Taking a trip to Tokyo on Friday and was able to reserve Sushi Mizutani and Pierre Gagnaire at lunch next week on relatively short notice.

The last time I dined at Mizutani was when they were 3*, and now they've become a 2*. Interested to see if there's really a difference from the last time to justify the drop in rating. Also, Pierre Gagnaire seems to be an amazing 2* value for a weekday lunch at just about US$40, so excited to try that one out. ^

+1 for Tru - my favorite dining experience that I have had in Chicago. Beats the pants off of Alinea.

I saw Mizutani got downgraded as well - was a bit surprised. Excellent sushi all around there (although I think Jiro is ever so slightly better)

Lunch at Jean Georges in NY could be a nice option.

My apologies Xelint, the Lobby at the Peninsula is no longer Michelin starred - just checked the list.

Did you have any other reservations in Barcelona?

My hotel was a few blocks from Lasarte, so we went there for dinner too. Not bad, but probably wouldn't recommend it given that it cost more than El Celler, and was more than 2x the cost of El Club Allard (2* in Madrid).

But I really wanted Tickets.

Maybe it is a good thing then as I really wanted to try Lasarte.

I just now got a confirmation from Abac, so I have that to look forward to now.

Booked Sushi Umi in Tokyo for Friday night dinner. Looking forward to it!

I ate at Lasarte a few years back and it was one of my top dining experiences. Don't remember the cost but I felt it was reasonable. We had lunch at Cinq Sentits and I really enjoyed that meal. Very small and intimate restaurant with attentive service. The chef came out a few times to talk with us and explain a few dishes as well. It's 1-star and was about 25% less than Lasarte for a similar number of courses. He's Canadian so it was easy to talk with him.

Moments has now confirmed me also, so that should make for a pretty good week.

Anyone done Acadia in Chicago, especially after their 2nd star? I think this is next on my list.

I see where Phillip Howard has sold The Square and will be leaving, if not already. Was not one of my favorites in London, though. Now that it will be managed by the same company that has The Greenhouse and Umu, I can't see returning any time soon.

Moments was 2/3 full last week (week day), were you on a waiting list ?

No, just couldn't crack their online booking system which kept telling me there was no availability.

If you ate there last week, how would you rate it?

It was good. Not great. They have a "trip" menu with about 12 dishes where they give you a passport. This is a fun. A good restaurant but won't come back.

Thanks, I will temper my expectations accordingly.

I will be in Hong Kong and would like to try a 3 star Michelin. Initially, I thought about Chinese cuisine since how often do you come across a 3 star one, but going through the photos and the reviews has left my unsure if it's worth it. Has anyone have any experience with Bo Innovation, Lung King Heen, or Tang Court?

I've had 1 and 2 star Michelin European cuisine before so note sure if 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon would be so different.

Was at "L'eau vive" (2 stars) in Belgium between Namur and Dinant.
http://www.eau-vive.be/en/a-la-carte...discovery-menu

Had the discovery menu for 110 Euro. In addition to the listed menu there were 4 amuse-bouche and a first dessert (violet sorbet). Did not take any cheese.

Absolutely wonderful menu.

Did sleep at the "Espace Medissey" which is 2 miles away from the restaurant. Nice location.

I was not terribly impressed with Lung King Heen or Bo Innovation. The former was overpriced for it was (not very inventive and you can get dishes of similar quality for a lot less), and Bo Innovation's flavours just didn't do it for me - the molecular gastronomy aspect for Chinese dishes didn't produce the "wow" flavours I was expecting.

I have always been a huge fan of L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in HK, especially for their lunch menu which is probably one of the best value 3-star restaurants in the world.

I had a mixed experience at Mizutani about two weeks ago. I got a reservation for lunch, and ended up opting for the tsumami/sushi option (30,000 JPY as opposed to 20,000 JPY for sushi-only.)

I think Mizutani has a very good grasp on nigiri - I prefer his more subtly flavoured rice and the texture/temperature/consistency is absolutely spot on. The standard cuts were done extremely well, in particular the kohada, ika, o-toro, mirugai, tairagai were all exceptional.

The issue I took with Mizutani on this visit was that the kurumaebi and anago were all prepared beforehand - which strikes me as really odd for a sushi restaurant of this calibre. Many other places in this tier prepare both just before it is served - and I felt the quality of both just wasn't up to standard because of the pre-preparation, though they were acceptable.

Finally, I also felt that the extra 10,000 JPY for the tsumami course was a bit ridiculous. There were only three servings - hirame, bonito and awabi. Again, the bonito was prepared beforehand, and there wasn't much to elevate the fish from a typical sashimi cut. The awabi was good, but Yoshitake takes it to another level (the liver sauce accompanying the awabi is out of this world good, but Mizutani simply just served it up by itself and it was dry.)

At 30,000 JPY out the door, I was a bit disappointed in the overall experience. It wasn't that Mizutani wasn't good, but at that price point I expect absolute perfection and a few things just seemed "off" in a sushi-ya of that tier. I think back to my experience at Yoshitake about a year ago - much friendlier service, more tsumami courses with immaculate presentation and flavours, and nigiri that was nearly as good, at 23,000 JPY.

I guess I have had four Michelin-starred meals in the last month, all tasting menus:

London: Alyn Williams at the Westbury (*): Average tasting menu but the best petit fours I've ever had in my life. They make those excellent chocolates in house.
Rome: Il Pagliaccio (**): Ridiculously pretentious, gimmicky experience. One of the worst Michelin dining experiences I've had.
Barcelona: Cinc Sentits (*): Amazing, one of my best experiences
Barcelona: ABaC (**): Very good, but just a little bit too experimental for me. When they start bringing out the liquid nitrogen, I start to worry. I suspect that ABaC will be three star at some point in the future.

