Salzburg
 

Hi, I need some help. In the past I stayed many times near Salzburg so I know many of the restaurants. Because my last visit is a few years ago I like to ask what´s up at the moment. I stay 4 nights at Salzburg so I have some time. I already reserved a table at Ikarus. I thought About Esszimmer and Carpe Diem which I enjoyed both in the past. While not starred what do you think about St. Peter Stiftskulinarium? It´s my girlfriends favourite but I never visited before and I´m not really convinced. Anything else someone would recommend? Senns (the "logical" choice) is out as I don´t like the menu.

I've got five days in Barcelona next month. Wonder if it's too late to get a reservation...

edit: hooboy yes it's too late.

Yes :( I had a well connected friend who made things happen for me, but I believe in general you have to book exactly 3 months out when availability opens up.

I've booked OAK for lunch and Publiek for dinner. I'm a bit tempted by Hof Van Cleve, though. The best restaurant I've been to anywhere, IMO, is a Belgian 3-star (Hertog Jan) outside of Bruges - so a bit partial. At the same time, we have literally 1 day in town (the airline routing to get to Australia lent itself to going via Europe instead of West Coast US), so need to weigh the exhaustion factor as well.

Went to 'Funky Gourmet' (terrible name) in Athens last night. This was really great. Innovative but with strong links to local produce. Excellent ingredients from all around the country. Really enjoyed it. It definitly deserves its 2*

Definitely felt they deserved 2* when we were there last September. They had a few gimmicky presentations which were odd, but the food itself was terrific.

Oriole in Chicago last week (2 stars). Not particulary impressed. Food lacked in subtlety and I found many dishes strangely sweet and strong-flavoured. I'd give it a star.

Went to Core in London this weekend (2*). Most dishes there were excellent and original, only let down by a duck main which was extremely similar to ones I have had before at other restaurants, both visually and in flavour.

Just returned home from Florence and Pienza in Italy, and Zurich in Switzerland. Had so me fabulous dining:

FLORENCE:

3* Enoteca Pinchiorri--From start to finish, this was sublime. We chose a very expensive wine pairing that included only Italian wines--since we were in Italy, we most wanted to see Italian wines. And the pairing was incredible. Almost as incredible as the food. Every course--sublime. Every course, presented like a gift from the culinary gods. This was for us the best meal we'd ever had in Italy. That includes our amazing dinner 2 years ago at Le Calandre. The meal was outrageously expensive at $2400 for the two of us. But it was worth every penny (euro). We'd go back in a second.

1* Winter Garden by Caino (in the St Regis Florence)--dined here twice, the second time because it was so good the first time! We dined here after arriving at the St Regis after a full day of travel from the USA, expecting to simply order a la carte, but the tasting menu looked so darn good that we had to try it. And it was sublime. We loved every course. We also loved the wine pairings. The staff was wonderful, extremely friendly and helpful and enthusiastic in assisting us from start to finish. The Winter Garden courtyard restaurant space is truly impressive, too, without being gauche. Real genuine Florentine elegance, while still being quite comfortable. We loved it so much that we brought my mother for our final night, 5 nights later, canceling on another top restaurant. We ordered a la carte this time, and some of us had to reorder a few items we'd just had our first time since they were so darn good. But we also tried to beef and rooster, all of which were again sublime.

1* Borgo San Jacopo (in the Hotel Lungarno)--This was our 2nd best meal in Florence, right after 3* Enoteca Pinchiorri where we had dined only 2 nights prior. We absolutely loved this restaurant, from the interior modern and sexy ambience, to the views onto the Arno, to the incredibly polished and yet very friendly service, to the absolutely mind blowing food. It was all decadent and incredibly delicious, and the wine pairings were matched perfectly. This truly felt more like a 2* dinner. We'd heard from the StR team that this restaurant is rumored to get its 2nd star in the coming months, and we wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. It certainly was that good.

