Invention, precision, dedication and unrestrained vision continue to define the global gastronomy scene. The restaurant world has a newfound passion that’s being recognized again and again with accolades like Michelin stars in new markets and lists like the World’s 50 Best, La Liste and the Best Chef Awards.
This isn’t one of those lists—it’s not a recognition of what’s already been done but a tease of what might be to come. Three professional eaters weighed in on what’s most delighted them this past year. Kristian Brask Thomsen is a global gastro ambassador, filmmaker (Michelin Stars) and world tour manager. Supermodel-turned–fine dining ambassador Aiste Miseviciute runs the culinary hub Luxeat. And Flip Dejaeghere travels nearly nonstop to find “the most refined restaurants wherever that may be,” which he documents at @flipworldfoodie.
Some of their recommendations are new, while others are reboots or evolutions. Or they’re simply under the radar (but perhaps won’t stay there much longer). Maybe they’ll appear on the famous lists, or maybe not. Even so, they confer bragging rights while providing serious dining pleasure in the process. (Note: This is an alphabetical list, not a ranking.)
Araya, Singapore
The counter at Araya
Guo Jie Khoo
As Brask Thomsen tells it, the story goes that Chilean chef Francisco Araya maxed out his credit cards to open an eight-seat counter in a Tokyo backyard and received a Michelin star soon after, allowing him to pay his debts. His new Araya in Singapore, which he opened with his partner, chef Fernanda Guerrero, is a different animal. The super-sexy dining counter is the world’s only Michelin-starred Chilean restaurant, and it “delivers a captivating Chilean culinary narrative—deeply influenced by Araya’s time in Spain (El Bulli) and Japan—with a seductive mix of Patagonian and Japanese produce and a South Pacific theme. Japanese delicacies such as kinki and cod milt are jazzed up by aji amarillo and merkén from Chile, served alongside French pigeon and caviar—the latter cooked as perfectly as at Disfrutar in Barcelona.
Da Lucio, Rimini, Italy
One of the Adriatic coast’s most exciting seafood restaurants is on the seafront of Rimini and specializes in large wild fish, says Miseviciute. Romagna-born chef Jacopo Ticchi and his team at Da Lucio practice a “fin-to-gill” philosophy in which even fish offal is turned into delicacies, while fire—through a charcoal grill and a wood oven—gives the cuisine its distinctive character. Ticchi’s career spans Australia, Spain and four formative years with Pietro Leemann at Joia in Milan. Since returning home, he has pioneered fish maturation, shaping a unique and forward-thinking style. It’s “one of the most original and memorable fine dining experiences in Italy today,” she says, “and definitely one to watch.”
The Jane 2.0, Antwerp, Belgium
Chef Nick Bril at the Jane
Pieter D’Hoop
“After almost a decade as one of Europe’s most celebrated restaurants, it was time for the Jane to embark on a new chapter,” explains Dejaeghere. “The new location couldn’t be more fitting. Chef Nick Bril has created a culinary destination where intimacy, art, design and a sense of wonder converge.” At its heart is an open-fire kitchen, where Bril performs as both craftsman and entertainer. “Expect a cuisine devoted to pure ingredients and honest flavors, each dish designed to awaken your senses in the most refined way. Intimate in form, boundless in feeling.”
Knystaforsen, Rydabäck, Sweden
A chef tends the fire at Knystaforsen
Eva H. Tram
Deep in the Swedish forest, beside the murmuring Nissan River in rural Halland, “Knystaforsen feels like a place where Twin Peaks meets The X-Files,” says Dejaeghere. “Mysterious, beautiful and utterly real.” Chef Nicolai Tram, always wearing his signature hat, and his wife, Eva, invite diners into their former home, where the chef commands open flames with quiet mastery. “Every dish tells a story of river, forest and fire, raw nature shaped into refined simplicity. Dining becomes a journey rather than simply a meal. From campfire dishes beneath the stars to the quiet elegance of a candlelit dining room, it’s dining as discovery, a place where wilderness glows with quiet grace.”
Largo do Paço, Amarante, Portugal
Chef Francisco Quintas and his team at Largo do Paço
Luis Ferraz
Inside the historic Casa da Calçada hotel in Amarante, Largo do Paço stands as “a symbol of Portuguese haute cuisine reborn,” says Dejaeghere. Now led by “young and visionary” chef Francisco Quintas, the restaurant “redefines tradition through precision, purity and imagination. Every plate is rooted in the land yet inspired by global experience. At the heart of the experience lies a devotion to product: seasonal, honest and impeccably crafted. Each course unfolds like a narrative, a dialogue between flavor and memory.” This latest incarnation is a “return to excellence and a promise of what’s next for Portuguese gastronomy.”
