A great dinner is about more than what’s on your plate. It’s about the dining experience in its entirety — and some restaurants have got it down pat, to the point they are considered la crème de la crème of fine dining establishments. It can take years for a restaurant to earn its place among the best in its city or country, let alone worldwide acclaim. But once it does, it becomes a destination for foodies everywhere. You certainly don’t need an excuse to travel the world, but these restaurants might be an incentive for you to visit places you never considered for your food tours.
It would be tough to choose for us common folk, so we relied on the expertise of those who can actually give a proper reply to the question, “Which are the best restaurants in the world?”
Dining at one of these eateries can be an unforgettable experience that will leave you wanting more. We also added pics of some of the signature dishes of every restaurant, so remember to keep your mouth closed — you wouldn’t want to drool all over your screen while reading this, right?
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Geranium (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Located in Denmark’s capital city, Geranium has been deemed by gourmet experts as the world’s best restaurant. With a panoramic view of Fælledparken gardens, Geranium invites its guests into a meatless adventure, with multiple-course tasting menus and dishes made of local seafood and vegetables from biodynamic farms scattered across Scandinavia.
Central (Lima, Peru)
Ready for the real Lima experience? Central is the flagship restaurant of husband-and-wife chefs, Virgilio Martínez Véliz and Pía León. The menu blends indigenous Peruvian ingredients and heavily focuses on sustainability, recycling, and using regional ingredients, most of these from the local vegetable garden with more than 100 plants. Pía León was voted The Best Female Chef In The World in 2021.
Asador Etxebarri (Atxondo, Spain)
Victor Arguinzoniz is the Basque king of barbecue and is also the proud owner and chef of Asador Etxebarri. You can find the restaurant in the small village of Atxondo, where the locals are used to fresh and natural flavors, the same ones you can find in Asador Etxebarri. Get ready to taste flame-grilled meat and seafood like you have never tried before!
Lido 84 (Gardone Riviera, Italy)
Italy is no stranger to fancy restaurants, but Lido 84, in the province of Brescia, has taken its cuisine one step further. Riccardo and Giancarlo Camanini are the siblings behind its success and the tasty menus — one traditional, one experimental. Add that Lido 84 is located right next to Lake Garda, and you just found the perfect place to enjoy a charming culinary experience.
A Casa Do Porco (São Paulo, Brazil)
Let’s fly to Brazil, where A Casa Do Porco will guide you through a meaty dinner. This chill and fun restaurant serves snacks and gourmet dishes with an emphasis on pork, cooked to enhance its flavor in every dish. A Casa Do Porco is committed to offering a democratic experience for everyone: the rich menu — which includes cocktails that are out of this world — is super affordable, so there’s no reason why you should miss this gem the next time you visit São Paulo.
DiverXO (Madrid, Spain)
Located in Madrid, a great city if you’re into fashion and architecture, DiverXO is the perfect way to complete your trip to Spain’s capital city. The restaurant’s design is enough to take your breath away, but wait until you try the dishes! The 12-course tasting menu will allow you to try Asian-inspired dishes with surprising flavors that perfectly mix sweet and savory.
The decor in the pic looks like the cosmetics counter in a department store. Food looks interesting.
Disfrutar (Barcelona, Spain)
The food scene in Barcelona is a unique one, and it’s no wonder the city is home to one of the top restaurants in Europe. Disfrutar (“enjoy” in Spanish) is an elegant restaurant with beautiful decor and an experimental menu. The gastronomic experience prepared by Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas, and Eduard Xatruch will take you on a journey through the rich history of the Mediterranean food heritage.
Again it looks like the food has been spilled on the floor and then served
Pujol (Mexico City, Mexico)
Located in one of the most exciting cities on the planet, with a rich cultural heritage, Pujol serves up some of the most inventive dishes you’ll ever have the pleasure of eating. The menu perfectly showcases why Mexico City is considered a culinary capital, and the elegant interior of the recently relocated restaurant contributes to creating a one-of-a-kind dinner.
Just recently Pujol's owner and chef was uncovered as a POS who keeps servers tips, psychologically abuses women employees/interns and a bunch of other OMG sh*t that I just can't list here :O
Don Julio (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Le Calandre (Rubano, Italy)
Rubano is certainly not a famous travel destination, not even among Italians, but this 3-Michelin-star restaurant is still worth a stop during your road trip around Italy. Le Calandre, part of a hotel of the same name, offers two different tasting menus which continuously change based on the ingredients available season after season.