1* Ora d'Aria--I think Ora d'Aria suffered a bit by comparison with Pinchiorri and Winter Garden. We hadn't yet dined at Borgo San Jacopo. The food was very good, thought the service started off a but curious--they seemed to expect we were a party of 4 rather than 3 for some reason. We heard another party of 5 that they expected to be 4, so I'd have guessed someone there had their wires crossed. Still, after a little clumsiness, we all got seated and sorted.The chef appeared quite surly at the start, but he quickly warmed. But his surly attitude at the beginning made us all a bit nervous. The food was great, but lacked the inventiveness and more bombastic approach to flavors that I normally prefer. It was very good but more subtle than I prefer. Service otherwise was pretty good--but my biggest beef was how incredibly warm the restaurant space was that night. Overall, this is a great restaurant. It just didn't quite impress us as much as the other restaurants of similar caliber did.

RURAL TUSCANY NEAR PIENZA

1* Osteria Perilla--Wow. We ate here our final night in nearby Pienza. We knew it had 1 Michelin star, but we still weren't prepared for how incredible our dinner would be. After dinners in Florence the week prior you just don't expect a restaurant in so small a village as this to compete with the big guns. And compete it most certainly did. I'd say this dinner was easily as good as that at 1* San Jacopo, which we truly believe deserves a 2nd star. We similarly believe Perilla to be worthy of a 2nd star. We ordered a la carte, but my mother ended up with 3 course and I ended up with 5. Everything was absolutely spectacular. The sommelier recommended a wonderful Brunello that matched my meal incredibly well, and recommended a Sauvignon Blanc that also perfectly matched my mother's choices. The restaurant is quite small with only 6 or 7 total tables. We were the only diners for the first hour, and eventually we were one of only 3 occupied tables. The service was spectacular from start to finish--friendly, accommodating, and extremely helpful in every way. The only miss might have been waiting a bit too long after requesting the bill.A pretty perfect end to our time in Tuscany. Anyone in the vicinity should take pains to make it to Perilla. It was one of those amazing dinners that was so unexpected and yet will be remembered for quite a long time.

ZURICH

2* Ecco Zurich (in the Atlantis by Giardino hotel)--My husband, mother, and I were joined by 2 Danish friends for dinner at Ecco on the first night of our recent stay at Atlantis by Giardino. Wow--what a meal. We really were blown away by the entire experience. We were particularly impressed by the variety of options allowed for diners--we each could order different number of courses at the same table, quite unusual for any top restaurant. As it turned out, everyone else ordered 5 courses, while I ordered 7 (including the cheese course and dessert course).
The food really was exquisite, easily worthy of the 2 Michelin stars. My husband's venison is unquestionably the best we've ever tried anywhere. The wine pairings that my husband and I ordered were excellent--with perhaps one exception that didn't quite match up well to our tastes. Dining in the private dining room was also a treat. Service was tremendous--very polished and knowledgeable while also being friendly, enthusiastic, and very accommodating to our group's crazy cult of personality. Yes, it's very expensive. But it's also 2 stars in Switzerland, and it's absolutely top notch.

Guess it was a failure that I didn´t visit during my visit in Florence. But I´m sure I get a second chance;)

Glad to hear you liked Pinchiorri! You definitely went all-out on the wine based on your bill :) I really enjoyed the food, but I can't say it's the best I have had in Italy - that goes to the newly-bequeathed 3-star St. Hubertus in San Cassiano, up in the Dolomites.

I really love Enoteca Pinchiorri and St. Hubertus, but Osteria Francescana is definitely the best restaurant in the country. My god, there are very few meals in my life that can top the experience I had at Francescana (Alinea, En Celler de Can Roca, Noma, The Fat Duck, and Nihonryori RyuGin are also top contenders). Chef Bottura came out to our table after the meal, and it really put the cherry on top of an already fabulous experience.

