I'm going to the following locations on a RTW, so I thought I'd get some opinion on the best restaurants there are:

NRT (preferably beef)
BKK
LHR
FRA
FCO
LAX
SBA
SFO
SEA
YVR
LAX
ICN

Thanks.

From a Seattleite:

In Seattle, anywhere on the corner of 12th and Jackson. Specifically, Malay Satay Hut, Seven Stars Peppers, or any of the delis that sell BBQ pork bahn mi sandwiches for $1.75.

There are many definitions of "best" restaurant..... are you looking for "best" as in Michelin 3 star, Mobil 5 star, Zagat "best"; most popular "best"; "best" food but may be a hole in the wall; best overall dining experience; best as in memorable view but forgettable food.......

Any particular cuisines you fancy?

Assuming best=most famous/expensive:

YVR:

Lumiere: consistently rated best in the city for New French/West coast food.
Tojo's: Sushi restaurant to the Hollywood stars. considered by many foodies to be one of North America's best.
"C": Probably the best seafood restaurant in the city known for seafood; contemporary west coast interpretations. Competes with Lumiere for best in Vancouver.
Sun Sui Wah: Considered by many to be the best dim-sum and cantonese food restaurant in Vancouver.

There is no arguing that Lumiere is awesome but you can go next door to Feenie's, Lumiere's more casual sibling, for excellently prepared "comfort" food in a contemporary setting at a fraction of the cost. Food comes from the same kitchen as Lumiere.

As a local, I find Tojo's pretentious and simply expensive. While good, I think there are many more sushi joints which offer similar quality for less money.

Haven't gotten to "C" yet but reports indicate it is excellent. Sun Sui Wah is good but there are many who prefer other places.


BKK:

Spice Market: Located in the Four Seasons BKK, it is considered by many to be the best, most authentic Thai restaurant in the city.
Celadon: Located in the Sukhothai Hotel, it is considered by many to be the best, most authentic Thai restaurant in the city.

The best Thai food can be found in the various hawker stalls around the city where you can eat for about a month for the price of one meal at either of the two above-mentioned restaurants.


LHR:

Beiteddine: Some outstanding Lebanese food and the choice of Saudi Royalty.
Chutney Mary: Excellent Indian food, considered to be London's best overall.
Gordon Ramsay: His Royal Hospital Road flagship is rated Michelin 3 stars.
Yauatcha: Some excellent dim sum; amongst the best outside of Hong Kong.

Waterside Inn & The Fat Duck, Bray: Two highly revered, yet completely different in style, restaurants about an hour outside of London.

I thought Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road to be one of the most overrated restaurants I have ever been to. It should be a Michelin 2 star, at best, and most certainly does not live up to the hype, especially at that cost!!

Your favorites.

I like Italian, although I ought to watch those carbs!

Hmm, thats a lot of places. Let me add a few.

To London, in addition to the good choices luxury has made let me add St. Johns for traditional English with a modern bent. St. Johns and Chutney Mary are my favorites in London.

SFO: Chez Panisse (across the bridge in Berkeley is the first and probably still leading demonstration of the "California cuisine" or new American cuisine. They literally started a food/restaurant revolution in the early 80s in the US and are still outstanding. As a second, much closer to the airport, Zuni Cafe on Market Street. First heard about them from an article on the New American Cuisine written by noted food writer Elizabeth David in the mid 80s. One of my favorite places anywhere in the world. I would put both in my 10 ten favorites in the world.

NRT- assuming you mean Tokyo and not Narita itself. My favorite for sushi is Kyubei. Their main place is right off Ginza. There are also some great beef places in that area, there is one right on Ginza street but I forget the name. Maybe someone else can add in on beef. Another place I really like in Tokyo is Kozue. The food is very good, although I think you can certainly get better food in Tokyo. They have a lot of sushi and seafood dishes. But the very good food is combined with staggering views. They are on the 40 something floor of the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku and have a glass wall to the restaurant. The views over Tokyo are unbelieveable. Service has always been excellent as well. If you are going in winter they serve a fugu course dinner that is very nice. Ive also been told Kyubei has excellent fugu dinners by I havent had one there.

Note that most of these places require reservations and in some cases reservations FAR in advance. Im thinking in particular Chez Panisse in that regard. But even Kyubei and St. John I have had trouble getting in even with more than a week in advance.

In Rome, La Pergola in the Cavalieri Hilton is usually in the top 3 high end places along with Vivendo in the St. Regis and La Terrazza in the Eden.....

For really special meals in LA:

Bastide (others will disagree)
Providence (new, closest approximation to Le Bernardin)
Nobu in Malibu for sushi (very casual - T shirt OK)
Locanda Veneta and Giorgio's are the best Italian
Spago, under the right circumstances (have to ask for the main room)
L'Orangerie (although I've been disappointed; only game for classic French)
Patina (new location - for the architecture)
Koi (to really be treated like sh*t in that LA sort of way)

SBA:
Head about 45 minutes north into Buellton, CA and hit up the Hitching Post. You said you wanted good beef preferably... you'll get it there. Trust me. Be sure to get a BBQ'ed artichoke appetizer.

Meaning what, and why the main room?

BKK:

If you like Chinese food, try Mei Jiang at the Peninsula - superb service and food.

And make sure you have a drink on the terrace first

Spago is actually very good. What is really special, however, is the feeling that you are eating in the center of the popular-culture (or maybe conventional wisdom) culinary universe. It's sort-of the good food version of walking thru Times Square or Harvard Yard (or Rodeo Drive two blocks over). I'd now generally only go with people visiting from out of town.

The restaurant is arranged with a main room (with a view to the kitchen), a patio (actually also OK to sit there as well) and several small peripheral rooms and hallways. Since you want to sit in the middle of things, you have to be in the main room. The first 2-3 times I went, they always first tried to sit us in one of the peripheral areas. Since then, I have asked for main room when reservations are made.

BTW, there is no haughtiness or snootiness at this restaurant. They're very nice, even to the nobodies.

For some fabulous Dim Sum in San Franciso, try Ton Kiang. It's highly rated!

YVR: Try Vij's for a great take on Indian food.

Thanks.

All the suggestions are awesome, keep them coming!