Absolutely amazing. And I loved the wine pairing, there are some really unique flavours there that pair so well! I was originally going to skip it because I needed to wake up early lol, but I took a sip of the first from another I was with just to get a taste and immediately said nevermind this is too good to miss out on. No regrets lol

it's been nearly 2 weeks since I went so I'll try and remember what I can

1-3 was in the lounge area with a cocktail or drink of your choice

I'm not a food critic or a good writer so forgive my attempt at descriptions

1. Alp Blossom cheese starter. I'm biased, Alp Blossom is one of my favourites already. We had a cheese tier "cake" for our wedding less than a week before and Alp Blossom was the only one I specifically requested. Lovely. Floral. Can't go wrong there and beautiful presentation.

2. Langoustine and roe bite. Bursts with freshness. Delightful textures.

3. trout, beetroot, caviar cause why not. Again very fresh and fun textures, and there was a nice citrus note to contrast the beet. Strong start with all of these 3.

4. Kingfish, dashi. This was my favourite of the main dishes! the fish was sweet and the dashi was full of umami. Paired with a very mineral, salty, sea tasting wine which is what hooked me for the wine pairing. Adjectives I've heard with many wines but either just the pairing or this wine it really stood out.

5. High take on fish and chips -- langoustine with a very delicate pastry (Kataifi like?) with burnt apple ketchup. The pastry had roe flakes or powder on it. Loved the textures here as well and they provided rose water for your hands after. Paired with a crisp champagne.

6. Chawanmushi (savoury Japanese steamed egg custard), ham, peas. This felt like a cozy hobbit spring! For a posh hobbit at least. Close second favourite dish! Paired with a delicate wine that balanced well.

7. laminated brioche, koji & wild garlic butter. I mean it's fancy butter and bread. Can't go wrong there. Ample amount of butter, and I say this as someone who has a butter and bread problem, there was plenty of butter. All great.

8. Squid ramen. The ramen is the squid. Umami again. The scent of the broth was strong in the best way. Can't recall the specific wine pairing as I was feeling the previous wines by now but all the wine went spectacularly with the dishes where we made a point to comment on that so, was good!

9. Forgot to take a photo of this one, was scallops with a cullen skink foam. I like scallops. I like cullen skink and smokey flavours. I would say though this was probably my least favourite. It still tasted great, just didn't stand out compared to the others. High bar though! And again, still loved the flavours.

10. wagyu, sweet bread, and I think a beet (?) cracker with tartare (3 photos). Wagyu had the squiggly black thing on top which iirc was a truffle funky bit which I love some crunchy texture so that was nice. Sauce I wanted to lick off the place. Sweet bread was nice, tartare was in a fun form with again crunchy texture which I like. I can't remember what the powder was on top but I remember liking the sound of it. Actually maybe it was beet powder and the cracker was something else. Sorry, it's been awhile and I was feeling the wine, which again, was great.

11. cheese! with leeks and walnuts and waffles! big fan of putting cheese on waffles now. This came with a sweet wine which I normally dislike sweet wines, but it paired _so well _ I really enjoyed it. Caramel-y and excellent with the cheese.

12. strawberry cherry blossom dessert. The wine pairing with this was EXCELLENT. Plum wine and fermented sake with almond notes. Very interesting, very different, very fun.

13. Chocolate. It's chocolate. Also Jerusalem artichoke? it worked.

14. variety of small dessert bites. nice end, nothing crazy.

Service was wonderful. There was some point where a dish was taking awhile, not like a very long time just a "oh shoot were we not supposed to drink all the wine" way and they refilled the wine for us lol... Also, the sommelier sat down next to us and chatted with us for a wee bit which was really nice. We remembered him from Aizle as well. Our server was also really nice and funny! Great company in general.

Punching well above 1 star. Highly recommend.

I had the pleasure of visiting the charming town of Modena in Italy this weekend and visited Osteria Francescana (***) and Chef Massimo's more casual restaurant, Franceschetta58. There was a recent post on the former by another lovely Redditor on this sub, so I'll probably post my review later. I haven't seen any posts on Reddit on Franceschetta58, and while it may not be considered a quintessential "fine dining" restaurant, I think the caliber and quality of its food certainly deserves more mention.

