7 of the most beautiful restaurants in the world
Hopefully, the day is slowly but surely getting closer: visiting restaurants abroad and basically planning your entire holiday around food. We’re so looking forward to it! And these fantastically beautiful restaurants all over the world are on the bucket list…
Because you can always leave it to the experts at Condé Nast Traveller to map out the most beautiful places in the world and report on the best and most beautiful restaurants everywhere (give me a job like that). Do check the latest opening information, of course, but as soon as it’s possible, we’d absolutely love to visit these restaurants:
El Portalon, Ibiza
In a centuries-old palazzo near Dalt Vila in Ibiza, you can dine in a stunning courtyard beneath a rustling canopy of plants. This is the restaurant of Anne Sijmonsbergen, who is also an organic tomato grower on the island. And if, like us, you love Segio Herman’s Ibiza cookbook, you’ll probably also really enjoy Anne Sijmonsbergen’s cookbook. But of course, you’d much rather hurry over here yourself!
Lyst, Copenhagen
This extremely unusual building, designed by installation artist Sebastian Behmann, is home to this wildly forward-thinking restaurant, where guests move from one space to the next. Starting at a circular glass aperitif bar, you eat your way via the oyster bar and the grills on the balcony to the ultimate dining room with sail-like partitions. And amid the spectacular extravaganza of 20 courses, you apparently fall completely silent at the simplest course: a glass of Krug Champagne with a slice of sourdough bread and butter. Fascinating!
Wolfgat, Paternoster (South Africa)
Two hours’ drive from Cape Town, you’ll find this simple cottage where chef Kobus van der Merwe cooks. It has just twenty seats and is located above a beach, while the diet of the nomadic Strandlopers who once roamed here also serves as inspiration for the menu. Van der Merwe has been pioneering sustainable cooking for ten years, working with whatever the local surroundings and the seasons provide.
Bar Shuka, Frankfurt
In the Netherlands, we’re delighted with Israeli restaurants such as Neni in Amsterdam; in Frankfurt, they can count themselves lucky to have Bar Shuka. A colourful place with a cheerful atmosphere, the lightest, most delicious pitas and the silkiest hummus, plus dazzling neon letters on the wall featuring the Arabic and Hebrew words for ‘friendship’. Late-night dancing on the tables is recommended.
Saddles, Australia (near Sydney)
Drive for an hour from Sydney along the Central Coast and inland, and you’ll find a large, comfy place that has a lot in common with a cowboy ranch. That could come across as kitschy, but the styling is apparently so well thought out and the food so simple and perfect that everything falls into place. Apart from the Champagne, everything on the menu is Australian, and they work with the best local produce. We suspect you won’t find any of the hilarious dishes that are popular elsewhere in Australia here, and we’d absolutely love to go!
Liza, Beirut
Beirut, once known as the Paris of the Middle East, has been a favourite travel destination of FavorFlav’s Sharon for years, and the explosion that caused massive damage in 2020 hurt us all. We deeply hope that this resilient city will soon attract many visitors again, because you can eat and drink wine there like nowhere else. One of those particularly surprising places is Liza, located in a sumptuous nineteenth-century building. Each light-filled room in the restaurant has a different theme, and the food is traditional Lebanese and perfectly executed.
Shugaa dessert café, Bangkok
Eating desserts and sweets in a pastel, candy-coloured interior, completely immersing yourself in the softer side of life. Here you eat the prettiest little cakes while sitting beneath a rose-gold light sculpture and gazing at the partly transparent spiral staircase. Hot chocolate with marshmallow crumble on the side, and then just drift away… Oh, and did you know that you can also make marshmallows yourself? Here’s how!
Read also:
- Sergio Herman’s favourite spots in Ibiza
- 10 of the most delicious dishes in the world
- Pack your bags (and a light wallet): these are the cheapest Michelin meals in the world
Source and images: Condé Nast Traveller, Saddles
