Our restaurant critic Bill Addison teamed up with longtime columnist Jenn Harris again this year to spread out and sample hundreds of different dining establishments - in addition to crucial return visits - to determine a range of 101 restaurants that exemplify everything we love about dining in Southern California. Read the entire guide below, plus our writers' favorite places to sip tea, coffee or cocktails, and the updated Hall of Fame list.
Among New York City's fine-dining scene, L'Abeille is chef Mitsunobu Nagae's Michelin-starred playground, where he and the team experiment with French and Japanese ingredients and techniques to elegant results. The space is the definition of quiet luxury: stunning yet understated, stunning with velvet chairs and booths but no white tablecloths. It makes sense that director Celine Song filmed a scene for Materialists here, suitable for big-deal occasions, friend hangs, and family meals.
When a restaurant with the pedigree of 1919 at Condado Vanderbilt Hotel makes a leadership change, the food and beverage industry takes notice. The appointment of Chef Ciaran Elliott as Executive Chef marks not just a personnel shift, but a transformative moment that promises to elevate one of Puerto Rico's most celebrated fine dining destinations to new heights. With his distinguished background spanning multiple Michelin-starred kitchens across Europe and New York, Elliott brings the kind of global expertise that hospitality industry leaders dream of securing.
The restaurant rose from the waterfront like a cathedral of light and glass 30,000 square feet of modern American glamour with the Manhattan skyline glittering just beyond its floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside, warmth took over. The marble bar gleamed beneath soft amber lighting, and the hum of conversation felt almost orchestral against the sound of clinking glasses. The setting was elegant yet unpretentiousa perfect stage for a holiday date night.
Wiltons is a restaurant with a past so long and steady that it feels less like a business and more like a living narrative of London. Its history goes back to 1742, when George William Wilton sold oysters on the streets before moving into premises that would become a fixture of the city's dining life. Step inside today, and the weight of those centuries is felt immediately.
Guests enter the restaurant through the main doors of the Westin and land in the Bourbon Loungeformerly Clock Bara cinematic expanse of marble and brass, with coffered ceilings lit by sparkling spherical chandeliers and warm globe lamps that illuminate soft leather stools. A party of Gatsby impersonators would blend right in. You could linger here all night sipping craft cocktails that nod to Mina's legacy of restaurants.
Perched 1,350m above the Dolomites, this family-run hotel offers luxury wellness, a gravity-defying SkyPool, an innovative 'Heaven and Hell Spa', daily guided hikes, yoga and fine dining with locally sourced ingredients and wines. Featured on the BBC's Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby series with Rob Rinder and Monica Galetti, this stunning hotel is the perfect blend of local hospitality, luxury wellness and sustainable innovation - all anchored in South Tyrolean family values.
In naming it as the top fine dining restaurant as part of its annual Travelers' Choice Awards Best of the Best Restaurants, Tripadvisor lauded Fogón Asado for showcasing the "rich tradition of asado steak with a twist" that "goes well beyond regular steakhouse fare." "Tripadvisor's Best of the Best Restaurants are celebrated for their extraordinary cuisine, attentive service, and remarkable locations, where most importantly, diners go to make special memories," Kristen Dalton, the president of Tripadvisor, said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure. "From hidden local gems to one-of-a-kind destinations, Tripadvisor's community guides travelers to restaurants that become cherished favorites or once-in-a-lifetime experiences, all backed by trusted reviews."
Spago in Los Angeles is the flagship in Wolfgang Puck's international empire a vital part of the city's culinary history, and represents possibly the greatest vibe shift ever in American restaurants. I went back several times because I wanted to see how this restaurant that, both influenced and anticipated some major American food trends over 40 years ago, fit into the scene it helped shape today.
If you're looking to celebrate an anniversary, treat yourself on your birthday, or wine and dine a potential client, a good steakhouse is hard to beat. For the high prices, you expect impeccable service, an inviting atmosphere, and, of course, a perfectly seared steak served with scrumptious sides. If you want the best of the best steakhouses in the Golden State, there's really only one fine dining establishment that you should consider. We're talking about the ritzy Gwen steakhouse on Sunset Boulevard.
While traditionally the quality and price of dishes on a menu go hand in hand, that's not the case with Community Kitchen. Everyone gets the same quality food, the same care in preparation, with no consideration given to what the diner might pay for it. Community Kitchen works on a sliding scale where you are asked to pay what is fair based on your income. They don't police this idea, either.