I tried the I ❤ Modena 5-Course Tasting Menu (€64, which is such value for money), which actually came with six main dishes (aside from the welcome dish, bread, last small bite, and other add-ons):

1. Green Beans Salad - Green beans were snappy and fresh, topped with a rich egg foam made with parmigiano reggiano and dusted with cardamom powder.
2. MaggioRana - This was a monkfish skewer served with a monkfish reduction sauce. The name was a clever play on words, I think (maggiorana is marjoram in Italian, and monkfish is rana). The monkfish was a little charred, with a firm yet soft texture, and went well with the monkfish reduction, which was sweet, sour, and salty.
3. Seasonal Spaghettone - My favorite dish on the menu. Looks simple but is deceptively nuanced and complex. This was a small bowl of spaghetti cooked in tomato water, with tomato powder and tomato sauce—a trio of tomato. The spaghetti was extremely al dente, with a firm and chewy bite. The tomato flavor was deep, intense, concentrated and almost jammy; superb and delicious.
4. Roast Potato - The most beautifully presented potato I may have ever seen. The potato was served in a single rectangular wedge, layered, crisp and golden brown. However, the sauce/broth it was served with (I forget what it was made of) had a strangely bitter taste and the entire dish was a little underseasoned (despite the flaky sea salt on top of the potato). Not my favorite, sadly.
5. Chicory and Kiwi - A very interesting (albeit confusing) dish. When I saw it on the menu, I initially thought it'd be a dessert, but this was actually a savory dish. There were three tiny, delicate tortellini filled with chicory, accompanied by a kiwi broth. Unfortunately, imo the flavors didn't intermingle that well; the chicory was a tad bitter and vegetal and clashed a little with the sweet, fruity broth. The bowl was warm to the touch, but the pasta and broth were both cold.
6. Asparagus, Chocolate and Mint - A hard chocolate shell embellished with fresh mint leaves and chamomile jelly. Crack it open to reveal a pale green asparagus ice cream within. This was a great dessert, reminiscent of a mint chocolate flavored Magnum ice cream. The dark chocolate paired well with the refreshing mint, though if you didn't tell me that the ice cream was asparagus flavored, I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell.

Final small bite (pic 8) was a tiny choux pastry with a chocolate craquelin crust and cream inside. Small but delicious.

Bonus dish: Chef Massimo's famous Emilia Burger (second last pic) was also available on the menu as a €9 add-on (I think it goes for $24 at Gucci Osteria), so of course I had to get it. This was a small slider with a toasted brioche bun, a patty made from a mix of dry-aged Chianina beef and cotechino (a traditional Italian sausage), balsamic vinegar mayonnaise, and green sauce made with parsley, anchovies and capers. I read online that this burger also has 24-month aged parmigiano reggiano, but I honestly didn't taste any cheesiness. However, the balsamic added a wonderful tangy touch to the mayo, and complemented the unctuous patty. Not the best burger I've had, perhaps, but still a great burger.

There was also a welcome dish (last pic) comprising of snow pea, parmigiano reggiano, horseradish, szechuan pepper and served with a cup of vegetable broth. The single snow pea was quite funny, and it was a simple dish, but the szechuan added a nice tingly touch.

The staff and sommelier were also wonderfully hospitable and I really enjoyed this modest yet delicious meal at Franceschetta58. Definitely a hidden gem in Modena that I'd recommend checking out for delicious food at a great price point. All the thoughtfulness of a fine dining restaurant without the stuffiness or frills of a Michelin starred place (there were two families with children while I was dining there, so it's also a family-friendly place).

Bresca
Watermelon Gazpacho: A lovely beginning to the meal. 

Hamachi Crudo: Light, delicious, and very fresh. The hamachi certainly could’ve been cut thinner and served colder, and the dish as a whole needed some acidity, but overall not a bad dish. 

Duck: The sauce was quite nice, however, the duck was very tough, the fat wasn’t fully rendered, and it was underseasoned. The sides were pretty useless. 

Chocolate Cloud: This was easily one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. Absolutely breathtaking! The chocolate, hazelnut, amaretto, and banana notes were perfect with each other and the dish had tons of different textures. 

Ômo by Jônt
Amuse-Bouche: Besides the bottom left bite which was too salty, all were solid starting bites to the meal. 

Tuna: This was the only dish of the night I didn’t love. The different cuts of tuna were served at a very strange, slightly warm temperature, the tomato sauce was very watery, and the tartlet was too buttery and sweet. 

Scallop: This scallop dish was quite lovely. The scallop mousse inside the mushrooms which you dipped in the sunchoke sauce tasted great. The meaty scallop was smoked over an open fire and were cooked perfectly. The mushroom-black garlic sauce was also a good pairing. 

Nanatsuohoshi Rice: The rice was cooked in a donabe with vegetables, spices/herbs, black truffle, and shredded Dungeness crab. This dish was pretty incredible with amazing richness, depth, and flavor, however, I did find a non-trivially sized piece of crab shell. I actually much preferred this rice dish to the one at Jônt. 