Of the four, Cinc Sentits was my favourite. I highly recommend it to anyone going to Barcelona. Was never able to get a table at Lasarte, El Cellar, Tickets, L'Angle, Dos Palillos, or Caelis, and cancelled my reservation at Moments due to indifferent feedback. Just as well - the two meals in Barcelona filled me for days.

Was on Mallorca and tried 3 restaurants with each 1 star:

Simply Fosh: My favourite, worth a second star in my eyes
Es Raco d’es Teix: Perfect prepared Food without chi-chi
Es Fum: Solid restaurant

Thanks on the input. I think I will do L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon for lunch on my trip. I was shocked when I saw the prices since you said it was the best value and then I realize it was in Hong Kong dollars and not US dollars. LOL

I think I will do either 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA or Sushi Shikon for dinner.

A restaurant that employs LN2 in its presentation can expect my departure shortly thereafter.

I'm here to eat, guys, not watch Bill Nye prove that rubber bands can be brittle.

And the thing is, the restaurant is obviously capable of plating excellent food without it because the rest of the meal was tremendous. It's an unnecessary gimmick

I very much enjoyed lunch at Bo Innovation and I'm sure dinner is great too. Excellent service and very well executed food.

The michelin stars rating in Hong Kong is a mystery to me

Bo Innovation deserves zero star. I was surprised when they had 2 stars
Lung King Heen, OK, good probably one star
Sushi sikon : overpriced, good food but can't justify the price
The Chinese restaurant at the IC is my favorite Chinese restaurant (the Japanese one is meeuh)

Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA , I love it, the food is very tasty. Not extremely upscale. Make me thing of the Mandarin Grill at the MO which also very good (especially at dinner). Did go back to both restaurants

Robuchon : one single table, so you most probably seat at the counter. The bread basket was very good. The food was good but not as good as Paris. Won't go back (I didn't find any Robuchon better than Paris, Monaco is a close call)

Amber has only 2 stars but is in IMHO better than all above

Keeping the best for the end : Pierre Gagnaire (the actual chef is supposed to leave soon if not already gone)

Speaking about Michelin star, there are sub levels inside each category
So you can be 1 star : weak, average or strong. Unfortunately these info are not public.

Fully agree on fosh, great restaurant, great setting

Are you referring to the IC HK or IC GS? I will be staying at the IC HK.

Your IC :o)
Enjoy the view

Yes, back in December. Was pretty good, nothing that blew me away though. Then again, it takes a lot.

For Chicago, Schwa and EL Ideas are ones I have and will go back to multiple times. Schwa is my favorite restaurant in the world. EL Ideas being up there as well because, well, not many Michelin star restaurants will let you have a kegger.

Its a shame its impossible to plan in advance for a meal at Schwa. I'd really like to go, it seems right up my alley.

We will be in London in June and have our casual meals sorted out, but have a few questions about a few Michelin 2 and 1 stars.
How does Dinner by HB compare for lunch or dinner? I know the menus are the same but what about the experience? Our options are a weekend night or Sunday lunch.

Any thought on Benares? We had considered Gymkhana but it is booked, and we are also eating at Hoppers which is the same restaurant family as Gymkhana.
What about Hakkassan?
Not Michelin, but has anyone eaten at Berner's Tavern recently?

Funny thing: I tried to book a table for 1 Person (sorry, I´m one Person). Not possible! Only 2 persons.....

If it were me, I would book Dinner for lunch on Sunday. Many of London's finer restaurants are not open for lunch on Sunday, so if you can get a reservation, I would take it. And, it likely won't fill you up like other restaurants with 10 course tasting menus, so you can have another nice meal later in the evening.

Can't comment on the other specific restaurants you've mentioned, but if you are open to recommendations for other Michelin star restaurants, can easily provide.

Many London restaurants seem to be setup that way in OpenTable. Pied a Terre and Goodman come to mind, among others. For those, you simply need to call the restaurant and they will accommodate you if they can, or make a reservation for two and call the restaurant to tell them you are really a party of one. I've never not gotten a table as a single diner anywhere in London, provided the restaurant had availability.

I wrote them an email and it´s only an open table issue. No Problem to reserve via email^. So I guess I will Report back about this restaurant soon;)

You made a reservation at Dinner? I was about to mention that I really enjoyed the scallops with cucumber ketchup, but a quick review of the menu tells me it isn't offered right now. My waiter steered me away from the meat fruit, which is interesting given that it's the signature dish of the restaurant. I'm glad he did though because the scallops were amazing.

Yes, we´ll see what´s on the menu, my reservation is for July.

I hate it when restaurants do that. I eat by myself a lot and 1 person takes the same table as for 2. I usually would then just book for 2 and say that the other person couldn't show up.

Thought about the same, but wasn´t to keen about a discussion about the 50 GBP no-show fee per Person.....

Just had lunch at Dinner about two weeks ago - they offer their regular dinner menu but in addition they offer a set £40 3-course lunch. Unfortunately, if you've never eaten there before, two must haves (IMHO) aren't available on the 3-course set menu (it's an entirely separate menu). These two must haves - the meat fruit starter, and the tipsy cake dessert!

As to the £50/pp late cancel/no-show fee, about a year ago I ran into this, and when I rang to cancel ~24hrs in advance, they allowed me to change the reservation to another date several weeks into the future without penalty. I then rang up a few days later and canceled that reservation without penalty! ;)