Florence

I really enjoyed Touch. Very good Food and very reasonable prices (it was under 50 € per person 4 course including wine).

Best Pizza you get at Il Pizzaiuolo.

Both not Michelin star but great Quality. I stayed at the Four Seasons which has a Michelin stared restaurant. It was fine for 1 star, prices around 150 € per person all in.

For good quality Parisien restaurants that won't break the bank, see this thread or several others in our France forum. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...nts-paris.html

i dont think ive seen it on flyertalk, but i find it odd when some self described (american?) foodies focus on 'mental' aspect (has bubblegum steak been innovated yet?) and do not care about "tasting good" even when describing individual component flavors/textures of a dish

Not sure where I'd rank it overall, but Tetsuya's in Sydney blew my mind. I went to Rockpool and Quay when I was there as well (with Quay being ranked in the top 100 in the world), and it blew both of those away. A fascinating intersection of Japanese, French, and Australian sensibilities on the dining plate. I think the confit of kombu-crusted ocean trout may have been better than any piece of fish I ate at Le Bernardin several years back. What a treat it was to have our last meal in the Antipodes be here.

Thank you both; appreciate the responses!

"114" at the bristol hotel is a very good restaurant and won't break the bank.

In Paris, we loved La Billebaude. You'd be hard-pressed to spend as much as $100 apiece, unless you're pairing the meal with a first-growth Bordeaux.

Best seafood restaurant in the world: Jake's Famous Crawfish; Portland, Oregon.

Best breakfast spot: Butter's Cafe; Scottsdale, AZ (a very second close is Sweet Maple, in SF, CA)

Have been to some pretty good restaurants, but nothing with more than one Michelin star. Going to London the middle of February and have reservations at Gordon Ramsay, The Ledbury and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. Really looking forward to it, and it will be interesting to see first-hand exactly what it is like.

Good selection - if I had to choose from the 3 I would rate Ledbury over Gordon Ramsay. Never ate at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, as I don´t eat meat.

Clare Smyth left Restaurant Gordon Ramsay last fall, so it will be interesting to see what you think of your meal. I've seen some recent online reviews that have been critical, but YMMV.

Dinner is just 1 star...and is completely underwhelming IMO. The restaurant space itself at the MO is beautiful and very impressive, though.

The Ledbury is 2 star...and is my favorite in London. It's fantastic. I will be back for my 3rd time in October.

Dinner is 2 star as AD is the most underwhelming 3 star I know;) Agree with Ledbury, best 2 star I know

Indeed! Will be interesting to see her new restaurant.

Yes, I know. Apparently she is still Chef Patron until her new restaurant opens, but it will be interesting to see how that affects the quality indeed. Will be very interesting to see her own restaurant develop.

Isn't Dinner 2 star? That's what I'm lead to believe, and it's also something offerendum references. However, might still be a disappointment, but as Heston Blumenthal is one of my daughter's food idols we kinda had to go (would have preferred FD, but rest of the travel party didn't feel it was worth the time and money..).

Have heard nothing but great things about Ledbury, also heard people talk about it possibly moving up to 3 star. I'm hoping it does so in the next guide, that would be great timing for us ;)

A big reason why we didn't decide to go to AD was the fact that a lot of people seem to think it's not a big deal, plus the food doesn't seem as exciting as GR or Ledbury.