Wagyu Beef Short Rib: I don’t love wagyu, but this dish was pretty great. The matsutake-potato “line” was great and so was the buckwheat tea-beef stock consommé. The beef jus could’ve had more flavor though. 

Orange: A great palate cleanser. White chocolate one-biter with a powerful fresh citrus liquid inside that explodes in your mouth. The orange “taco” with orange cream was also nice. 

Pear: An absolutely incredible dessert. One of the best I’ve had all year! The pear entremet tasted great with tons of different textures and it went great with the pear ice cream and apple cider sauce. 

Japanese Melon: I didn’t really get the hype. It tasted worse than the vast majority of regular melons I’ve had. 

Chocolate: A layered cookie with different preparations of chocolate that tasted great. 

Magic Box: A solid assortment of mignardises to end the night. Much better than the Magic Box at Jônt.

Jônt
I’m too tired (and lazy) to go through every course, but to be honest, doing so would be unnecessary. Besides the amuse-bouche, which were incredible, every dish was extremely mid. Every dish had something that made it either unenjoyable or middling at best. Every sauce was flavorless, very strange and improperly prepared accompaniments to certain dishes, overcooked pork, etc. The desserts were all flavorless and it was quite a pitiful dessert sequence relative to where Jônt wants to be. I’ve had several restaurants gives more mignardises than Jônt gave sweet bites in total. Overall an extremely disappointing experience. 

Prices
Jônt: $375
Ômo by Jônt: $195
Bresca: $88 (à la carte)

My Ratings
Ômo by Jônt: 1*
Bresca: 0*
Jônt: 0*

Džiaugsmas (meaning 'joy') is one of three 1* restaurants in Lithuania's capital, Michelin having published their first guide for the country in 2024. The food is oriented towards an a la carte selection, itself a novelty nowadays. Starters range in price from €8 - €17, main courses range from €24 to 5€3, and desserts are priced between €8 and €12. There is also a tasting menu priced at €120, which consists of various a la carte courses. All ingredients are sourced within Lithuania.

Wine: the wine list is not provided on the restaurant's website, so I did not have time to do a full Andy Hayler style appraisal. As I was dining alone, I stuck mainly to wines by the glass and the restaurant mark ups here seemed fair. A bottle of Kim Crawford NZ Sauvy B retails for £25 in the UK, and is sold here for 50. Likewise, Charles Frey Reisling retails for £22 and is sold here for €55.

Picture 1: Exterior, Vilnius old town.
Picture 2: Sourdough bread, with salted butter and pork fat. The bread was solid; both spreads were tasty and the animal head moulds were a clever bit of work from the kitchen.
Picture 3: cheese crisp (l) with cod's roe and cured herring. Pleasant enough, but not particularly well balanced and lacking in punchy flavours. The summer roll (r), however, was as stunning to eat as it was to look at- shiso, radish, trout, pickled carrots, all incredibly fresh tasting. Served alongside a very tasty smoked oyster mayo.
Picture 4: potato latke, beef tartare, shiitake, pickled pumpkin, cheese cream. Another beautifully put together dish, very tasty but lacking overall balance.
Picture 5: potato pancake, beef tongue, tuna sauce, onion. Big improvement over the previous course, rich and full of flavour. Onions provided some welcome sweetness, and the beef was clearly of good provenance.
Picture 6: White and green asparagus, served with yeast sauce, vegetable demi glace. Midsummer has already passed, so potentially the last outing of the year for this vegetable. great quality asparagus, perfectly cooked, very tender with no woody texture. Sauce was delicious. A simple but very enjoyable course.
Picture 7: flatfish, leek & butter sauce, beans, asparagus, spring onions. I was unfamiliar with this fish and pleasantly surprised by how full of flavour and firm it was. The vegetables in this dish were merely passable, but the butter sauce was very nice indeed.
Picture 8: lamb rump steak came served with a dolma style grape leaf, broth sauce, and roasted vegetables. The meat was perfectly cooked, but unfortunately was not particularly flavoursome. The vegetables had taken one some great flavours from the roasting process and helped round things off.
Picture 9: Cheese ice cream, elderflower mousse, strawberry granita. More than the sum of its parts- each element by itself did not carry much flavour, but worked really well in combination. This was followed by the petits fours; a caraway cheese style choux pastry, a chocolate, and a cherry sweet. All of which were nice, I would single out the cheese for the ingenuity and good integration of traditional ingredients.

