Thirty years after this restaurant pioneered the concept of nouvelle cuisine fish cookery, diners continue to enjoy “ultra-fresh fish” as well as house classics like homard à l’orange, a reminder of the days when pairing fish and sweet fruit was thought of as revolutionary.
Roger van Damme might be a star among Belgium’s Flemish population, but we doubt that very many people have heard of him outside of Belgium. At this restaurant set in a lovely house at the edge of Antwerp’s botanical garden, lunch is the only meal of the day that is served five days of the week. Originally trained as a pastry chef, van Damme occasionally creates special “Dessert for Dinner” evenings when his customers can enjoy a five-course tasting menu of desserts. You can book on weekdays, but be prepared for a wait on Saturday as then it’s first come, first served.
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Leopoldstraat 24 Antwerp, Belgium +32 3 232 37 10
153Alyn Williams at the Westbury
A disciple of Gordon Ramsay, Alyn Williams has continued the tradition that Ramsay started by serving "classical French cuisine with a few English twists." Praise was showered on "Giancarlo Princigalli and his excellent service team" as well as a "reasonable price point for food of this quality."
photo credit: Andy Hayler
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37 Conduit St, London, United Kingdom +44 20 7183 6426
154Relais Bernard Loiseau
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2 Rue d'Argentine Saulieu, France +33 3 80 90 53 53
155L’Amphitryon
Unlike other chefs who possess an elevated level of skill, Jean-Paul Abadie has never strived for an international reputation. Instead he runs a regional restaurant in his native Brittany that features exceptional local ingredients and a high standard of classic French cooking.
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Chemin de Gramont Lorient, France +33 5 61 15 55 55
156Restaurant-Hotel Obauer
We can't think of a better place to experience the "haute Austrian" than this elegant restaurant, opened in 1979 by Karl and Rudi Obauer, that is a 40-minute drive from Salzburg and a stone's throw from the German border. We are certain that dishes like trout strudel and lamb "Werfener style" will make you want to put on your lederhosen.
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Markt 46 Werfen, Austria +43 6468 52120
157Midsummer House
Some restaurants are flashy and get a lot of press. Others quietly do their thing, satisfying their customers year after year. Daniel Clifford's restaurant is a prototype of the latter, and countless professors, students and their parents have enjoyed dishes like beetroot baked on open coals with quinoa, goat cheese and mizuna while dining alongside the River Cam.
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Midsummer Common Cambridge, United Kingdom +44 1223 369299
158Tantris
The opening of Tantris in 1971 marked the beginning of the German Küchenwunder, a movement that changed the evolution of German high-end cuisine. The current chef, Hans Haas, offers straightforward, delicate creations in which no element is redundant. The restaurant's1970s-style interior, beautifully preserved, is considered holy ground by the German dining community.
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Johann-Fichte-Str. 7 Munich, Germany 89 361-9590
159Yoann Conte
A disciple of Marc Veyrat, Yoann Conte serves what one reviewer described as “the perfect example of contemporary Alps cuisine.” Besides the cuisine, one thing that has remained the same is the dining room’s spectacular view of Lake Annecy.
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13 Vieille Route des Pensières Verrier-du-Lac, France 04 50 09 97 49
160Hispania
Open since the 1950s, this classic house, located on the coast road north of Barcelona and run by the Rexach sisters, features a menu of more than 70 classic Catalan preparations like langoustine stewed with potatoes. It's the type of grand regional gustatory experience that has always made dining in Europe so much fun.
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Carretera Real, 54 Arenys de Mar, Spain Carretera Real, 54
161Studio
After selling his interest in Noma, Claus Meyer opened The Standard, a combination jazz club, brasserie and fine-dining restaurant that he named Studio, directly across the port. Initial reviews were good enough to propel the restaurant into the 100+ list, and it wouldn't surprise us to see it break into the Top 100 in 2016.
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Havnegade 44 Copenhagen, Denmark +45 72 14 88 08
162Bacon
If you are looking to eat fish that is so fresh that it has never touched ice, reserve a table at this restaurant, where the fish the Sordello family serve only come from local waters. This is also where you will find the most refined version of bouillabaisse on the coast.
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664 Boulevard de Bacon Cap d'Antibes, France +33 4 93 61 50 02
163Varoulko Seaside
Ever since he opened this seaside restaurant in Piraeus in 1987, Lefteris Lazarou has visited the agora each morning to source the best possible fish to serve in preparations like grilled cuttlefish with caramelized lentils and orange sauce and sea bream with cauliflower mousse, vegetable ratatouille and a sauce of cuttlefish ink.
