Scoring a reservation at one of the world\u2019s most exclusive restaurants has never been more difficult, or more interesting, especially now that Maine is involved.<\/p>\n
In an article from Food & Wine, the publication highlighted a report from hospitality tech firm Dojo that ranks the most impossible-to-book dining experiences in the world. The list includes one iconic restaurant right here in the Pine Tree State.<\/p>\n
The restaurants on the list include establishments with year-long waits, reservation resale prices in the thousands, and even one where you need to send a handwritten postcard just to be considered.<\/p>\n
So, you\u2019re probably wondering: Which spot in the 207 landed at the top of this global list?<\/p>\n
It just happens to be The Lost Kitchen, located at 22 Mill Street in Freedom, Maine.<\/p>\n
You might have the best meal of your life, but get ready to open that wallet! The Lost Kitchen is a foodie\u2019s dream come true, and it has become something of a phenomenon.<\/p>\n
Incredibly, the restaurant has a capacity of just 48 seats and is so inundated with reservation requests that hopeful diners have to send a postcard just to have a shot at getting a table.<\/p>\n
Since The Lost Kitchen is only open from May through October, getting a reservation is no easy task.<\/p>\n
Diners are selected through a random drawing. The restaurant\u2019s popularity comes from its beautiful location in Freedom, unique cuisine, and acclaimed farm-to-table dinners that have attracted rave reviews from diners around the world.<\/p>\n
@catiecat84 Unforgettable dinner at The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine! Send your postcards in, people! #TheLostKitchen #LostKitchen #FreedomMaine #Maine #ErinFrench \u266c I Wanna See You Smile – Guitalele Guys <\/p>\n
Owner Erin French has revealed that The Lost Kitchen typically receives more than 70,000 postcards each year from people hoping to snag a reservation.<\/p>\n
It is also important to keep in mind that dinner will set you back a whopping $265! And that does not include drinks.<\/p>\n
In addition, French has authored books and has been featured on The Drew Barrymore Show, The Today Show, and CBS Sunday Morning.<\/p>\n
Here is how the Top 5 breaks down:<\/p>\n
1. The Lost Kitchen \u2014 Freedom<\/p>\n
2. Rao\u2019s \u2014 New York<\/p>\n
3. Disfrutar \u2014 Barcelona<\/p>\n
4. House of Prime Rib \u2014 San Francisco<\/p>\n
5. El Celler de Can Roca \u2014 Girona<\/p>\n
Traditionally, The Lost Kitchen opens its mailbox for incoming postcards on April 1st each year. That date marks the official start of its reservation lottery process.<\/p>\n
Once the postcard window opens, hopeful diners simply send a handwritten card that includes their name and contact information to:<\/p>\n
The Lost Kitchen
22 Mill Street
Freedom, ME 04941<\/p>\n
Postcards are then randomly selected beginning in April. If yours is chosen, you\u2019ll receive a phone call to schedule your dinner, which is served on Saturdays from May through October.<\/p>\n
10 Maine Restaurants That Closed in July and August 2026<\/p>\n
Gallery Credit: Sean McKenna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scoring a reservation at one of the world\u2019s most exclusive restaurants has never been more difficult, or more interesting, especially now that Maine is involved. In an article from Food & Wine, the publication highlighted a report from hospitality tech firm Dojo that ranks the most impossible-to-book dining experiences in the world. The list includes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[120,7,8],"class_list":["post-25074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-restaurants","tag-news","tag-restaurant","tag-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117246532204741458","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}