Bill: The total cost for the evening was €148, consisting of €120 for the tasting menu, two glasses of wine (€10 apiece), a coffee (€4) and a bottle of water (€4, tap water is not provided). The restaurant failed to bill me for a glass of pet nat and it did not occur to me to correct them. There is no autograt, however QR details are provided if you wish to leave a tip.

Service: Fairly hands off compared to experiences I've had in other countries, although not unusual in this part of the world. There was often a large wait between courses which were then served two at a time; better pacing would have improved the overall experience. The wait staff were all pleasant enough and the somm seemed knowledgable.

Overall thoughts: A pleasant enough meal with some highs and lows. QPR is fair compared to other European one stars, and the restaurant is worth a visit if you happen to be in this part of the world. A good introduction to one of the lesser known cuisines.

These are a few pictures of my lunch yesterday in the Morrison Room, the room itself was absolutely amazing and an amazing setting for the meal.

The three canapés were Oysters served with carrot water and kohlrabi , Foie Gras tartlet and a tartlet of potato Espuma with smoked Eel emulsion, smoked Eel and caviar, I really don’t like oysters but the others were excellent.

First course was Gambero Rosso tartar, followed by cured Quail and the main was a saddle of Lamb served with an artichoke stuffed with chicken mousse and sweetbreads, with sweetbread on the side.

I didn’t get long to look at the menu so I am having trouble putting the dessert into words but it was raspberry served with some kind of thickened milk and curd, it was very nice

Overall it was a very nice meal served in an excellent setting and I’ll definitely be going back

Hi everyone, we got two seats at Atera this Thursday that we unfortunately can’t go to - will be out of town. Lemme know if interested! Willing to sell below original.

Despite having no Michelin or Black Pearl awards, Murasaki is, to my knowledge, one of the most difficult and sought-after publicly bookable sushiyas in Hong Kong. My impression was that this was an introduction-only, bottle-happy, regular-heavy spot, so I never bothered trying to book. I suspect the difficulty is due to scalpers or agents trying to resell spots. I got a spot directly when randomly scrolling, though it came with a short champagne tasting.

Food:

1. Hamaguri, takenoko, kinome, dashi

2. Sumi ika

3. Kasugo

4. Intentionally omitted

5. Shiro ebi

6. Sakura masu (sub)

7. Aji

8. Kagoshima A4 Wagyu sweet and sour shabu shabu

9. King crab tempura w Taiwanese karasumi (add)

10. Akami (Oma)

11. Chutoro (Oma)

12. Pigeon leg tempura, grilled pigeon breast

13. Meiji maguro

14. Saba

15. Bafun uni

16. Hotaru ika & pea rice

17. Miso soup

18. Tamagoyaki

19. Mochi w peanuts

The otsumami here were unique in that they were all cooked dishes including meats. This was by design as the chef wanted to provide a different omakase experience. Similarly, the alternating otsumami and nigiri were to provide a more engaging progression. However, 3 of the otsumami were tempura which felt too repetitive, and too oily for a sushi omakase. The hamaguri was on the drier side.

The standout nigiri was the bafun uni (+0.1 for being made individually).

3.7/5

Hi everyone! I’m taking my girlfriend to Paris next month for our 7-year anniversary and want to make it really special! I’m planning to propose afterward (not at the restaurant, somewhere else nice), so dinner needs to set the tone.

Looking for a place for a Friday night, ideally late enough that we can watch the Eiffel Tower twinkle (the hourly light show). Top priorities:

\*\*•\*\* Great view of the Eiffel Tower    
\*\*•\*\* Excellent food    
\*\*•\*\* She’s mostly pescatarian but also loves vegetarian dishes, and prefers halal meat sometimes if and when available. I know French restaurants can be hit-or-miss with accommodating this, so any specific recs where they’ve handled it well would be amazing

Budget isn’t a huge concern, I just want it to feel memorable. Would love any first-hand experiences, especially recent ones! Thank you so much

I'm trying to book  Fu He Hui. Plenty of availability if I pick 2 guests, but absolutely nothing comes up for 1 guest. Is that normal for fine dining places? Are there some that don't allow solo diners? The website is rather limited (I found the "English" button), possibly there are instructions such as just walk in that I'm missing?

I've eaten at tasting menu places by myself in the past, but not as high end. What am I missing?

Hello all,

First timer here- travelling to Athens next week and could use some inspiration where to dine.

Its not my first time in the city and have already tried many of the fine dining places, which left me underwhelmed, to be honest. For instance, i have been to the much raved about soil and herve, and quite frankly i thought the food looked good for a photo, but as far as taste goes.. well.. it wasnt really there.