Massimiliano Alajmo's restaurant. Alajmo is the youngest chef to ever receive three Michelin stars. The three menus are 9 main courses each, plus several amouse-bouche and surprises, or you can order up to 5 courses "a la carte", that is very unusual for high-end restaurants. That may sound odd, but at 260€ per person menus are surprisingly affordable for the kind of cuisine proposed, and usually the waiting list is not exceedingly long. The only complaint is the wine list, that is quite expensive even on the low end.
Maido (Lima, Peru)
Uliassi (Senigallia, Italy)
Probably the more "traditional" option among the Italians of this list. A longtime staple of italian haute-cuisine, Mauro Uliassi is closer to the territorial identity and tad less innovative than many others, something that may or may not suit your taste. IMHO the menu pricing (240€, with a "chef's choice" option at 210) is a bit too steep for the quality and quantity offered, and is borderline insane for the "a la carte" selection at 60€ per dish.
Quintonil (Mexico City, Mexico)
It’s no surprise that Quintonil has become one of the top restaurants in the world, considering what you can find here. The super tasty Mexican cuisine and the exceptional drinks could be more than enough reasons, but the warm hospitality leaves no doubt. The staff is knowledgeable and welcoming and completes a fantastic adventure of inventive and playful dishes.
This place has the aesthetics of a college cafeteria, and I'm not mad at it. XD
Reale (Castel di Sangro, Italy)
I'm sure the colors on the dishes pop more in these all white or bland decors but all I can think of is how much of a mess all that green would be smeared on tablecloths and walls
Alchemist (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Nobelhart & Schmutzig (Berlin, Germany)
Steirereck (Vienna, Austria)
Le Clarence (Paris, France)
Noma (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Den (Tokyo, Japan)
Elkano (Getaria, Spain)
Piazza Duomo (Alba, Italy)
SingleThread (Healdsburg, United States)
I hate restaurants with couches or lay-back chairs for 'eating seating'. You always end up uncomfortably perched on the edge of them to reach the food. And with a low table like that one in the foreground, you'll be leaning over the food as well.
Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen (Paris, France)
Restaurant Tim Raue (Berlin, Germany)
Jordnær (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Wolfgat (Paternoster, South Africa)
Cosme (New York, United States)
Boragó (Santiago, Chile)
See that mountain Napoleon I bet I could throw a football over it
Note: this post originally had 58 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
As inflation breaches the 10% mark, and people are deciding which child to sell in order to pay their fuel bill this winter, BP reads the room beautifully and dedicates a whole post to showing us food that we can't afford to eat, in places which we can't to afford to visit. Next week on BP: Where to source your next butler from. #tonedeaf
Oh...my...God! I just snorted so loudly I scared the c**p out of my coworker - THIS IS SPOT ON!!
Load More Replies...Might be i'm asking for tomato in my face here, but... :) all these are just to have fun exploring creativity and to taste it a bit, but not the type of... eat eat and enjoy being full and relaxed with glass of wine leaning on a backrest, watching sunset... Feels pretentious some of these, not vacation type mood for tourists :) I guess there are different things that different people are looking for.
Sure are a lot of entitled individuals here who DEMAND that ALL articles and topics cater to their OWN and PERSONAL interest ONLY, get a load of yourself, it does not matter if you can afford it or not, or if its for your demographics, BP is for ALL, and not just YOUR Self Entitled thoughts and Ideas. some people want to see what's out there. the best for some, poor, rich. who cares, its there and it exist. do people have to be devoid of information just because a few are too entitled to just Scroll past an article..?
Exactly. And for the people saying that they are too poor for those places.... Several of them can be in the 50-100$ range, if you want. Some serve the full menu for that price, some have limited options, or a 2-courses selection. If you happen to be nearby, they are an excellent option for a special event, even if you are not filthy rich.