Meat is back on the menu at Eleven Madison Park for the first time in four years. And I was there. When I was walking up to the restaurant, it was mostly business as usual gor a Tuesday night at 6 p.m. you walk through the revolving doors and there's a dozen smiling hosts waiting to take you to your table.
Is a teeny tiny po'boy that holds a single oyster. a little bit ridiculous? Yes and is it delicious? That too. I think maybe I forgot fine dining can be all of these things at once until I went to Emeril's in New Orleans. You might associate Emeril's with the famous first name-only celebrity chef who opened it in 1990, but the restaurant was recently taken over by his son.
The multicourse tasting menu, cooked by a highly credentialled chef, would be elegant and refined, made with heirloom produce from local farms. Experienced servers might pour meticulously curated natural wines, ask the obligatory "Have you dined with us before?," and swiftly fold the rumpled napkin of anyone who got up to use the rest room. What would set Community Kitchen apart from the dozens of restaurants like it across Manhattan and Brooklyn was the way patrons would pay:
At Le Chene in Manhattan, chef Alexia Duchene indulges diners with a haute spin on French classics while another kind of artistry hangs on the walls. Diners nibble sweet shrimp tartelettes or golden, pastry-covered pithiviers beneath Warhol's Flowers and sip rare Grand Cru across from a Basquiat triptych. And, for deep-pocketed guests, there's even the chance to take a masterpiece home.
"The prices have gotten out of hand," Nieporent told Business Insider while discussing his new memoir, "I'm Not Trying To Be Difficult: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches."
That wouldn't be entirely fair, but there's no escaping the fact that chef Jason Atherton's ground-floor Berners Tavern is the palpitating heart of the hotel. The lobby cocktail bar, oak-panelled, reservation-only Punch Room and nightclub Basement only increase the pulse-rate. Once upon a time this was five lovely 1835 townhouses, which were combined in 1910 to create the Berners Hotel.
The team takes pride in keeping those tablecloths smooth and crisp. Watching the staff swap out the top tablecloths between guests is almost like watching a short-form ballet: The linens are elegantly draped on the table, followed by a member of staff quickly bringing over a portable iron to gently steam the fabric and smooth out any wrinkles. And in just a few minutes, the table is meticulously reset.
Stepping into Caviar House in Piccadilly feels like entering a world where luxury and comfort meet effortlessly. Known for its caviar heritage, the restaurant does not disappoint when it comes to other delicacies either, especially its sushi and sake. The sushi is impeccably fresh and beautifully presented, each piece clearly crafted with care. Pairing it with sake elevates the experience even further, balancing the delicate flavours perfectly.
The pursuit of culinary perfection has never been more accessible to viewers than it will be this October. Apple TV+ has just released the official trailer for "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars," an eight-part documentary series that promises unprecedented access to the emotionally charged, high-stakes world of fine dining. Set to premiere globally on Friday, October 10, this series offers food and beverage professionals and culinary enthusiasts a rare glimpse into what it truly takes to earn, maintain, or elevate Michelin star recognition.
We don't think anything perks up a Saturday more than a brunch excursion. Obviously, your brunch doesn't have to be anything fancy - there's no shortage of great brunch spots across the U.S., and sometimes the best breakfast is a simple, well-executed pancake plate. On special occasions, though, you may want something a bit more upscale: a fancy brunch that you can dress up for, where you'll eat in a gorgeous atmosphere and get good food to boot.
Nobu is a brand with cachet. Founded in 1994 by chef Nobuyuki Nobu' Matsuhisa, Robert de Niro, and Meir Teper, there are now upwards of 60 branches worldwide, from Cape Town to Kuala Lumpur. New openings are awaited in Madrid and Rome, while Cairo is about to get its second restaurant. London has two. This successful empire is built on a fusion of traditional Japanese cuisine with Peruvian ingredients.
Located in the well-to-do neighborhood of Yorkville-which, if we're looking for a New York equivalent, has strong Soho vibes, with high-end boutiques, design studios, chic cafes and frequent celebrity sightings-Enigma is a fine-dining concept from Johannesburg-born chef Quinton Bennett and Austin Chen, nestled on picturesque St. Thomas Street since 2020. When Enigma was awarded a Michelin star in 2022, it was among the first restaurants in all of Canada to receive the coveted rating.
What struck me was the feeling of not being hungry, he tells the Guardian. I still wanted to eat, but I didn't feel that drive. It made me think this is going to kill the restaurant industry, because if people aren't eating as much, restaurants won't be as enticing. I'm not sure what will happen to supermarkets either. I don't think this change is bad for health.
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