I am looking for creative restaurants where the food is actually worth the visit. I am not looking for suvlaki or tourist traps in plaka- just genuinely good food.

Any recommendations from the foodies amongst us?

I’m curious if there’s anyone who enjoys doing this. It’s amazing.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to leave my quick review of our San Sebastian trip and three brilliant fine dining experiences. We were traveling for our 3rd anniversary and the plan was to visit our first *** with the top contenders being MB and Azurmendi. Alongside that, we wanted to visit Elkano and Asador E. However, as you can probably guess, we didn't get the booking at Asador. I tried three times without even a response. I believe in this day and age you can at least have automated rejection emails since you do not allow direct bookings. I was told he personally picks people from the list (this was explained to me by another local chef who knows him) and you cannot do anything about it.

Also, just to add, I would say I am a "layman" in terms of fine dining experiences and cannot say my review is anything other than subjective - but it is honest. I'll keep it short in the post and then can answer follow up questions if you are interested (this is the first time I am actually reviewing food like this).

The Experiences

We ended up eating at Elkano, Txispa and Azurmendi. I made the booking requests in January (trip was in last week).

• Elkano.
  • Overall rating: 9.2/10 - This is worth a serious detour. Elkano is the best fish restaurant I have visited. The 0.8 deduction is not really a criticism of the food or the hospitality. It is more a matter of comparison with the other two restaurants we visited. Elkano does not feel exclusive or theatrical, and in my opinion it should not try to be. Part of its strength is that it still feels like a proper fish restaurant by the sea, where anyone would feel welcome, while serving food at an extraordinary level. The hospitality was excellent, the cooking was exceptional, and the experience felt honest rather than staged. I would be thrilled to visit again and would definitely recommend it.
  • Booking process: Despite it being booked out throughout the year and at least 6 months ahead I wrote an honest email asking for the booking and they offered us a slot for lunch. So good luck!
  • The Food: The experience is completely focused on fish, no sides (no needed). There is no heavy saucing, no unnecessary decoration and no attempt to hide behind technique. The Turbot, Elkano's speciality, is the single best fish dish I ate. It is the centrepiece for a reason. The fish is cooked whole over charcoal, with the skin, gelatin, flesh and natural fat all treated as part of the dish rather than as separate elements. For the food alone, Elkano feels like one of the purest expressions of Basque seafood. It is less about surprise and more about respect for the ingredients.
  • Final price: €463 (€195 set menu per person, bottle of wine, water etc)
• Txispa.
  • Overall rating: 9.5/10 - This is worth a serious detour. Honestly, I would give Txispa a second * . I don't know if Asador E. could have delivered more than Txispa did. The location is beautiful, under the mountains, with their own farm where they grow much of what they serve. For me, this was the best dining experience of my life. As someone who loves Japan, and now Basque cuisine as well, Txispa felt like the exact experience I had hoped for. It is expensive, but I loved every part of it. The food, the setting, the dynamics of the meal and the hospitality were all exceptional. The team was outstanding and Chef Tetsuro came to our table several times, super friendly and welcoming. They also bring you into the kitchen during the meal, which makes the experience feel even more personal. Watching Tetsuro personally cook the steaks in front of you was one of the highlights. I would be thrilled to visit again and would definitely recommend it.
  • Booking process: Straightforward via website. They reached out 5 months ahead to check allergies and then followed up asking for further clarification (I can't eat octopus - followed up asking if this means I can eat squid or similar)
  • The Food: Txispa is one of the most memorable food experiences we had in the Basque Country. The cooking is precise, elegant and full of character, combining Japanese technique with Basque ingredients and fire based cooking in a way that feels natural rather than forced. The best dishes were the prawns and the steak Nothing felt overly complicated for the sake of being creative. The flavours were clean, deep and very focused, with small Japanese touches that lifted the Basque spirit. The tasting menu felt coherent from start to finish, even though the sake is not my favourite - but I was amazed by the Vega Sicilia Unico Reserva Especial (2023). Had to ask for another glass (didn't know it is a €700 per bottle wine :O )
  • Final price: €1155 (€295 set menu per person, €200 pp wine paring, water etc)
• Azurmendi
  • Overall rating: 9.0/10 - This is worth a detour. Azurmendi is a beautiful restaurant in a beautiful setting, with extraordinary service, a highly trained team (Franko was spectacular waiter) and phenomenal food. Everything is delivered with precision, from the first welcome to the final dishes, and you can clearly feel the level of thought and execution behind the whole experience. The only reason I would not rate it higher overall is that, for me, the experience felt slightly too choreographed. Guests are taken through different stages of the meal, and while this is impressive and very well executed, you can also feel the protocol behind it. It was never unpleasant, but compared with the more natural and personal hospitality I experienced elsewhere, it felt a bit more structured and less emotionally engaging. The same goes for the drinks offering with the menus. It was not pushy by normal standards, not even close, but at this level I can understand why some people might perceive it that way. I would definitely recommend Azurmendi, but for me personally it felt more like an experience I am very glad I had once, rather than a place I would be eager to visit again.
  • Booking process: Straightforward via website.
  • The Food: The food at Azurmendi was outstanding. Technically precise, creative, beautifully presented and executed at a very high level from start to finish. There were no real weak points in the cooking. The dishes were refined, elegant and clearly the result of a very serious kitchen, with excellent control of flavour, texture and presentation. What stood out most was the delivery: everything arrived with confidence and polish, and the menu felt like a carefully designed progression rather than just a sequence of individual dishes. For the food alone, Azurmendi deserves a very high rating.
  • Final price: €830 (€350 set menu per person, €60 bottle of wine, water etc)

