Hi,
I'm flying to Italy this weekend and have a reservation at a 2 Michelin star restaurant at the chef's table and I was thinking of bringing them a special Icelandic hand made salt's as a gift since I'm flying there for this experience. Is that weird or something they might appreciate?
Never done that before and figured I'd ask before I make a fool of my self
I am going to Madrid in a few weeks and want to plan a michelin star dinner for my wife and I. I would prefer to stick around a $200 - $250 price (not including drink pairings). Any recommendations? I'm currently deciding between Saddle, CEBO and EMi? I care more about the actual food than the "theatrics" often associated with Michelin dining. Anything else that I should consider?
Any recommendation?
I always knew the Keller restaurants to be service included, but when I went a few weeks ago, I got an awkward little speech and the check offered a line for "optional gratuity," I did tip maybe 10%, the bill was outrageous for more after wine pairings. I reviewed the website and tock again today and it seems the "service included" language has been removed?
ETA: I've been informed privately by more than one person that there is no baked-in service fee for FOH, and while Per Se pays more than tipped-minimum-wage, they don't pay much more than untipped-minimum-wage, certainly not a living wage. Given that, you probably SHOULD go ahead and leave that "optional gratuity," but I personally do not think $400 for a 2 hour experience is even within the realm of reasonable, unless you're a stripper or an attorney, so I'll continue with simply considering the hourly investment and going with $100-200 max. And actually, I don't need to go to Per Se again. There are better restaurants, but for anyone wondering the same thing I was, here you go.
I'm also turning off reply notifications because I can't turn off comments and I think this post is worth leaving up, but I have lost patience with the number of idiots who have no experience with this restaurant deciding to offer unformed and inexperienced opinions.
Ate at the recently awarded 1 star at The Torridon Hotel ("the northernmost 5 star hotel in Scotland") on Friday. Far exceeded my expectations. The chef, Danny Young, joined the restaurant last year. The cooking and staff were phenomenal. The dining room itself is quite small (30 covers?). What made it extra special is my wife is vegan, and they prepared a separate menu for he. An hour before service we told them my wife didn't like mushrooms (I am sooooo sorry!). Apparently there was going to be a mushroom dish on the vegan menu, but Danny changed it at the last minute.
There were two surprise courses which added to the fun. The wine pairing was a bit disappointing in terms of unusual wines, but certainly paired well. What I did find exceptional was the matching of the vegan and regular dishes from a flavour, texture, balance perspective. Personally I felt this was at 2* level. I am excited to see how Danny can run with this new venture. Interested to hear of any other recent experiences here.
TLDR; I’m going to a very nice restaurant in France and I don’t want to come across like an asshole but I’m too scared to try anything on the menu. What do I do? Have you been to a Michelin star restaurant, or Le Cinq? What was your experience?
So my partners family is taking me to France with them in a couple weeks (we live in the US), I’m very excited but have been anxious about eating abroad. Thankfully there’s lots of options with bread and pastries so I think I’ll live for most of the trip. BUT we are going to Le Cinq at the end of our trip which is a very upscale 3 Michelin star restaurant, and I’ve decided to go with because I don’t want to be isolated by my arfid anymore. The thing is, nothing on the menu even slightly appeals to me, it all terrifies me aside from the dessert menu. I’ve never been to any upscale restaurants due to my condition, and this place is freakin FANCY like dress code fancy. So I’m very scared, I don’t want to order a 100-200 euro meal that I won’t be able to even try a bite of. But I know it would likely be extremely rude to take up space at a reservation just to be there and not order a meal. I also know that French culture is much different and I am extremely nervous about coming across as rude or childish because it seems like having ARFID as an adult is the most embarrassing, hard to comprehend thing in the world to most people. Thankfully his family knows about my Arfid and respect it, they offered to have me join them knowing it would be difficult for me but they want me to feel included and enjoy the full experience.
So I need your help, experience, and insight on what I should do. Should I just not go all together? Should I go and try to “share” something with my partner? I don’t want to miss out on the fine dining experience even if I’m too scared to eat much of anything.
(I’ve had ARFID for as long as I can remember and have been diagnosed for a little over a decade. My palette is extremely limited and I eat roughly the same 5-6 things generally. I have severe anxiety around trying new things obviously and I’ve been trying to push my limits with not too much luck, it’s exhausting.)
