If you think fine dining is all about the food, you’re bound to be mesmerized by some of the world’s most beautiful restaurants. With luxurious design, top-notch staff, and the highest quality ingredients sourced, it almost feels like you are royalty!
Some of the world’s most expensive restaurants have phenomenal food, ambiance, service, and location. So it’s only justified that they also have heavy price tag for the experience they provide.
Sublimotion (Ibiza, Spain)
This one table, 12-seat restaurant wows you with a 20-course tasting menu over three hours, and a team of twenty-five professionals to wait on you. Sublimotion, located in Ibiza’s Hard Rock Hotel, is all this and more.
Chef Paco Roncero, with two Michelin stars, runs this place that opens only for the Spanish summer, from June 1st to September 30th. So it’s pretty hard to get a reservation to experience the privilege of eating here.
A change of place setting accompanies each course; including change of scenery, music, Virtual Reality (VR), and stagecraft making it a truly all around sensory experience. One moment you may be underwater (virtually), and the next, you may experience flight in a VR-simulated airplane.
When technology and culinary skills get together, it’s bound to be one out-of-this-world experience. Not to forget the edible ticket that you receive when you make a reservation with them.
- Sublimotion (Ibiza, Spain)- Platja d’en Bossa, s/n, 07817, Balearic Islands, Spain
Find one of Ibiza’s Best Hotels Here
Masa (New York City, United States)
For one of the most Japanese of food and hospitality experiences in Manhattan, Masa is the place to visit. Chef Masa Takayama, a three-star Michelin chef of Japanese cuisine, not only owns this restaurant but also prepares the food for the guests. He decides everything that you eat; based on seasonal specialties, the menu changes daily.
Masa sits high above Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Center overlooking Central Park. Don’t let this fabulous address overwhelm you. The restaurant’s atmosphere is pure, simple, and timeless; the minimalist design allows the food to shine.
What appears to be a simple sushi tasting menu will turn out to be makes for the best sushi you have ever had. Reservations are made about 3 – 4 weeks in advance, and there’s no strict dress code.
- Masa, The Shops at, 10 Columbus Cir Floor 4, New York, NY 10019, United States
Find one of New York’s Best Hotels Here
Ultraviolet (Shanghai, China)
French Chef Paul Pairet, had this sci-fi concept for a restaurant in the planning stage for over 15 years! With one table and only ten chairs, you know this is going to be the ultimate dining experience!
Funny thing is that no one knows where it is! The ten nightly guests are discreetly shuttled to the dining area to keep its location a well-guarded secret. Once in the dining room, which may seem stark at first, you’re in for an incredible experience. With each of the 20 signature dishes served, the space transforms into scenes from around the world, with audio-visual effects that are meant to enhance the flavors of your meal.
- Ultraviolet (Shanghai, China), Waitan, Huangpu, Shanghai, China, 200002
Find one of Shanghai’s Best Hotels Here
Per Se (New York, United States)
Also in the Big Apple with views across Central Park and Columbus Circle is this second gem of New York – Per Se. At the helm is Chef Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame.
This Michelin-starred restaurant offers three tasting menus focusing on French cuisine. There is a thoughtfully-created nine-course vegetarian tasting menu as well. The exquisite presentation and well-crafted flavors are the highlights of Per Se.
With only 19 tables at the restaurant, you’ll be paying based on your choice of menu and the dining room location (the ones with Central Park views add to the cost). If you’re a wine lover, you’ll be delighted to choose from their award-winning collection of over 2,000 bottles.
- Per Se (New York, United States), 10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019, United States
Find one of New York’s Best Hotels Here
Restaurant De L’Hôtel De Ville (Crissier, Switzerland)
A fitting place to dine in the luxury destination that is Switzerland, this restaurant offers some of the best Swiss food you’ll ever taste and has an impressive cheese buffet and wine cellar.
Their winter menu includes luxury ingredients such as duck foie gras and truffles. In addition, the 11-course tasting menu has some unique delicacies to offer. There’s even a 40-page wine list to choose your drink from.
With three Michelin stars and a kitchen led by Chef Franck Giovannini, this restaurant offers exceptional food quality and a memorable fine-dining experience.
- Restaurant De L’Hôtel De Ville,Rue d’Yverdon 1, 1023 Crissier, Switzerland
Find one of Switzerland’s Best Hotels Here
Maison Pic (Valence, France)
Once inside this three-star Michelin restaurant, the magnificent large crystal chandelier and antique mirrors will take your breath away. There are separate dining areas around this chandelier and windowed bays that provide the surrounding gardens’ views.
Chef Anne-Sophie Pic chose to continue her, more than a century old, family business and is one of the few female chefs to run one of the best restaurants in the world. Her experimental approach to food utilizes unusual flavors, creating dishes that please the eyes as well as the palette.