Those who are fans of Parisian neo-bistro restaurants like Saturne and Septime should consider a visit to Isaac McHale's restaurant. Set in the 150-year-old Shoreditch Town Hall, McHale's menu includes scrumptious creations like black pudding with Braeburn apple and chicory relish and Yorkshire suckling pig with Indian spices.
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380 Old Street London, United Kingdom +44 20 7729 6496
165Cracco
While it's easy to find a good risotto in the city, Milan is a tough town when it comes to finding top-notch fine dining. Carlo Cracco's multi-floor restaurant is arguably the best in the city. If you go, make sure to ask for the "book." As you flip through the pages, which look like leather, you will eventually notice they are edible, made of fish that has been puréed and spread out onto sheets to be dried.
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via Victor Hugo 4 Milan, Italy 03 5681 024
166Kaia Kaipe
Though it doesn't have the same vaunted reputation as the more famous Elkano, diners looking for prime specimens of fish like turbot, hake and tuna should consider this classic asador facing the port in Getaria. You can wash the tasty fish down with a bottle from one of the best cellars of old Rioja in the Basque region.
photo credit: David de Jorge
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Calle del General Arnao, 4 Getaria, Spain +34 943 14 05 00
167The Jane
Sergio Herman has built what has to easily be the most unusual restaurant in Europe. Set in a converted church in an area of Antwerp that is being gentrified, it is superb in every detail: everything, from the Piet Boon-designed space to the stained-glass windows designed by the firm Studio Glass, is superb. Herman protégé Nick Bril has crafted an interesting version of casual cuisine.
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Site 't Groen Kwartier Paradeplein 1 Antwerp, Belgium
168Ylajali
Even Ramsvik has decided to close this restaurant at the end of 2015. In the meanwhile, you still have a chance to sample his interesting take on the New Nordic palate, which includes dishes like a porridge of old grains, porcini, mackerel and sea textures and duck hearts, duck egg and aged carrots.
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St. Olavs plass 2 Oslo, Norway +47 22 20 64 86
169L’Auberge du 15
While most of the Japanese chefs who have chosen Paris as their home have opened restaurants that feature either progressive or neo-bistro cuisine, by focusing on an updated version of classical French cuisine, Yoshi Morie has managed to set himself apart from the others.
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15 Rue de la Santé Paris, France +33 1 47 07 07 45
170Cinc Sentits
It’s not surprising that Jordi Artal’s place, which attracts comments like “the dishes were a work of art” and “assured, precise and delicious cooking with gorgeous presentations,” is the restaurant that our reviewers are most likely to choose when they visit Barcelona.
This attractive dining room features the cooking of Jacob Holmström, who spent time as the chef de cuisine in Mathias Dahlgren's kitchen, and pastry chef Anton Bjuhr. The two do their best to procure some of the highest-quality ingredients in Sweden. This is one of the few fine-dining restaurants where dairy products play an important role in the cuisine.
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Artillerigatan 14 Stockholm, Sweden +46 8 662 30 60
172Bones
What with the numerous Japanese chefs opening restaurants in the city, there might as well be an Australian in the Parisian restaurant mix as well. James Henry offers small plates like a salad of raw brussels sprouts with fromage blanc, smoked mackerel with horse radish and a six-week, dry-aged côte de bœuf that he serves with creamy polenta.
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43 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac Paris, France +33 9 80 75 32 08
173Geist
Bo Bech looks more likely to be a member of the Danish national rowing team than a chef. But it appears that Bech has a sentimental side, which manifests itself in contemporary versions of Danish comfort food, like brown stone crab with mashed potatoes and salted butter.
Ask Blue Hill at Stone Barns' chef, Dan Barber, where he likes to eat in Spain, and he will point to this unassuming restaurant a 90-minute drive from Barcelona. Oriol Rovira's rustic cooking features dishes like a homemade sobrassada with honeycomb; peas, rice, truffle and cod gut; and, in season, woodcock and local truffles.
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Lugar Casals Sagàs, Spain +34 938 25 12 00
175Restaurant Sat Bains
The industrial city of Nottingham is the last place you would imagine to find a chef who describes his cuisine as salt-sweet-sour-bitter-umami. But Sat Bains is not just any chef, and he is ready to tantalize your palate with dishes like pork jowl, piccalilli and salted apple and onion cooked over an open fire and served with aged garlic.
photo credit: Andy Hayler
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Lenton Lane Nottingham, United Kingdom +44 115 9866 566
176Table des Amis
The husband and wife team of Matthieu Beudaert and Sofie Delbeke opened this charming restaurant in 2009. Dishes like a variety of cabbages served with fermented milk, flaxseed and beurre noisette, along with a Belgian veal chop cooked over charcoal and served with manzanilla sherry show why a local restaurant guide named Matthieu Young Flemish Chef of the Year in 2013.