Hey all,
I managed to finally secure a table for 2 at Sorn in Bangkok on May 29 at 6:00pm after trying for a long time, but my wife unfortunately can’t make the trip.
Rather than let the seat go unused, I’m looking for someone who would be interested in joining me for the dinner. Ideally someone who genuinely appreciates fine dining and would be excited for a top-tier tasting experience.
Happy to share details over DM. Just looking for a good fit for the seat.
- Hokkaido scallop crudo: acevichado, pickled kohlrabi, Serrano chiles, Thai basil and heart of palm
- Wonton in brodo: chicken dumplings, shoyu and parmeggiano broth, wood ear mushrooms and chives
- Bing bread with honey butter: sourdough flatbread and Florida honey butter, toasted seaweed and sesame seeds
- Koshihikaraki rice: roasted sunchoke veloute, Gruyère foam, mushroom xo sauce and slow cooked eggyolk
- Roasted stripped bass
-Japanese French toast: Japanese milk bread, cereal milk iced tea gelato and peanut butter crumble
Truly delicious!
Wondering if anyone here has ever had a really sub-par meal at a Michelin starred restaurant. This was my experience on Saturday night: It was a fixed price menu. The first three courses were spectacular. The rest of the courses ranged from bland to literally inedible. Did you reach out directly to the restaurant? Did you in some way contact the guide? I'd dined at numerous Michelin restaurants previously --- and this wasn't small stuff like a white napkin when I was wearing a black dress (though that happened too). I felt ripped off by the restaurant -- and it also dinged my trust in Michelin a little bit. Any guidance you can provide would be appreciated. UPDATE: I reached out to the restaurant via DM on Instagram. They responded, albeit taking no responsibility for things like the same dish being cooked one way for my dining partner, another way for me, and saying that was intentional. No concessions offered. Ummmm. OK. Anyway, resolved and thanks to all of you for chiming in on your own experiences. Except the guy who said no one cared but commented anyway.
Any recommendation?
•Restaurant: alla prima
•City: Seoul
•Accolades: 2 Michelin Stars, 57th on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2026
•Menu: Lunch Tasting Menu
•Price: 190,000₩ p.p. (approx. US $130)
•Course Duration: 2.5hrs
•Visited: Dec 2025
•Ordered a glass of champagne, Krug Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition. Took sips of this champagne between each course.
•Chef Jin-hyuk Kim has been maintaining the accolade of 2 Michelin Stars for the past 8 years consecutively.
•In Italian, alla prima means "at first attempt". Alla prima also refers to a painting technique (wet-on-wet painting technique) often used in oil painting, where layers of paints are applied before the previous ones have dried, allowing the work to be completed in one sitting. Vincent van Gogh, Calude Monet, Rembrandt, and Bob Ross famously used this technique.
•1st [Entrance]
•2nd [Menu]
One side displayed the day's course menu with the date in the footnote, while the other side featured a complete list of ingredients, along with their respective countries of origin.
•3rd [Champagne]
Krug Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition.
•4th [Open Kitchen]
•5th [Abalone, Lemon]
Diced and sliced abalones were drizzled by a dash of condensed milk, then topped with sea weed, soy sauce, and lemon jelly.
As far as my memory goes, the chef drew inspiration for this dish when he visited lemon garden/farm on Jeju island, where he noticed a pleasant pairing between the salty scent coming from sea breeze and citrusy fragrance of the lemons. Accordingly, the sea weed, soy sauce, and lemon jelly were seasoned to mimic the salinity of sea water.
This dish was refreshing, not only due to its acidic touch from lemon jelly, but also how I was served a single dish instead of an amuse-bouche with multiple small-bites.
•6th [Emmental Cheese, Vegetable, Herb]
Salad dish provided with a tiny scroll. Upon unfurling the scroll, you can find the full list of ingredients harnessed for this salad.
Each ingredient was placed within the bowl to mimic a garden, where roots were placed on the bottom, topped by stems, leaves, then flower petals.
The server poured a warm sauce made with whey-separated Emmental cheese around the salad. Upon reaching the leaves after petals, the sauce quickly settled to room temperature. The sauce brought weight to this dish through its fat and savoury depth, without overpowering the natural characters of the greens. Instead, it rounded out the sharper, more piquant notes of certain greens.
