The restaurants Forbes says you should eat at in 2024
We may need to save up a little longer, but then surely we can manage to tick off this food bucket list? Because according to the American business magazine Forbes, these are the ten restaurants we want to visit in 2024. Some opened their doors last year, while others have been around a little longer — but I can certainly see what makes each one unique. Whether it’s the location, the menu or the ambiance — these restaurants are truly special.
So if you still have a wish list, be sure to add these ten restaurants to it.
The best restaurants of 2024
1. Iris, Rosendal, Norway
This restaurant has also been on my personal bucket list since it opened, because it looks like an unforgettable experience. The restaurant is a gigantic floating sphere called the Salmon Eye in Norway’s Hardangerfjord. You’re taken there by boat, which already sounds very special to me. And then there’s the food… This is fine dining at the very highest level. Given the location, you can probably guess that seafood plays a major role in the dishes, but sustainability is also a major focus (there’s even a sustainability centre next door that you can visit). Fun fact: besides a wine pairing, you can also choose a non-alcoholic pairing.
2. Auberge Tokito, Tachikawa, Japan
I think every food lover should visit Japan at least once — says someone who has never been there. Emphasis on yet, because I’d love nothing more than to spend a month there doing nothing but eating. And this year, the capital Tokyo is also number one among the most affordable Michelin-starred restaurants. Right, as if we needed another reason, here comes Auberge Tokito, also located in this gigantic city. The chef, Yoshinori Ishii, previously worked at a Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant in London before returning to Japan. Here, he wants to modernise traditional kaiseki cuisine. Kaiseki cuisine is traditionally served in multiple courses and uses seasonal ingredients. An example of kaiseki cuisine is Yamazato in Amsterdam’s Okura Hotel. Fun fact: all courses are served on ceramic dishes and plates made by the chef himself.
3. Atelier Moessmer, Brunico, Italy
This restaurant is located near the Austrian border, and although I had never heard of Brunico before, I now want to go there. “Culinary art on a new level,” is how they describe their own establishment. The setting is beautiful, right in the middle of the mountains, and they make extensive use of local products. The menu is full of Italian dishes with South Tyrolean influences. Apart from all the courses — each of which is genuinely a work of art — you won’t be bored for a second here: from an aperitif in the lobby to digestifs in the library and a quick visit to the glass extension, where the open kitchen takes centre stage.
4. Julemont, Château Wittem, Wittem, Netherlands
Yay, the Dutch establishment that made Forbes’ list is Julemont, awarded two Michelin stars. Fun fact: chef Guido Braeken is the youngest Dutch chef to achieve that feat, earning two Michelin stars. We had already had our eye on him for a while and nominated him for our FavorFlav Food Top 100 this year. Forbes praises his menu for its “strong, classic French foundation”, allowing chef Braeken to “work creatively and playfully with ingredients and influences from other countries and cultures, such as Asia or Latin America, before adding his own twist and creating dishes that are precise yet simultaneously… nothing less than divine creations with an exceptionally high level of deliciousness.” Well, two words would have been enough for me; I absolutely have to go here.
5. Le Doyenné, Saint-Vrain, France
Good news: quite a few of these entries can be found in Europe, so a food road trip to these establishments sounds like an excellent summer plan to me. And according to Forbes, we shouldn’t miss this one either — and we can stay overnight at the same time. Besides a restaurant (which originally served as a château), there’s also a farm and a guesthouse here. The two chefs, who are also the owners, James Henry and Shaun Kelly, completely transformed the property into what Le Doyenné is today. Both men are from Australia and moved to France eleven and five years ago, respectively. At Le Doyenné, they also offer a lunch menu (€55 per person) and serve a four-course dinner menu for €120 — which I think is quite reasonable. On y va!
6. Mammertsberg, Freidorf, Switzerland
Can you picture it already, that Eurotrip? And just like the establishment above, you can roll straight into bed here — rooms are also available for an overnight stay. They describe their restaurant as “fine dining with pleasure, imagination, Alpine DNA and a cosmopolitan feel. ‘Here, you are the King and Queen,’ it says prominently on their website. It’s clear: you’ll be thoroughly pampered here. Mammertsberg has been awarded two Michelin stars, and I’d give the surroundings the same rating; it’s a beautiful, stately building overlooking the meadows, and on a clear day you can even see the Obersee.
7. Tantris, Munich, Germany
This establishment underwent a complete renovation in 2021; it reopened to guests on 1 October that year and embarked on a new path. Successfully: it now has two Michelin stars. The menu is French, as is most of the wine list. The interior is very different from that of other establishments: distinctly modern rather than classic, with lots of orange and black. An eclectic atmosphere, then, although they consciously preserved many elements of their 1970s style, as it was before the renovation. You can choose between six and eight courses at dinner, and every dish is a visual feast; they know how to put the most beautiful creations in front of you, from little flowers to roses and leaves — all in keeping with the season. If this restaurant is outside your budget, the same building is also home to Tantris DNA (awarded one star) and Tantris Bar.
8. Ilis, Brooklyn, United States
Seafood lovers, this one has to go on your bucket list. So if you ever go to New York, don’t forget Ilis. It’s a newcomer, but was almost a decade “in the making”, says Mads Reflund. True food lovers will probably know the name; he was one of the chefs who started restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, also known as the best restaurant in the world. Now it’s time for something new, and he has opened Ilis in Brooklyn, New York. Not that you needed any further convincing to visit this restaurant, but let’s continue anyway. Reflund primarily wants to convey flexibility — especially to guests. That’s why you can choose how many courses you want; anything between five and twelve is possible. But before you decide how many courses to order, trolleys regularly pass by with seafood snacks, although that sounds much more casual than it actually is. You can take whatever you like, creating your own selection of appetisers. I already love this.
9. Amisfield, Queenstown, New Zealand
We were doing so well with the European restaurants, but unfortunately the United States was already a bit farther away, and for this one we really have to travel to the other side of the world… But if we are to believe Forbes, it’s more than worth it. Especially now that Noma is closing its doors at the end of this year, because according to Forbes, Amisfield is “everything Noma aspired to be, but on the other side of the world.” They are also enthusiastic about how “magical, authentic, entertaining and memorable food can be”, and how Amisfield manages to remind us of that. You can have lunch or dinner here, but bring your credit card: prices start at 360 dollars. In return, you get seafood unlike anything you’ve ever eaten, but you can also expect slow-roasted pork or their take on “duck in the oven”. You get the idea: not a suitable establishment for vegetarians and vegans.
10. Vyn by Daniel Berlin, Simrishamn, Sweden
Vyn is not only a restaurant but also a hotel — although everything is small-scale: there are 15 hotel rooms, and the restaurant has space for just 30 guests. It’s a major change for chef Daniel Berlin, who opened this restaurant last August. Before that, he worked at places including Eleven Madison Park, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the heart of Manhattan, and NoMad, which was also in New York (and has since closed its doors). From busy New York to the Swedish countryside; Simrishamn has fewer than 7,000 inhabitants. “Vyn” is Swedish for “view”, which is a fitting name, as you can enjoy a very good view of the Baltic Sea here. Daniel Berlin feels completely at home there, too, as the menu is full of Scandinavian influences. Could this be the new Noma…?
Read also:
- Go to a Michelin-starred restaurant sometime
- I asked Michelin-starred chefs about their ultimate guilty pleasure
- How to make cheap meat delicious
Source: Forbes, image: Iris // Julemont