Claude Bosi’s Mayfair restaurant has managed to recapture the buzz it had before it moved to London from Ludlow. Game season is a popular time at the restaurant, as Bosi offers preparations of things like grouse and woodcock served in both modern and purist fashion.
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29 Maddox St London, United Kingdom +44 20 7629 2999
178Quadri
The Alajmo brothers, proprietors of the wonderful Le Calandre (located in Rubano, about an hour from Venice), have opened this delightful restaurant in a space formerly occupied by one of the most famous cafés in Venice.. Now you can enjoy plates of stockfish tripe alla parmigiana and Venetian-style chicken livers and chickpea purée while taking in the crowds of people visiting the Piazza San Marco.
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Piazza San Marco, 121 Venice, Italy +39 041 522 2105
179Kei
After seven years working in Alain Ducasse's kitchen, Kei Kobayashi took over Gerard Besson's old restaurant in Paris' 1st arrondissement. It was a move that started what has become a veritable flood of Japanese chefs opening restaurants in the city. Given his background, Kei's cooking leans toward the classical side and includes dishes like salmon with a bitter sorrel cream.
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5 Rue Coq Héron Paris, France +33 1 42 33 14 74
180Roseval
With time at both Le Chateaubriand and Rino on their résumés, Michael Greenwold and Simone Tondo decided to open this restaurant in the far reaches of Paris' 20th arrondissement. In keeping with the neo-bistro tradition they both come from, Greenwold and Tondo offer diners dishes such as silky potato purée with baby clams and slow-roasted pork with eggplant purée, cubes of pomelo and dill.
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1 Rue d'Eupatoria Paris, France +33 9 53 56 24 14
181Lorenzo
One doesn't expect to find such high-quality seafood and shellfish in a posh resort town. But twice-a-day deliveries of items like sea bass, red mullet and scampi make Lorenzo Viani's restaurant one of the top seafood restaurants in Italy. The restaurant's beautiful modern art collection is nearly as spectacular as the ingredients they serve.
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Via Giosuè Carducci, 61 Forte dei Marmi, Italy +39 0584 89671
182Fera
Having two successful restaurants already (L'Enclume in Cartmel and London's Roganic) did not stop Simon Rogan from taking on his most ambitious project yet: a formal dining experience that replaced Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in the main dining room at Claridge's. Fera is a type of whitefish found in Lake Geneva.
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Claridges Hotel 49 Brook St London, United Kingdom
183De Pastorale
Bart de Pooter seems like an old hand when you compare him to the slew of young chefs who are playing an important role in transforming the Belgian restaurant scene.Not surprisingly, de Pooter's own cuisine matches his place in the community: one foot in contemporary French cooking and one in a more modern Flemish cuisine. The setting - a beautiful mansion a 20-minute drive from Antwerp - is spectacular.
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Laarstraat 22 Reet, Belgium +32 3 844 65 26
184Les Grès
Along with chefs like Les Bacchanales' Christophe Dufau and Damien Bouchery, Jérome Bigot is among the group of young European chefs who are trying to forge a new style of dining. The restaurant also features a fabulous list of natural wines, put together by Bigot's wife, French-Canadian-born Marie-Hélène Tardiff.
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9 Rue du 14 Juillet Lindry, France +33 9 52 31 64 10
185Bon-Bon
Reviewers have taken note of this restaurant's relocation, saying that "one of Belgium's most talented chefs has moved to a classy and beautiful space." Christophe Hardiquest is seen as "a perfectionist" whose preparations like line-caught sea bass cooked on rock oysters demonstrate the work of someone who has "an almost maniacal attention to detail."
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r. Carmélites 93 Brussels, Belgium 0 23 46 66 15
186River Café
When Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray first opened this Tuscan restaurant in a wonderful space across from an inlet of the Thames River, no one suspected that 27 years later the restaurant would still be serving wonderfully prepared versions of dishes like half a spatchcocked Anjou pigeon roasted with thyme and Marsala, potatoes, black olives and radicchio.
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Thames Wharf Rainville Road London, United Kingdom
187Spring
Although these days it is common practice, when Chicago-born Daniel Rose opened Spring it was rare for someone who wasn't born in France to open a restaurant in Paris. Rose made the most of his head start and has now expanded into a larger space, where his seasonally focused menus feature dishes like veal shank braised with mousseron mushrooms and new garlic.
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6 Rue Bailleul Paris, France +33 1 45 96 05 72
188The Kitchin
Our reviewers say that if Tom Kitchin's restaurant (what are the odds of a chef having the surname Kitchin?) would be much better known if it were located in London rather than Edinburgh. Those who have made the trek up to Scotland will enjoy dishes like a ragoût of Loch Creran oysters with poached salsify tagliatelle.