Quite a refreshing experience this was, since many sauces/dressings served with salads are cold or at room temperature.
•7th [Carnaroli, Kuruma Shrimp, Neungi Mushroom, Chestnut, Truffle]
7 year-aged carnaroli rice risotto, cooked with Kuruma shrimp, Neungi mushroom (also called the Black tiger's paw mushroom) paste, and chestnut, was topped with strips of truffle.
The Neungi mushroom paste was the highlight of this dish as it had a strong punch of earthy umami, pairing well with the truffle strips. However, the 7 year-aged carnaroli rice was disappointing for me. Instead of having poppy, elastic, bouncy, firm, and yet creamy texture, this carnaroli rice was somewhat mushy, brittle, and chalky with fractured grains. This was my first time trying a 7 year-aged carnaroli rice, thus my ignorance might be at fault here.
•8th [Tilefish, Burdock, Chopi]
Tilefish fillet placed on top of raddish mochi in a boiling hot fish broth with fried burdock strips as garnish. The tilefish fillet was coated with chopi pepper sauce.
Chopi pepper sauce added delightful spiciness and fragrance to this dish that somewhat could have been too plain without it. Fried burdock strips were a little too chewy for my liking, thus I had to cut them into smaller pieces or soak them with the fish broth over significant amount of time.
•9th [Duck Breast]
Wood-smoked duck breast served with fig sauce and a slice of burdock galette, which was topped with lightly pickled lotus root.
Duck breast was tender and brilliantly rendered with no chewy skin nor sinew present throughout every bite. The burdock galette complemented duck breast as the main carbs of this dish, presenting both earthy base as well as sweetness.
Despite all that, the fig sauce stood out as the star of this dish. Harmonious blend of fig leaves, peach, port wine, and whole grain mustard was packed with layers of distinctive flavours that elevated the duck breasts to a whole new level. Albeit complex blend of ingredients, the sauce was light and silky, thus no overtaking of duck breast.
•10th [Spaghetti, Conch, Chives, Tomato]
Spaghetti cooked with tomato-infused Manila clam sauce, tomato oil, wood-smoked chives, shichimi powder, and wood-smoked conch that had been slow-cooked and repetitively brushed by conch liver sauce.
The conch had pleasant texture, however brushed conch liver sauce wasn't noticeable for my palate. On the other hand, tomato-infused Manila clam sauce was brilliant. The sauce had no excessive moisture, it was tight with an impactful punch of tomato umami at its core. No additional flavours were present surrounding its tomato umami core, and this detail felt intentional as additional flavours could have harmed the overall balance of the dish.
•11th [Mascarpone, Espresso, Marsala]
alla prima's original take on tiramisu made with mascarpone, espresso crumble, Marsala wine ice cream, and cacao chips. This dish had nothing remarkable for my palate.
•12th [Ripe Persimmon, Chestnut]
White chocolate ice cream with ripe persimmon was paired with a quenelle of chestnut ice cream, cooked chestnut, hazelnut sponge cake, and Earl grey crumbles.
Although I had heard numerous positive comments on the ripe persimmon ice cream, I did not find anything so special about it. Rather, I was surprised by how intense the hazelnut flavour of the sponge cake was, since sponge cake pieces used as garnish tend to be quite bland.
•13th [Coffee, Tea]
Tea with madeleine and Job's tears cream puff as petit fours. Despite its size, the Job's tears cream of the cream puff was real mouthful in terms of its flavour.
•14th [Main Pass]
On the Michelin Guide, alla prima is described as the following, "alla prima's natural flavors of the ingredients are preserved, while the balance of herbs and vegetables adds an alluring aroma. The tasting menu is original without being overly complex or intimidating. The wide counter offers the best view of the the kitchen’s lively energy, while the calm, classic ambiance and softly lit dining room ensure that no detail has been overlooked in providing a truly comfortable meal".
This description does resonate with me in every respect.
Regarding the restaurant's ambiance, my seat at the bar counter allowed me to fully appreciate its calm and classic atmosphere. The chefs moved with quiet composure, while the servers, all dressed in suits, contributed to this refined and classic mood. The open kitchen view from the bar counter was spacious and relaxing.