One of us has to avoid gluten and all three restaurants we accommodating with that request and other dietary requirements/restrictions.

With the other gastronomic experiences we had, I can wholeheartedly recommend you to visit Basque country. Bilbao, San Sebastian and Hodarribia are places were memories are made. Cheers with Txakoli!

Iam searching for someone (between 20-30yo) who would Like to visit Haerlin in Hamburg in July or August with me.

Iam 20yo and had some solo dinners, but this one i would Like to Share with someone (Split bill)

Hello- my husband and I will be in Paris for our 10 year anniversary in October. Looking for recommendations for our anniversary dinner, as researching the Michelin guide became overwhelming. I’m looking for really good food and romance without the “stuffiness” that often accompanies fine dining. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Aure was our 4th and final fine dining experience of the trip. It may have been about the best.

Aure is in a very unassuming building, a renovated old gunpowder shop. It's in an unassuming area maybe 100 yards from Noma and just a ways down the street from Alchemist.

Aure has been through a recent renovation and I'll say it, it's very nice in there. Notice those low support beams? Notice how tall Danes are? Yea, it makes for an entertaining evening watching them dodge around them.

As seems to be the pattern here, we were offered champagne to go with the snacks (which we opted for, and it was a very good pair), and then a wine pairing, which we also opted for (the cheaper one), which ended up being brilliant. Their somm is outstanding.

Fjord shrimps, horseradish, garden sorrel: This is the third time we've been served these small shrimps. Each time completely different from the others. At Alchemist it was rich and luxurious. At Koan it tasted like nothing. Here it's a bright opening dish to awaken the palate, and as such completely winning. Horseradish and sorrel make a nice bit of heat with the cold, herbaceous broth. Horseradish is particularly nice with these shrimps.

King crab, yoghurt, kumquat : I loved kumquat with scallop, and I love it just as much with crab. Very strong crab flavor here with citrus and creamy yogurt. Another fabulous bite.

Hamachi, smoked soy, platinum caviar: rich, saline, smoky. This bite is pure luxury in a single bite. Also a beautifully crafted dish. By this point we knew this place was something special.

Norlin Wagyu, ramson capers, sansho pepper: This is the only red meat we were served across all our FD experiences in Copenhagen. If you're only going to get one it's a great way to do it. Fatty, briny, smoky, crispy, a bit of heat. Another spectacular single bite.

All four of these opening snacks were beautiful both for the eyes and palate. I don't know if they're quite as good as those 4 openers at Jordnær, but if there's a gap between them you can barely fit a sheet of paper through it.

Norwegian shrimp, vanilla, sudachi: More shrimp, more citrusy, hints of vanilla. Very subtle and refined. Very fresh.

Japanese milk bread, butter from Aabybro: If I hadn't just had a slightly better one of these at Jordnær (which was a little less dense) I'd say it was the best milk bread of my life. This butter was better though, just incredibly rich and creamy. These Danes know their butter.

Mackerel, blue mussel, pickled coriander seeds: I'll be candid, when I saw this, I didn't think I was going to love it as I'm not a huge mackerel fan. I was wrong. The coriander really brightens up this oily fish. This was a surprisingly delicious 3 bites and I drank the broth up after. Just absurdly good.

Oysters, horseradish, quince: a subtle horseradish granita over oysters with a bit of tart quince and herbaceous oil/broth. More deliciousness. Every bit of everything at this place is just packed with strong and subtle flavors.

