Some meals begin long before the first plate is served. They might start off on a mountain pass up a remote valley, take a ferry across an unfamiliar ocean, or hop on a plane because there’s a great table waiting on the other side.
All over the world, certain restaurants have become destinations in their own right, where landscapes, cultures, people and ingredients come together to create dining experiences that are inseparable from their surroundings.
Here are nine destination restaurants worth building your trip to.
It takes effort to get to Bermejo, a luxury resort built on the former home of the late CNN’s Ted Turner and located on a vast private estate in New Mexico. The only option other than arriving by private plane is to drive from Albuquerque or Denver. Both trips take nearly four hours and pass through some of the most beautiful scenery in the American Southwest before arriving at this 100-year-old destination.
Vermejo’s natural surroundings make it wonderful. The resort is set in 780 square miles of pristine wilderness, more than 650 times the size of Central Park, yet completely empty. Its grand space is perfect for al fresco dining, whether it’s a campfire breakfast or an elegant lakeside meal. Picnic and fish fry.
Bison sliders, cornbread, salads from Bermejo’s own greenhouses, trout caught minutes before they’re cooked, and decadent homemade potato chips are all on the menu.
After a day of hiking, fishing, and bison viewing, there’s no better way to end dinner than toasting s’mores under the stars.
Necajuy, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, is located on Costa Rica’s Papagayo Peninsula. It’s a true natural wonderland, where countless monkeys, sloths, and iguanas remind you that 10% of the planet’s biodiversity resides in a country the size of West Virginia.
The resort also has over eight dining options, some serving Italian and Japanese cuisine, but it’s the Latin American flavors that are most appealing in Puna, thanks to acclaimed chef Diego Muñoz and his signature menus.
Sustainability is especially important given our location, so all our sauces, condiments and bakery items are made from scratch, ensuring ultra-local produce connects us to our destination. On the menu, roasted shrimp ceviche comes with a mouth-watering leche de tigre (“tiger’s milk”), a citrus and spice marinade. Main dishes include risotto with charred baby corn, and desserts include local fruit.
It is a 3 hour drive from Milan. Alternatively, you have the option of rocking on a yacht at a local marina, but whichever way you arrive, Forte dei Marmi is one of Italy’s most exclusive summer enclaves, a chic Tuscan coastal destination beloved by families who return year after year.
Other long-standing visitors include restaurateurs Jason and Ilha Atherton, an influential couple who run some of the most highly regarded and award-winning restaurants in the UK and Dubai. They have now brought their signature culinary hospitality to Principessa Forte dei Marmi, a 36-suite boutique hotel, in the form of a sophisticated poolside restaurant, Marias.
With the sparkling waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea just meters away, it’s no wonder that seafood is the star of the menu. The food is simple yet exquisitely prepared, using ingredients sourced daily from markets near Livorno. Sweet scampi are wood-fired and served with garlic confit and lemon, and homemade linguine is tossed with local clams.
“Bonheur” by Matt Abbe, London, UK
It is almost unheard of for a restaurant to receive two Michelin stars after just three months of opening. But this incredible feat explains why Matt Abe’s Bonheur is one of London’s most talked about, and therefore most difficult, restaurants to book.
Australian chef and patron Matt Abbe has an impressive resume, including a notable stint at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. His first solo venture is located in London’s Mayfair, in the very building that is the former home of Le Gavroche, the legendary restaurant beloved by celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin and Queen Elizabeth II.
Now, diners can choose from a tasting menu or eat a la carte, but one near-non-negotiable dish is the Abbe-style Quiche Lorraine, featuring smoked pork belly and Gruyère cheese. Our fantastic menu features mainly British ingredients, including beef from the Lake District in north-west England and fish from Cornwall. We also have a selection of British wines.
La Grande Table Marocaine, Casablanca, Morocco
Thanks to the iconic 1942 film of the same name, few destinations are as romantically famous as Casablanca, even though it was filmed entirely in Hollywood. Morocco’s largest city is located on the Atlantic coast, and La Grande Table Marocaine offers panoramic views on the 23rd floor of the luxury hotel Royal Mansour, located in the Art Deco district of the city’s Sidi Belyout district.
As the name suggests, Royal Mansour is owned by Moroccan royalty, in this case King Mohammed VI. The level of service is worthy of royal connections.
The restaurant’s exquisite interiors feature lamps, rugs, mosaics and metalwork that reflect the finest local craftsmanship, and the menu also features some of the country’s finest ingredients, from locally sourced oysters to aromatic saffron and argan oil. Traditional Moroccan cuisine is famous for its slow-cooked tagine, another famous dish made with free-range chicken, preserved lemons and olives.
Some destinations are particularly sought after for culinary authenticity. For those craving classic French cuisine like ruby-red beef tartare, perfect cheese soufflé, and dreamy, decadent onion soup, Paris’s Brasserie Fouquets is the place for you.
Hôtel Barrière Le Fouquet is part of one of France’s most famous hospitality and culinary dynasties, dating back to 1899 on the Champs-Elysées. Since 1990 it has been recognized as a French historical monument.
For diners looking for a different French approach with fewer calories, Fouquet’s offers another restaurant, Joy, helmed by chef Claudia Rivera. Her light, contemporary dishes focus on the season, such as green vegetables with herbed yogurt and cashews, or sea bass with tomatoes, basil and lemon.
Ningbo cuisine may not be well-known outside of China, but the seafood-based cuisine of Northeastern Province is loved throughout the country for its commitment to freshness.
In Shanghai, Ningbo specialist Yong Fu also offers stunning views of the Huangpu River and towering skyline from its 56th floor location, allowing you to soak up the city’s famous energy while dining on local and international cuisine.
The dishes are beautifully and artistically presented, especially the pepper-pickled squid and the Shaoxing wine-marinated crab. Special seasonal dishes such as spring’s tender and sweet Ninghai shellfish and autumn’s hairy crab are also a big draw. These are much more delicate and attractive than they appear.
Norway’s capital has seen an increase in international tourists this summer, some seeking a “cool” escape from the heat elsewhere in Europe and others inspired by the country’s soccer fans’ rowing at the World Cup. But the city’s fine dining, especially the two-Michelin-star restaurant Kontrast, is another great reason to head north.
Chef Mikael Svensson’s multi-course tasting menu features oysters encased in perfectly edible shells, served with sour cream and pickled rhubarb, or garnished with varying textures of zucchini and dill, tomato and Norwegian cheese.
The restaurant’s excellent modern Scandinavian cuisine, using local, seasonal and organic ingredients, regularly receives high praise. So too is our deep commitment to sustainability and zero waste.
Driving through the rolling cypress-covered hills of Chianti, Italy, it’s hard not to hum the “Gladiator” theme. Picture-perfect views are everywhere, as is the ancient castle once owned by a 16th-century nobleman.
Inside is Argiano, a Renaissance gem built in 1580 and home to one of the country’s finest wineries, an impressive private art collection, and a restaurant that defines romance like no other.
Tables are set in a peaceful, shady courtyard overlooking the stunning landscape. Beef tartare with hazelnuts, tagliolini pasta with asparagus, or zucchini stuffed with ricotta and lemon are just three of the dishes that perfectly showcase local ingredients. A famous vintage of wines made from grapes grown just a few meters away ensures that a meal here will remain in your memory for a long time.
