Top 10 Restaurants in the World | World's Best Eating Venues

Top 10 Restaurants in the World

The Gastronome’s Guide to Globe-trotting. That’s what we call this list of the best restaurants in the world. Don’t believe us? Take a look…

When the scintillating aroma of fine food wafts through the air, beckoning you to sample the mouth-watering delight in front of you, how much would you be willing to shell out for that slice of gastronomic heaven? For some people, eating is more than a daily necessity…it is an experience. It’s a celebration of all the five senses, because when it comes to good food, they’re all in it together. The sight of good food kicks your saliva glands into action, the smell sets off the hunger pangs, the sound of tableware clinking against a plate full of yummies spurs on the craving, the touch of food on your tongue lets you revel in the different textures and finally the taste…oof!, it makes your taste buds, tingle, frolic and then explode in sheer bliss. Yes, the simple act of eating can be an absolutely stimulating and blissful experience.

So which are some of the classiest, costliest eating joints in the world? Take a trip round the world to these fine, fancy places, listed in random order.

Aragawa Tokyo, Japan

Would you be willing to travel the four corners of the earth for a tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef dish? Well, many gourmands from around the world travel to Aragawa to sample its renowned signature dish. At first glance, you would find it hard to believe that this non-descript looking eatery could serve one of the most famous steaks in the world...the Kobe beefsteak. The Wagyu cow is found on a single farm, is hand-fed sake and massaged daily to make the beef one of the most juiciest, sought-after meat dishes in the world. Accompaniments are only mustard and pepper, all else is a strict no-no! The charge is a steep $550 per person, but as any steak-lover who has relished an authentic Kobe from Aragawa will tell you, “It’s bovine…oops, divine!”

Tetsuya’s Restaurant Sydney, Australia

Japanese immigrant to Australia, Tetsuya Wakuda runs the hottest place in Sydney. Tetsuya’s Restaurant serves an elaborate ten-course meal which costs around $200/- per head, minus the wine. Tetsuya uses the traditional French technique of food preparation peppered with Japanese inspiration. Being an ‘experimentation’ restaurant, the menu changes often, so you can always expect a surprise. His signature dish, confit of Petuna Tasmanian ocean trout with kelp, daikon and fennel is almost always on the menu, so chances are you won’t be disappointed when you go through the menu. The amazing selection of to-die-for desserts, such as blue cheese bavarois and champagne ice cream at this pricey, but yummy degustation-dining restaurant make for a definite happy ending.

El Bulli: Roses, Spain

This charming, experimental-food restaurant is found in the Catalonian region of Spain. The three Michelin starred eatery serves a 30-course meal, which could well be the experience of a lifetime for a die-hard foodie. The restaurant runs only during its self-imposed dining season from April to September and all bookings are made on a single, busy day in the previous October! Phew! The meals are elaborate and exotic, to say the least, and naturally expensive, costing about $300 per head. Choose the right wine to go along and you will have gone to gastronomic heaven! Not surprising really, since El Bulli has been voted the world’s best restaurant for the last two consecutive years, an honour it had previously received in 2002!

The French Laundry: San Francisco, California

The French have always been synonymous with gourmet food and fine dining. Food is a veritable art form in France, and this lovely restaurant has elevated this particular art to the highest levels. The rather quaint name comes from the fact that this rustic, river rock and timber, two-story building used to be a French steam laundry. The nine-course meal also has a vegetarian counterpart and is accompanied by a phenomenal wine selection. This is one experience your taste buds will crave again and again!

Masa: New York City

Manhattan’s costliest dining experience is this wonderful sushi haven, which enjoys a loyal clientele. The 25-course dinner in the 26-seater restaurant is set at a prix-fixe of about approximately $400/-, wine charges separate. Why? Maybe the fact that the fish and shellfish are flown in DAILY from Tokyo might have something to do with it! Hope you have a couple of hours to spend because that’s just how long it takes to relish the elaborate sushi dinner in the serene Shinto-temple like atmosphere!

Arpege: Paris, France

Now here’s a three-star French restaurant set in the heart of Paris that will let you savour the experience of true-blue French cuisine. Chef and owner Alain Passard is a legend in the culinary world and what you will find is that the man can make magic with vegetables. The food not only tastes good, but also looks terribly chic as well…this is France after all! And in keeping with another typical French obsession, the mainly veggie menu helps you keep a tab on calories…if only it would do the same for your wallet. The mandatory nine-course meal comes with a price tag of around $495/-, but then the veggies do come into Paris fresh from Passard’s organic garden in Sarthe, located about 150 miles southwest of Paris.

Gordon Ramsay: London, UK

If you’re planning on a meal at British chef Gordon Ramsay’s eponymous restaurant, you need to plan well in advance - at least two months! A favourite amongst those who relish exclusivity as well as fine dining, this 13-table restaurant serves delicacies such as pigeon with foie gras and Cornish lamb or pan-fried scallops with octopus and parmesan sauce and roasted duck breast with rutabaga and honey. A meal here could cost in the vicinity of $200/- per person and counting! A dining experience you won’t forget in a hurry!

Alinea: Chicago, Illinois

Grant Achatz, the chef and owner of this top-class eatery, calls his $195 24-course tasting menu a "culinary journey." Of course there’s a shorter version, which serves exactly half the dishes and costs $135, but if you’re there, why settle for less? The wine list starts at around $40. The Black Truffle Explosion is guaranteed to take you to nirvana!

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon: Las Vegas

One of the most expensive restaurants, set in one of the most expensive hotels in the world. You can bet your chocolate mint chiffon pies that this has got to be absolutely first-rate! At Joel Robuchon in the Mansion at the MGM Grand, you’ll end up paying $360 for its famous 16-course menu. Must-tries are the Pigeon with Cabbage and Foie Gras, Lobster Carpaccio with Aromatic Herbs and the divinely delectable Pomme Puree. The wines don’t come cheap, but with a menu at Joel’s, you wouldn’t really expect them to either!

La Pergola: Rome, Italy

This rooftop restaurant at the Rome Cavalieri Hilton is the only three-star Michelin restaurant in Rome, and located in the only three-star hotel-restaurant in all of Italy. The lavishly adorned dining room gives a breathtaking view of the Eternal City and in the summer, you can take your meals al fresco in the adjoining terrace. Chef Heinz Beck's nine-course Mediterranean tasting comes at $285 and offers such delights like Pigeon and duck liver with a mustard seed sauce and other exotic dishes like lamb baked in a light puff pastry with fresh baby eggplant. Ecstasy? You bet!

So if your mouth is already watering, it’s time to start making those reservations and going on a diet so that you can stuff yourself to the brim and beyond for all those scrumptious pleasures that the world has to offer! Bon appetit and to your good health!