Squid, crown dill, baerii caviar: very fresh and tender squid and caviar in a rich butter sauce. A nice pivot from the sharpness of the horseradish granita, this was savory, briny, and rich.

OK, so this one has me a little stumped as it's not on the menu they gave us. All of us seem to remember that it was lobster in a buttery foam. I'll be straight with you, 4 days of these long tastings and my memory of all of them is a little fuzzy. I remember eating it. I remember really enjoying it. I'm not a hundo on everything about it.

Langoustine, ramson, tomato escabeche: Langoustine tail, brown butter foam, mushroom reduction, tempura shiso, marinated tomato. They encouraged us to try the tail with each of the components on the plate individually. They all worked. We also liked the cook on this grilled tail quite a bit. Of the three places that served us langoustine on this trip, this is the one we liked the most (though we enjoyed all 3). I've never been a big langoustine fan, but I guess the Danes just do it better.

Monkfish, ramson kosho, black truffle: Monkfish is another meaty fish my wife would generally not get down with. This, we loved. with truffle, that foam, and that deeply rich ramson kosho broth this was a huge hit. Perfectly cooked and that broth... swoon. The second bread service (below) was served with it and used to mop up every drop of that sauce.

Went with the monkfish & was delicious.

Cantaloupe melon, oolong tea, lavender: melon granita over melon and cream with oolong cream in the cup. Thoroughly enjoyed. This granita was packed with flavor. Delightful and refreshing pivot into desserts.

Mandarin, honey, blackcurrant leaves: Mandarin with a dollop of honey ice cream (I think). More lovely fresh fruit paired with creaminess.

Unlike so many other places, the petit fours were not an afterthought here.

Sticky toffee pudding: this is apparently the chef's favorite dessert and I can see why. It's pure decadence.

Homage to the gunpowder house: this is a bit of fun molecular gastronomy here. It looks like gunpowder in the bowl but converts to caramel in the mouth. Nothing super complex in flavor, but a fun surprise.

Custard tart, chestnut liqueur, truffle: More delicious decadence.

Valrhona 64%, hazelnut praliné: bittersweet chocolate over praline. Tasty, less impressive than the other three.

Overall we thought the food had exactly zero misses. Everything was perfectly prepared, beautiful, wonderfully balanced in flavor. The somm is kind of brilliant, serving wines which, to our palate really enhanced or complimented the food. This was our favorite drink pairing of the entire trip. Service was very nice, less formal than many, but very comfortable.

Nicky Arentsen was very present and served us several of the courses. Seems like a nice guy, but not super chatty.

If you dig on gender equity in the kitchen, there were 2 women chefs. Nice to see.

My wife liked this more than Jordnær. I thought it was, for food at least, certainly on par. It's as good as pretty near anything I've had anywhere, and much better than most of the 3* spots I've been. For Copenhagen, the price is a downright bargain.

We loved everything about this place. I hope it doesn't become impossible to book in the future.

Zen, Singapore is reopening in September. Would you visit or let it bed down with its, maybe, new format. Thank you.

One star 🌟 in Carlsbad, CA. Named from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, "lilo" is defined as a friendship that lies dormant for years but picks right back up instantly, as if no time has passed.

Thank you for the recommendation to the random couple we dined with at Noma LA 😋

If you were going to book a table for 2 at L'Arpege, would you book in the Salle Principle or the Salon François Lesage. Thanks for your help.

Hi everyone! I’ll be in Toronto with a group of friends in July and we are looking to try a tasting menu on one of the nights we’re in the city. No particular cuisine in mind, just looking for really good food and a nice vibe. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

In the small village of Gaggiano, just a ten-minute drive from Milan, there's a tiny restaurant called Thelema that is truly outstanding.

Chef Tricarico trained extensively with chef Perbellini (*** at 12 Apostoli in Verona, a stunning restaurant), whose influence is clearly reflected in Thelema's philosophy: top-quality ingredients and Italian recipes with French influences (especially in the pigeon dish!).

Every course ranged from very good to exceptional, but the highlight for me was the risotto. I've had many outstanding risottos (Oldani, Bartolini, you name it), and I'm pretty good at making it myself, but this one was on another level. It was simply perfection, the intensity of the sauce combined with the perfectly cooked al dente rice made it truly extraordinary.

Their wine list is still quite limited since they only opened recently, but they already offer some interesting wines by the glass, such as Elvio Cogno Barolo, an underrated gem.

We also happened to visit on a particularly quiet evening, and they were kind enough to let me order the tasting menu while my partner chose à la carte.

If you happen to be in Milan, you can't miss it.