Their nine-course tasting menu has mouth-watering delicacies, including desserts that will melt in your mouth.
- Maison Pic (Valence, France), 285 Av. Victor Hugo, 26000 Valence, France
Find one of France’s Best Hotels Here
Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama (Kyoto, Japan)
For truly authentic Japanese-style dining, this is the place to be. Surrounded by beautiful gardens, Chef Kitcho Arashiyama has demanded low tables and tatami mats to sit on and serves kaiseki cuisine – a Japanese dining style with a sequence of courses influenced by seasonal foods from sea and land.
This three-star Michelin restaurant offers a ten-course tasting menu, with four different menus to choose from. Meticulous attention is given to presentation and timing.
A serene and authentic dining experience will leave you with a calm mind and a full tummy!
- Kitcho Arashiyama Honten (Kyoto, Japan), Japan, 〒616-8385 Kyoto, Ukyo Ward, Sagatenryuji Susukinobabacho, 58
Find one of Kyoto’s Best Hotels Here
Restaurant Guy Savoy (Paris, France)
Offering the best of French haute cuisine in the world, Chef Guy Savoy reigns surpreme. Unlike most of these restaurants, you have the option to order items off the a la carte menu or choose a set menu featuring a 13-course meal.
If you can’t make that trip to Paris for the Guy Savoy experience, you can still visit his restaurant in Las Vegas. He is a true master and one of the most famous chefs in the world for his classic French technique.
- Restaurant Guy Savoy (Paris, France), Monnaie de Paris, 11 Quai de Conti, 75006 Paris, France
Find one of Paris’s Best Hotels Here
Ithaa Undersea Restaurant (Maldives)
If you happen to be staying at the Conrad Rangali, the five-star resort in the Maldives, you can’t miss dining at Ithaa. This is the first underwater restaurant in the world on Rangali island.
Imagine dining five meters below the Indian Ocean, with panoramic ocean views. You are surrounded by marine life while you are eating. There is no dining experience quite like it. The restaurant has 14-seats and a 4-course lunch or a 6-course dinner.
- Ithaa Undersea Restaurant (Maldives), Conrad Rangali Island 20077, Maldives
Restaurant Le Meurice (Paris, France)
When news broke that Chef Alain Ducasse had broken up with the Plaza Athenee after a 21-year relationship, the world was stunned. You can now experience his outstanding French cuisine at Le Meurice Hotel. Alain Ducasse at Le Meurice offers a dining experience inspired by the grandeur of the French royal courts.
Chef Alain Ducasse’s menu emphasizes natural, organic ingredients with a focus on seasonal produce, seafood, and grains. The dining room, designed by Philippe Starck, exudes elegance with crystal chandeliers and marble accents, providing a luxurious atmosphere that complements each meticulously crafted dish.
- Restaurant Le Meurice (Paris, France), 228 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France
Find one of Paris’s Best Hotels Here
Azabu Kadowaki (Tokyo, Japan)
Tokyo’s Azabu Kadowaki is a luxurious kaiseki restaurant that blends traditional Japanese flavors with modern flair. With seasonal menus and ingredients that include premium A5 wagyu beef and prized truffles, Chef Toshiya Kadowaki’s dishes are both refined and inventive. Dining at Azabu Kadowaki is a coveted and unforgettable experience for those seeking an authentic Japanese culinary adventure.
- Azabu Kadowaki, 2 Chome-7-2 Azabujuban, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0045, Japan
Find one of Tokyo’s Best Hotels Here
Aragawa (Tokyo, Japan)
Tokyo’s Aragawa is one of the few steakhouses on the list, celebrated for its focus on high-quality Kobe beef. The restaurant’s minimalist approach allows the meat’s quality to shine, as each piece is grilled to perfection with a unique flavor profile. Dining here offers a rare opportunity to savor authentic Kobe beef in its most premium form.
- Aragawa, 3-23-11 Nishishinbashi 1F Onarimon Odakyu Bldg, Minato 105-0003 Tokyo Prefecture
Find one of Tokyo’s Best Hotels Here
What you get from the most expensive restaurants in the world is an experience like no other. Exclusivity is a luxury, and for those who can afford to splurge on ultra-fine dining on a special occasion, these restaurants will provide you with truly fabulous, food, ambiance, and service!
Top 10 Food Cities in the USA Right now!
After all that Michelen star eating, time to get down and dirty with your favorite local foods! From coast to coast, you’ll find cities that have mastered their local cuisine and embraced international flavors. Whether you’re a fan of classic American comfort food, crave innovative culinary experiences, or love exploring ethnic flavors, the U.S. has a city for every type of foodie.
Here are what I think are the top 10 best food cities in the USA right now!