There was one drawback I encountered with alla prima's service. After overhearing different servers explain the same dish, I noticed a lack of consistency in the level of detail provided. Some guests received thorough explanations, including the chef's inspiration and the techniques applied, while others were only told the names of the ingredients. As someone who enjoys detailed explanations, I had expected there to be an agreed standard for the amount of information shared about each dish.
Regarding their flavours and tasting menu, nothing indeed felt overly complex or intimidating, yet each dish felt original. Though one could argue that alla prima's tasting menu does not fully live up to its Michelin Guide's classification as "Innovative", I believe unique and refreshing elements placed here and there within the course could definitely label alla prima's tasting menu as innovative for the standards of Korean fine dining scene.
For anyone curious about the current position of innovative cuisine within Korea's fine dining scene, alla prima is certainly worth a visit. The restaurant's 8 consecutive years of holding 2 Michelin Stars speak to its consistency and ambition. Despite this, both alla prima and Chef Jin-hyuk Kim have maintained relatively low media exposure, making reservations easier to secure compared with other more widely publicized fine dining restaurants in Korea.
Across the salad dish (6th photo), risotto dish (7th photo), tilefish dish (8th photo), duck breast dish (9th photo), and spaghetti dish (10th photo), alla prima left a particularly strong impression through the depth of flavour and structural balance of their sauces. This alone makes me excited to revisit the restaurant in different seasons.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Have a lovely day!
Will be looking to do a trip down to Adelaide/Barossa Valley this Winter (July) and hoping to try some of the best restaurants in the area. Any recommendations for best fine dining restaurants, the few that I have come across below - any thoughts / opinions / additions? Thanks
- Restaurant Botanic (Gourmet Traveller of the Year Restaurant 2023, with the recent departure of Chef Justin James is it still worth going? How is the new concept with Chef Jamie Musgrave leading)
- LVN Restaurant at Bird in Hand (Chef Jacob Davey, ex Botanic)
- Magill Estate (Penfolds, wine focused, mixed reviews on the food)
- Hentley Farm Restaurant (Vineyard/Wine experience)
- Hardy's Verandah Restaurant
- Restaurant Aptos (Chef Justin James newly opened restaurant, A$495/pax, will it be worth the price)
My wife and I just wrapped up a few days in Paris and managed to get into three Michelin starred spots. Here’s my honest take, ranked worst to best.
Epicure (3 stars) - Lunch The setting is gorgeous and the service has all the hallmarks you’d expect at that level… fresh napkin every time you visit the bathroom, immaculate presentation, the whole thing. But our server was genuinely hard to understand. She’d arrive, rattle off an explanation of the dish at full speed in a heavy accent, and be gone before I had any idea what had been set in front of me. I asked her to repeat herself so many times I started feeling bad about it. Beyond that, the menu was overwhelmingly fish and seafood, and honestly? It just wasn’t that good or exciting. The desserts saved it. The meal also dragged on way longer than it needed to.
Passionné (2 stars) - Dinner Better than Epicure, and I’d go back before I’d go back there. The food was genuinely good and the pacing felt more like a meal and less like an endurance event. Service slipped though. We ran out of water, I asked our server for more, and nothing happened until I flagged down someone else walking by 10 min later. Small thing, but at this price point it stands out.
Septime (1 star) - Dinner Best meal of the trip, and it wasn’t particularly close. Almost every course was excellent. The only miss was some green vegetable water at the start, which… yeah. Kinda just tasted like leaves, lol. But everything else was fantastic. The service was warm and attentive without being stiff, and the pacing was perfect - 7:30 to 10pm, which is exactly what I want from a nice dinner. I don’t need three and a half hours at a table. The lesson I’m taking home: stars measure something, but not necessarily what you care about when you’re actually sitting there eating.
The Celtuce thing slapped
Haven’t seen any mention of this news on here but it’s a huge issue in Korea rn. MOSU (prev 3*, had to shutdown and relocate due to investment issues, now newly 2*) has been under fire for an issue relating to wine.
Here are the facts as I know them in chronological order: a customer went in a group of 4 to MOSU, ordering the premium wine pairing. One of the listed wines was a 2000 Chateau Leoville-Barton (in Korea, goes for just under $500 USD… Ik, horrendous). However, when the time came, the somm poured a 2005 LB (around $70 USD cheaper) and even announced it as the 2005 vintage. Interestingly, the customer claims she had been taking pictures of the paired wines all night, and the somm had noted this, leaving the bottle on the table after each pour for her to take photos. However, only with this wine, he swiftly walked away with the bottle.