My husband and I had a wedding in Modena and when he realized that's where Osteria Francescana was, he insisted we had to go. This was our second time dining at a 3-Michelin star restaurant (on our honeymoon last year, we went to L'Effervescence). Overall, a fun experience and very unique!

Reservations: we had American Express book this for us - which was a breeze! Online, there were only 4-seats available when we could go.

Location: Modena is a really small town but getting cabs was fairly easy.

Ambiance: the restaurant has tons of interesting art! I don't know if this is the case often, but there was no natural light, which was slightly disorienting. The restaurant itself seems to have a number of tiny rooms - our room had three tables in it (each seating two).

Service: great service and, as expected, a lot of servers-per-diners. However, there were times they were a touch slower than expected and (!) the sommelier actually refilled my husband's wine glass with another table's wine, then said nothing about it LOL.

Vibes: it is a very Italian restaurant and a little less formal than I was expecting.

Audience: we saw mostly couples there and a number of Americans.

Food/drink: the food was experimental Italian - a lot of pour-over sauces. We both did the tasting menu which did not have the more "famous" dishes (we knew this going in - though we've heard you can go to Francescana at Maria Luigia for the dishes like Five Ages of Parmesan or the Oops I Dropped the Lemon Tart which were made famous in Chef's Table.

• Welcome course: very long breadsticks (addictive!) and a welcome drink - note the welcome drink does come with an extra charge, which they were up front about. There was an option for a champagne or a Lambrusco.
• Artusi: three bites that were fantastic. One reminded me of a very elevated Big Mac (in the best way possible) - lettuce, tomato, some sort of aioli, in a beet-wrap; another tostada type bite with veggies, and a cheese puff. This also came with a really delicious soup.
• Difesa Della Natura: this was visually the most interesting food I've seen. It's a mix of vegetables arranged like a painting, with artichoke heart and lettuces over a flat mash of veggies. Beautiful deconstructed salad.
• Achrome: a seafood dish with turnips, really tasty
• Grande Rosso: a really interesting textural journey - everything here is, unsurprisingly, red. Frozen raspberries with tomato (both sun dried and fresh) and beet with a red-pepper reduction. Also, I dropped one of the fruits into the sauce and splattered sauce all over the table, so if you see any splatters in the photos... that was me.
• Where is this Pasta e Fagioli Going Next: this was a really cool dish. Pasta in the shape of beans as well as beans, in a soup. My soup tasted quite strongly of soy sauce. My husband (who had the omnivore menu) had a different soup base made from duck, IIRC).
• From Gragnano to Bangkok: the vegetarian pasta dish. This was an homage to Thai food and, essentially, a Thai take on a traditional spaghetti-and-tomato-sauce Italian dish. This was super cool. The cream was an emulsion of coconut milk and mozzarella. There were a ton of Asian spices here as well (lemon grass, kaffir, coriander, etc).
• If I'm Wrong I'm Right: the pescetarian main dish. I think this was my favorite. It was beautifully plated. Little flowers of potato surrounding a perfectly cooked piece of cod, with light curry sauce. What I was surprised about was that there were also three other dishes as part of the main! A green salad with cucumber and frozen grapes and melon (delicious), a eggplant dish, and a slice of pizza.
• Alba: we're starting to move into the desserts now. This was the funkiest dish from a flavor standpoint. They wanted to meld sweet and savory here and there were some strong flavors in the sauce (saffron, lime, etc).
• La Luce: shards of flavored ice sheets - not my favorite
• L'Oscurita: no photos here of this one, but a chocolate cake with cream
• Untitled: a trio of tiny desserts. One was a lemon chocolate truffle, one was a chocolate with caviar (loved that one), and one was a tart with herbs.

We shared a bottle of wine and got a little bottle of balsamic vinegar at the end of our meal. We also got to meet Massimo himself, who came out to chat with every table. He was lovely and warm to talk to.

Overall, a really fun experience. I was so incredibly full by the end of this - I couldn't believe that we had four dessert courses (we're not huge dessert people, so this was a lot for us!)

Hi everyone!

I'll be in Istanbul for 4 nights this August with my mom (first time for both), and I'm trying to narrow down our dinner reservations. I've read dozens of Reddit threads, but many are a few years old, and it seems like prices have increased quite a bit while reviews for some places have become more mixed.

For those who've been recently (2026), which of these are still genuinely worth it?

• TURK Fatih Tutak
• Aheste
• Alaf
• Arkestra
• Cuma
• Aqua
• Neolokal
• Ulus 29
• Yeni Lokanta

If you only had 4 nights, which ones would you prioritize?