dishes are dictated entirely by the weekly harvest. Down Home pairs hyper-seasonal food with effortless hospitality.
Down Home: What's The Hype?
Driving toward Grey County, I relax as the highways give way to rolling hills and cell service drops.
This rural retreat is where you'll find Down Home, a century-old farmhouse restaurant run by co-founders Hannah Harradine Gray and Joel Gray. The 16-seat space is literally their home, so spending a day here feels like visiting out-of-town family. With no traffic buzzing, guests sit within arm's reach of the crops, chickens cluck nearby and you can constantly smell the woodsmoke.
The kitchen, just steps away, is in full hustle mode, but between the heavy heat and the quiet of the farm, our table feels completely disconnected from the clock. Nobody is in a rush for the afternoon to end.
Down Home: The Menu
The 10-course tasting menu is dictated by what grows a few metres away, with a focus on foraging and sustainability.
Summer days begin with a garden tour, but the approach shifts like the seasons as the kitchen leans into deep preservation and open-fire cooking. Because the harvest changes weekly based on the weather, guests are encouraged to just lean into the surprise. Every pairing and sip is described beautifully and layered with education. I even try things growing in my own backyard, with no idea that they were edible.
Harradine Gray handles the drinks, pairing courses with a rotating lineup of Ontario wines, ciders and garden cocktails that celebrate Canadian producers.
Down Home: The Team
Down Home was named in honour of Gray's grandmother's house in Nova Scotia, a nod to the hospitality that's earned them a Michelin Guide recommendation and a spot on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list for 2026.
The duo started with Sumac & Salt pop-ups in 2019 before opening Down Home in 2022, and are now working toward a small farm shop on-site. The care the owners and their talented team have for their community is apparent in every detail, leaving me with a sudden urge to explore the county further.
It's a striking reminder of how vibrant local food tastes when a kitchen is genuinely connected to the people growing it.