I should have said of the places I have been to. I would definitely love to make it to Osteria Francescana, but I'm not sure when I'm going to make it to that part of Italy :(

Francescana was my favourite too. I must admit, Noma 2.0 wasn't as impressive, as I went during the seafood season. It felt like they were trying too hard to fit the theme into places where it didn't belong, e.g. a seaweed dessert that ended up tasting like off matcha. I much preferred Geranium and Kadeau when I went.

Ryugin was great, though Can Roca and EMP are also on my bucket list!

Hmm... I was told to try Oriole after our favorite Michelin starred restaurant (Tru) closed last year. Sadness.

Interesting. I found Francescana rather boring. In fact, we VASTLY preferred both Piazza Duomo (the next day), and Le Calandre (about a week or so later). Granted, PD was in the height of truffle season, so that's not quite fair :D

I went to Osteria Francescana and Le Calandre in the same week. Two different experiences and I quite liked both of them. Of the two, Le Calandre felt a little more intimate and personal, but the food and experience was very good at both.

Based on your feedback, I will have to check out Piazza Duomo the next time I'm in the area though.

Thank you for the suggestion [MENTION=823128]Hilde[/MENTION] . I have not tried Acadia. Thank you for the recommendation! Will definitely look into it. I haven't visited Alinea, but I am also not as adventurous in food as I like to pretend I am. I tend not to be as fond of theatrics and molecular gastronomy as most people - I prefer the fine dining of the 1990's and early 2000's (but missed out as I was just starting out and poor as dirt).

You're welcome, [MENTION=70641]AtomicLush[/MENTION]! I'll se if I can post a picture of the menu from Acadia, som you can get a sense of what kind of food they feature :)

Because I coincidentally happened to be sorting through a pile of old papers, here's an Acadia menu from last fall:

Have been to Berlin earlier this year and visited 2* Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer by Hendrik Otto. Well deserved two Michelin stars. All courses were fantastic, flawless service, good recommendations from the sommelier. The living room atmosphere makes you feel like a guest of the old Adlon. Unfortunately the Brandenburg Gate was not visible from our table - I recommend to ask for one of the tables by the window at reservation.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...799f299285.jpg

More photos on my blog: Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer - Fine Dining Berlin - Continental Traveller

Had a good dinner a few years ago. Last time (and for the last time for sure!) I stayed at the Adlon I canceled my reservation the last moment due to special circumstances during Obamas stay.

Esszimmer Salzburg *
 

This is when I become even more skeptical of the Michelin stars handed out in South Korea...
Hotel Lobby

Michelin releases their 2019 NYC Guide
 

On a Bordeaux visit I stayed in the great Les Source des Caudalie hotel in Martillac. Their fine dining restaurant La Grand'Vigne boasts 2 Michelin stars and it mostly delivered.

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Summary
A wonderful experience that was only tainted by the quality of the bread which was a little dry and didn't seem freshly made. I think in a 2-star restaurant the bread needs to feel like fresh out of the oven every time. Everything else, though, was up to par: thoughtful, friendly service, dishes following an overall arc (Aquitanian journey) and were a delight on the palate. And of course the suggested red wine was fitting, as expected. The recommended Champagne did surprise and made me note it to buy for myself.