LuMi, Sydney
“Though it’s a decade old, I hadn’t heard about LuMi until recently, and then from multiple sides,” admits Brask Thomsen. When he asked a prominent Australian food writer, the answer was: “OMG, the best; we are so lucky to have it. Narisawa meets Bottura, only better, but it’s underrated.” So he went and found that his colleague was right. “Federico Zanellato cooks a very driven, refined and umami-overloaded menu in an upbeat open-kitchen dining room that feels as much like a floating veranda as it does a fine restaurant,” he says. “It’s clear that Zanellato has traveled widely to gather the impressive culinary toolbox he now cooks from. From the incredible pastas of La Pergola in Rome to the respect for pristine products of Noma in Copenhagen, to the relentlessly honed technique and vastness of RyuGin in Tokyo—all Michelin three-star restaurants—this seasoned chef cooks one deliciousness after another.
Rocio Tapas y Sushi, Málaga, Spain
Rocio Tapas y Sushi
Courtesy of the restaurant
“As a seasoned global diner, I don’t easily get taken by surprise,” says Brask Thomsen. “So I love it when it happens, especially when it’s in the most unexpected places. That’s the case with Rocia Tapas y Sushi, a corner restaurant with the outward appearance of a “blue-collar neighborhood café or ice cream parlor—it doesn’t even look open, and you might think you are in the wrong place.” But you aren’t. “You’re in Juan Bautista’s little izakaya with five or six tables spread out and an omakase counter, where he’ll serve you some of the best sushi you’ll have in Europe, guaranteed. The omakase is an exhibition of the best and most interesting produce imaginable. Spanish bluefin tuna is at the heart, prepared in such a manner that your spirit automatically elevates and you feel blessed you found your way to this residential corner.”
Row on 5, London
Row on 5
Courtesy of the restaurant
Row on 5, by chefs Jason Atherton and Spencer Metzger, formerly the head chef at London’s legendary Ritz, opened last December and was awarded a Michelin star shortly after. Spread over two levels beneath Savile Row, the restaurant “unfolds like a world of its own, offering a refined and modern interpretation of fine dining,” says Miseviciute. “The cuisine is contemporary classic—elegant, precise and beautifully executed—and crafted from some of the finest British ingredients, such as giant scallops from Orkney and sika deer from Dorset.” It also has one of the most impressive wine lists in London, curated by Luxembourgish sommelier Roxane Dupuy, with more than 100 wines available by the glass. Last but not least, in true Savile Row spirit, the restaurant offers to have your coat dry-cleaned upon arrival—”a thoughtful and rather charming touch.”
Sons & Daughters, San Francisco
Part of the summer menu at Sons & Daughters
Courtesy of the restaurant
Sons & Daughters has been around since 2010, but it lived a rather anonymous life internationally amongst the Bay Area’s titans, notes Brask Thomsen. That changed with the arrival of British chef Harrison Cheney, who won the Young Michelin Award for 2023, followed by a second Michelin star. Recently, the restaurant moved to a “very cool corner spot in the Mission” that’s three times the size of the old Nob Hill location, which “feels like a Swedish fine dining summer house.” The restaurant also began following the New Nordic philosophy, a legacy of Cheney’s previous post as the head chef of two-star Gastrologik in Stockholm. He even brought two Swedes, his right-hand man in the kitchen, Alexander Blomdahl Hay, and Alex’s wife, Frida, who is the front of house manager and sommelier. “Sons & Daughters cooks up a cleanly minimalist menu based on Northwest American products that beautifully blends Nordic flavors and techniques with preserved fruits and vegetables, superb seafood, aged meats and delicious sauces.”
Sushi Meino, Tokyo
Sushi master Mei Kogo at Sushi Meino
Aiste Miseviciute
“Something unimaginable 20—or even 10—years ago: Tokyo now has a few female sushi masters,” notes Miseviciute. Mei Kogo is one of them. Before opening her own counter, Sushi Meino, in Azabu Juban, she trained for ten years at Tokyo institutions such as Sushi Sho and Sushi Arai. She also spent a year in France studying to become a sommelier, which explains her restaurant’s beautifully curated wine list. Now independent, Mei Kogo runs a “top-level sushi-ya that can easily stand alongside the very best in Tokyo.”
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