Load More Replies...Sorry but I've been to a couple of star-decorated restaurants and I must say: it's mostly the opposite of a relaxed and fun meal with friends or partner. You get tiny portions of weird looking stuff, sometimes things like moss and flowers, have to watch your manners and hooray to the wine choices. And leave with a huge bill and mostly still hungry. Not worth it
Sounds like you got scammed. Every Michelin star restaurant I've been to has been, at worst, very good, and at best, absolutely amazing. Whether it's "worth it" considering the typically large bill is less certain though... Maybe that's about 50-50
Load More Replies...Judging from the comments, BP has misjudged its audience. Maybe go mid-range restaurants max next time...
Yeah, I was sort of hoping to see El Arroyo in Austin, TX on this list because it would be worth it to go just for that marquee. I don't even care if the food is sub-par. But then I got to #2 and it became clear what it was about.
Load More Replies...Not much of an eater, but enjoyed looking at these beautiful restaurants. I'd visit them just to see them in person.
I wish this post would have explained what was on the plates. The only one I recognized was the hot dog. Most of them didn't even look like food. I do enjoy seeing pretentious rich people getting scammed though.
Why do so many of these look like bowls of spit or slime covered in flowers and micro greens? I’m sorry it’s just so on appetizing and looks like some sort of practical joke to me.
That speaks volumes on how influential Ferran Adria and El Bulli were in the creation of 21th century haute cuisine, and in marking a way on how to explore and ultimately go beyond the boundaries of tradition.
Load More Replies...Some of the food looks amazing but all of them look like I might have to be on my best 'cool' behaviour which would spoil the experience
Ok, let me elaborate a bit on this. You *may* be *just a little* right in this. Some places -the more long-standing star-rated ones- require a proper attire and form. The amazing thing, though, is that more and more new restaurants and young chefs does not care for these established traditions and would require just to be "decent" to dine there. No flip flops, no tank tops, that's it. In the vast majority of the places I visited -some on this list too, check the comments- the mood is chilled and relaxed and even when you may be out of your depths (what is this tiny knife used for? How do I eat a foam? Should I eat this decorative sand? OMG!!) the personnel is extremely kind, helpful and non judgmental.
Load More Replies...A selection of places that "create" pretentious, over priced, small portioned, arstistic and unique dishes that all start to look the same as you scroll down. Dishes designed for "influencers".
After dining at any one of these fine establishments, I'd be stopping at McDonald's on the way home.
Id suggest to search the series Street Food, Asia / USA / Latin America on Netflix. They are filmed really nicely, You feel the passion or tradition of the chefs. It all seems affordable for the poor persons wallet. Who knows, maybe some places are not to far away from where people lives. :) (fine dining is nice, but streetfood is for the heart)
Although the plating is very lovely and artistic, isn’t this post more than a bit pretentious? I mean people all over the world are trying to figure out how to pay their bills, fuel their vehicles all while it seems the like ski is falling every other day. Fancy, unbelievably small portion dinners are the very last thing anyone really wants to see. We are all drowning and BP is throwing is a sachet of flower scented bricks. Thanks for that.
Okay. Imma call it and stand on this mountain. Foam. It looks so nasty on dishes. I do not want what looks like baby puke on my dish. Ew.
I went to one of these pretensious restaurants (South Africa) that serve weird foam stuff and so on. I mean it's worth going once to say you did it, but if you want FOOD, you probably want to skip these and go to the ones that actually serve food. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it is over-rated.
Interesting seeing a list of places I would never spend my time or money (if I had any) to visit. I always have in my head that the prettier food is, the less it looks like what it is, the less likely it's edible.
As inflation breaches the 10% mark, and people are deciding which child to sell in order to pay their fuel bill this winter, BP reads the room beautifully and dedicates a whole post to showing us food that we can't afford to eat, in places which we can't to afford to visit. Next week on BP: Where to source your next butler from. #tonedeaf
Oh...my...God! I just snorted so loudly I scared the c**p out of my coworker - THIS IS SPOT ON!!
Load More Replies...Might be i'm asking for tomato in my face here, but... :) all these are just to have fun exploring creativity and to taste it a bit, but not the type of... eat eat and enjoy being full and relaxed with glass of wine leaning on a backrest, watching sunset... Feels pretentious some of these, not vacation type mood for tourists :) I guess there are different things that different people are looking for.