Confused, the customer checked the pairing list only to realize that it was supposed to be 2000. She brought this up to the somm, who stated that the 2000 had been purchased by a table downstairs (by the btl) and was thus “unavailable” for pairing. He then shortly returned with said bottle in hand and offered to let her take a pic.
At this point, the customer was clearly shocked and annoyed (she claims she did not want to make a big fuss as she was with her seniors). The somm decided to pour her a small amount of the 2000 and remarked, “Isn’t it great that you get to taste two vintages side by side?” This was done in a snarky/condescending tone (gramatically) hard to translate into English. There was no apology this night according to the customer.
Several days later, the customer called MOSU to notify them of this issue, to which their response was “Is there something you are trying to get out of this?” Again, in a snarky tone. It was this that ultimately led her to post a public write-up of her experience. Public outrage followed swiftly, and MOSU replied through their official Ig with a very dismissive post, using phrases like “wine service process and detailed circumstances” to refer to what people perceived as blatant theft (again, hard to explain in English, but in Korean, it was very clear that they were trying to evade blame).
3 days ago, a famous Youtuber by the name of WineKing (Jay) uploaded a video in which he criticized MOSU, emphasizing that a bigger, ignored issue was that the table who had ordered the 2000 had their wine taken, shown, and poured to a different customer without their knowledge. This video blew up, with over 1.5M views currently (a LOT for Korea).
Following this, Chef Anh posted a lengthy apology in which he clarified, or attempted to clarify, multiple things. First, he admitted that the somm did in fact pour the wrong wine, realized his mistake, and failed to alert the customer. However, he stated that no 2000 LB was purchased by a different table that night; in other words, the somm had made that up on the spot. He apologized profusely before stating that the somm in question has been removed from “customer-facing duties” but not fired (very confusing to me, since that is quite literally the job of a somm).
There are several points that have upset the general Korean public, which I understand/agree with to various degrees:
All in all, there’s some more details here and there (like old videos of a somm and Chef Anh resurfacing, and ppl criticizing their tone when talking abt customers). Personally, this is shocking and disgusting to me; both the initial “mistake” (which seems intentional to me) and the subsequent treatment. Then again, I’m relatively new to fine dining (~3 years) and wondering what others think / similar cases that have happened in the past. Do scandals like these happen and just blow away?
Any suggestions for amazing restaurants in Lisbon? Especially any needing advanced reservations. Will be there for a few nights at the end of September.
Any recommendation?
In October 2025, the Michelin Guide (famous for rating fine-dining restaurants) expanded into hotels. They use five criteria in their judgements:
The ranking system mirrors the restaurant stars, but with "keys" instead:
🗝️🗝️🗝️ - extraordinary stay
🗝️🗝️ - exceptional stay
🗝️ - very special stay
Selected - high-quality stay. Most hotels in the guide are in this category, which meets Michelin's standards without a distinction.
As expected, all hotels featured in the White Lotus are recommended by Michelin. In particular:
"There’s a pervasive atmosphere of low-key luxury, and the service, always a Four Seasons strength, is up to an exceedingly high standard, especially for laid-back Hawaii."
"It’s full of artworks and antiques, and not reproductions but originals from the old convent’s collection, lending the décor an authenticity that’s beyond reproach. The rooms and suites are as modern as can be, while the look is something approaching timelessness."
"It’s set on a lush hillside cascading down to a private, white-sand beach; that means every single room enjoys a sea breeze, a sea view, and a straight-to-beach relaxation protocol."
"Wandering through those Bensley gardens brings you to the Anantara’s big attraction: its spa. In keeping with the rest of the resort, the spa is stunningly presented and complements the style of the island."
"Stylistically it’s contemporary but not aggressively modern, with plenty of classic elements and a comfortable residential feeling rather than a deep-jungle thatched-roof one."
"High on a hilltop above the town, the Château is a fairy-tale castle and a Mediterranean-style villa, with fortified towers rising above Italian red tile roofs, surrounded by acres of lush hillside parklands and pine forests, and affording a spectacular view of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and the surrounding countryside."
Anyone know if Michelin has any plans to
add the Pacific NW of the US any time soon, especially since it consistently punches above its weight in terms of James Beard and other awards, especially Portland