Photos on my blog: http://www.continentaltraveller.blog...ng-in-bordeaux

Ikarus Salzburg **
 

In Salzburg we had dinner at Ikarus which has 2 stars at guide Michelin. Ikarus has quite a special concept as the crew cooks with another guest cook. This month it was David Kinch, 3-star cook from Los Gatos.
The restaurant is situated at Hangar-7 at Salzburg airport.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e1ccd7b35c.jpgYou can choose from 2 different menus, one by the guest cook and on by the Ikarus Team. We choosed the David Kinch menu with 2 changes. Price was 190,00 € per person.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...acb1d6340a.jpg
My Name was on the table and I found it nicely decorated.
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The 3 Amuse Bouches
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I found them good.
Now came the bread and butter Course. 2 kinds of bread and 5 kinds of butter (natural, salted, Yuzu, seaweed and peppers).
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bdc1ec5fa0.jpg
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First course was a boiled egg with a herbal jelly around and Iranian caviar.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c6f780002f.jpg
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A great dish which was absolutely on 3-star level.
Vegetable garden
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Different vegetables cooked different ways. Also a very good dish which I really liked.
Next came sea bass with white Alba truffle.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6de4c92765.jpg
What looks so so on the picture was indeed spectacular, I would even say the best dish I had this year.
The next dish sounded unusual. It was abalone which was prepared as a "Tafelspitz".
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9d3e6a4022.jpg
You must of course like abalone. The way to prepare it was really special. While I found it interesting I don´t need it every week.
King crab with sweet potatoes, the first dish from the Ikarus menu.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9808f7539c.jpg
The dish was solid, I would rate it 1 star.
Next came gilthead with pearl barley and rosehip (Ikarus menu).
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f379cb2466.jpg
The idea sounds great, the dish was again solid. Not the level of the first courses from the Kinch-menu.
First dessert: Plum sorbet with coco and cashews.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...88dca7b40f.jpg
The sorbet was nice but the rolls of dough tasted only like butter.
Poached apple with caramel and buckwheat:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1f8b7c4fb7.jpg
I liked this desser more than the one before but it was neither 2 or 3 star level for me.
Final petit fours:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...196ddc72e0.jpg
A view in the Hangar-7
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Ikarus is a spectacular restaurant with an interesting concept. I think the food depends strongly on the guest cook. During our dinner we had some great high level dishes, but also dishes that were "only" on a solid 1-star level. Nevertheless a nice dinner.

Interesting that the pairing of amuse bouche and jelly (savoury) at beginning and same (sweet) at end of meal has perhaps been his (Kinch) signature since opening Manresa - I remember it from meals years ago. Another signature "into the garden" aka vegetable garden esp. because of a partnership he has with a "biodynamic" farmer near his restaurant (love apple) where he collected veg the same day it was to be served (probably not for this particular occasion - or maybe from a more local farm to this restaurant)
Nice to see this report of a chef I know with a restaurant I did not :)

NYC was released the other day. I gotta say, I feel like Michelin doesn't think there's much new happening in NYC high-end dining that really impresses them these days.

-No new 3 stars, with Jean Georges and Daniel losing their third star in recent years.
-Gabriel Kreuther (deservedly) gets a second star. Ichimura shows up again as 2 stars, now at Bar Uchu. The new L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon gets 2 stars (I feel like they will give a star to any restaurant with his name on it)
-A handful of new 1-star restaurants, most notably Sushi Nakazawa finally making it (although my wife said the quality in her last visit was not great, and the restaurant was quite empty when she went) and Le Coucou, which is still insanely hard to get a reservation to (but is extremely good)

More interested to see what SF's list brings in a couple weeks. Hoping that the concierge at the Fairmont SF can finally hook me up with Benu...

Worth it for sure. I've enjoyed both times I've been there. Good luck!

Yeah, it was my first time of such a "clip"

Rome, Bologna, Venice
 

Hi,
will visit the 3 cities mentioned before. At Rome I hold a reservation at La Pergolaand will most propable eat at La Terrazza (stay at the Eden) and Imágo (near by). No idea so far regarding Bologna (perhaps I Portici) or Venice. Any ideas? Also non-starred restaurants are welcome, especially great pizza.

My favorite restaurant in Rome is Pierluigi. Personally I'd rank it higher than La Pergola, although if you're able to snag a table on the balcony there the view is fantastic.

For Venice, I remember having a great seafood dinner at Alle Testiere.

Still trying to flip a coin between LAX and SFO for our annual Spring mini-break restaurant tour of new places (to us) and maybe some old faves. But you got me thinking about Benu again ...

We're heading to Napa/SFO next spring for a food & wine tour. Benu, Saison, and Meadowood are definitely on the list. Also considering Auberge du Soleil. Not going to bother with French Laundry. [MENTION=680784]bhrubin[/MENTION] would love to hear any other recommendations (both restaurants and vineyards) in the Napa area from you!