Sure are a lot of entitled individuals here who DEMAND that ALL articles and topics cater to their OWN and PERSONAL interest ONLY, get a load of yourself, it does not matter if you can afford it or not, or if its for your demographics, BP is for ALL, and not just YOUR Self Entitled thoughts and Ideas. some people want to see what's out there. the best for some, poor, rich. who cares, its there and it exist. do people have to be devoid of information just because a few are too entitled to just Scroll past an article..?
Exactly. And for the people saying that they are too poor for those places.... Several of them can be in the 50-100$ range, if you want. Some serve the full menu for that price, some have limited options, or a 2-courses selection. If you happen to be nearby, they are an excellent option for a special event, even if you are not filthy rich.
Load More Replies...Sorry but I've been to a couple of star-decorated restaurants and I must say: it's mostly the opposite of a relaxed and fun meal with friends or partner. You get tiny portions of weird looking stuff, sometimes things like moss and flowers, have to watch your manners and hooray to the wine choices. And leave with a huge bill and mostly still hungry. Not worth it
Sounds like you got scammed. Every Michelin star restaurant I've been to has been, at worst, very good, and at best, absolutely amazing. Whether it's "worth it" considering the typically large bill is less certain though... Maybe that's about 50-50
Load More Replies...Judging from the comments, BP has misjudged its audience. Maybe go mid-range restaurants max next time...
Yeah, I was sort of hoping to see El Arroyo in Austin, TX on this list because it would be worth it to go just for that marquee. I don't even care if the food is sub-par. But then I got to #2 and it became clear what it was about.
Load More Replies...Not much of an eater, but enjoyed looking at these beautiful restaurants. I'd visit them just to see them in person.
I wish this post would have explained what was on the plates. The only one I recognized was the hot dog. Most of them didn't even look like food. I do enjoy seeing pretentious rich people getting scammed though.
Why do so many of these look like bowls of spit or slime covered in flowers and micro greens? I’m sorry it’s just so on appetizing and looks like some sort of practical joke to me.
That speaks volumes on how influential Ferran Adria and El Bulli were in the creation of 21th century haute cuisine, and in marking a way on how to explore and ultimately go beyond the boundaries of tradition.
Load More Replies...Some of the food looks amazing but all of them look like I might have to be on my best 'cool' behaviour which would spoil the experience
Ok, let me elaborate a bit on this. You *may* be *just a little* right in this. Some places -the more long-standing star-rated ones- require a proper attire and form. The amazing thing, though, is that more and more new restaurants and young chefs does not care for these established traditions and would require just to be "decent" to dine there. No flip flops, no tank tops, that's it. In the vast majority of the places I visited -some on this list too, check the comments- the mood is chilled and relaxed and even when you may be out of your depths (what is this tiny knife used for? How do I eat a foam? Should I eat this decorative sand? OMG!!) the personnel is extremely kind, helpful and non judgmental.
Load More Replies...A selection of places that "create" pretentious, over priced, small portioned, arstistic and unique dishes that all start to look the same as you scroll down. Dishes designed for "influencers".
After dining at any one of these fine establishments, I'd be stopping at McDonald's on the way home.
Id suggest to search the series Street Food, Asia / USA / Latin America on Netflix. They are filmed really nicely, You feel the passion or tradition of the chefs. It all seems affordable for the poor persons wallet. Who knows, maybe some places are not to far away from where people lives. :) (fine dining is nice, but streetfood is for the heart)
Although the plating is very lovely and artistic, isn’t this post more than a bit pretentious? I mean people all over the world are trying to figure out how to pay their bills, fuel their vehicles all while it seems the like ski is falling every other day. Fancy, unbelievably small portion dinners are the very last thing anyone really wants to see. We are all drowning and BP is throwing is a sachet of flower scented bricks. Thanks for that.
Okay. Imma call it and stand on this mountain. Foam. It looks so nasty on dishes. I do not want what looks like baby puke on my dish. Ew.
I went to one of these pretensious restaurants (South Africa) that serve weird foam stuff and so on. I mean it's worth going once to say you did it, but if you want FOOD, you probably want to skip these and go to the ones that actually serve food. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it is over-rated.
Interesting seeing a list of places I would never spend my time or money (if I had any) to visit. I always have in my head that the prettier food is, the less it looks like what it is, the less likely it's edible.