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78 Commercial Quay Edinburgh, United Kingdom +44 131 555 1755
189Benoit et Bernard Dewitte
After cooking with Wout Bru at Bistro d'Eygalieres and Eduard Loubet at Moulin de Lourmarin, Benoit Dewitte and his sommelier brother, Bernard, opened this contemporary Flemish restaurant a 20-minute drive from Ghent. In keeping with his background, Benoit Dewitte's cuisine focuses on Flemish products tinged with the flavors of southern France.
While his second restaurant, Gymkhana, gets most of the attention, our reviewers prefer Karam Sethi's first restaurant in Marylebone Village. Dishes like duck seekh kabob, an Indian take on Dorset brown crab and wild rabbit Chettinad make the lower-key Trishna among the most forward-thinking Indian restaurants in the world.
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15-17, Blandford Street London, United Kingdom +44 20 7935 5624
191Vissani
In 1974, in response to the nouvelle cuisine movement, Gianfranco Vissani was a leading proponent of its Italian counterpart, nuova cucina. Forty-one years later, although Gianfranco's son Luca now runs the kitchen, the cuisine - cod with a butter of fava and tonka bean with beer and Gruyere cheese - remains as adventurous as it was in the old days.
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S. S. 448 Baschi, Italy +39 0744 950206
192Glass Hostaria
After spending time cooking in the U.S., Cristina Bowerman returned to Rome and opened this attractive, two-story dining room on one of Trastevere's most delightful piazzas. Bowerman's "edgy cuisine" is filled dishes like spaghettini with cannellini beans, miso and algae and rack of lamb with berry sauce, stilton cheese and chicory.
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Vicolo de' Cinque, 58 Rome, Italy +39 06 5833 5903
193Kabuki
Ricardo Sanz was a true pioneer when he first opened this sushi restaurant in 2000. At the time, serving fish that was locally sourced was risky. But fifteen years later, you will find tuna from Spain at the very top sushi restaurants in Tokyo, and Ricardo now operates three locations in Madrid.
photo credit: Doc Sconz
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Av del Presidente Carmona, 2 Madrid, Spain +34 914 17 64 15
194A. Wong
When Andrew Wong (hence the A.) took over his family's restaurant, he devised a menu that paid tribute to each of China's 14 unique culinary regions, allowing diners to enjoy Shanghai soup dumplings and Yunnan seared beef on the same menu. A. Wong is one of the few good places to eat in what is otherwise a dining desert around Victoria Station.
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70 Wilton Road London, United Kingdom +44 20 7828 8931
195Dos Palilos
Given that Dos Palillos translated into English means "chopsticks," it makes sense that Albert Raurich, former head chef at El Bulli, serves Asian-inspired tapas, like vegetable kimchi with jellyfish, shitake tempura with yuzu, razor clams with red curry and Cantonese-style Iberian pork ribs. Just steps from the Ramblas in the heart of Barcelona.
Locals love to frequent Julien Burlat's restaurant to enjoy dishes like a carpaccio of smoked loin of veal with sea urchin mayonnaise, and pigeon from the Vendée with fresh peas and broad beans with sage. It's a perfect place to rejuvenate after spending a morning (and all of your cash) in Antwerp's Diamond Quarter.
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Arendstraat 1 Antwerp, Belgium +32 3 281 74 33
197Compartrir
After a number of years working as sous chefs in the remote location of Roses, Spain, Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, and Mateu Casañas took advantage of the closure of El Bulli and opened this restaurant in the equally remote location of Cadaqués. The small-plates tasting menu features dishes like marinated sardines with horchata, truffle, tomato and basil.
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Riera Sant Vicenç Cadaques, Spain +34 972 25 84 82
198Beluga
Once a diehard member of the molecular movement, Hans van Wolde has moved his restaurant toward a more natural approach in recent years. His menu features dishes like cod, oyster, grapefruit and cucumber; crisp of caramel, crab and caviar, which has been a staple since 2007; and filet and cheek of veal from Margraten served with creamy leeks.
Henrik Yde's Thai-fusion cooking features dishes like congee with ginger and roasted onion; moe bing grilled pork; shrimp noodles with tamarind and lemongrass; and red curry with lobster and litchee - yellow curry with crab. Yde's concept was so successful that he was able to open a successful second outpost in Bangkok.
In 2013, Ron Blaauw closed his eponymous fine-dining restaurant, only to reopen a week later in the same location, rebranded as a gastrobar. The small-plates format (all dishes cost 15€) includes smoked eel with leek and parsley cream, risotto with crispy frogs' legs and hanger steak with ravioli of bone marrow.
