#upscale-restaurants

#upscale-restaurants

When it comes to lunchtime in France, if you haven't bagged yourself a table by the time the clock strikes noon, you're on a sticky wicket.

Golden Child Rooftop is envisioned as a social hub without elitist membership fees, catering to both hotel guests and New Yorkers seeking a fresh rooftop experience.

Arthur is designed to feel more like a modern Parisian bistro than a white-tablecloth tasting menu dining room, creating a lived-in atmosphere.

At Mirra, chefs Zubair Mohajir and Rishi Kumar fuse Indian and Mexican flavors, telling a story of immigration and the Indian diaspora through culture-melding dishes like chaas aguachile, where translucent slices of hamachi are served in a pool of cumin-scented buttermilk and lime juice.

Casa Dani is more than a restaurant-it's an invitation into the culinary world of Chef García. The menu brings together iconic creations from his award-winning, Michelin-starred concepts, now for the first time on the West Coast.

Shoreditch is becoming something of a burger hub, with various popular burger joints like Meat Stop and Dumbo establishing their presence in the area.

"Rao's is a special and intimate dining experience that has been passed down for generations. Creating Dinner Rush with American Express and Marriott needed to feel like a true extension of our own table."

The sourdough crumpets are a must-order and they come with some delightful accompaniments - the dressed Dorset crab and the duck liver parfait with Yorkshire rhubarb being our favourites.

Henry Harris describes his experience as the head chef and co-owner of Bouchon Racine as 'my most favourite three years of cooking and restaurant ownership.' He emphasizes the importance of creating a space where guests feel 'loved and valued'.

When you hear that a restaurant is hard to get into, it signals that there must be something worthy of drawing a crowd - and with all of the restaurants on this list, that is certainly the case. Whether it's food so creative you just can't find it anywhere else, cocktails and wine lists crafted to impress, stellar service, or celebrity sightings, these locations are hard to get a table at for a reason.

Last month, I found myself sitting in what looked like the world's most boring strip mall restaurant. Beige walls, no signage except for a tiny brass plaque, and a parking lot filled with understated luxury cars. I'd been invited by a source who'd built three successful companies before turning forty. As we ate perfectly prepared Dover sole at 7 PM on a Tuesday, surrounded by other quietly powerful diners, something clicked. This wasn't about exclusivity or showing off. This was about something else entirely.

Chanel, Christian Louboutin and Hermès are names that are synonymous with luxury, signifying elegance, craftmanship and prestige. These brands often use subtle, mysterious signals to communicate their status - things like minimalist designs or the red sole on a Louboutin shoe. Often termed "quiet luxury", this trend is also seen in the world of high-end dining. This approach to luxury branding is aimed at creating a desire in consumers to learn these signals.

"Cooking at high altitude means having to adjust our seasoning as your senses are actually dulled in the air," Monica explained. "Something else you have to take into consideration is the space the team has to work in. It's obviously tiny, so you need to think about how practical it is to physically put the dish together and still create something that looks beautiful".

Back in 2024, after a reporting trip for a whiskey magazine, I got tired of drinking. Perhaps it was the sluggishness I felt each morning, or maybe it was the podcast I'd heard while traveling, which shared the news that one or two glasses of red wine was not, as we had long been told, healthy. Whatever the reason, I tossed in the daily drinking towel after that trip, figuring that going forward, I might only have a drink or two every now and again.

Whether spooned delicately onto porcelain, presented on ice beneath candlelight, or passed around at an intimate dinner party, those glossy pearls have long been shorthand for celebration, indulgence, and impeccable taste. Caviar has always belonged to the world of heightened moments, from champagne-soaked soirées on the French Riviera to late-night tastings in Parisian salons. Yet despite its storied reputation, it's not reserved solely for five-star dining rooms and private members' clubs.

Launching on March 1, Akoko's West African inspired menu will be headed up by the Akoko burger, £16, which will see an aged British beef patty seasoned with a special spice blend as well as tamarind jam, sosu kaani scotch bonnet chilli sauce, yassa-spiced onions and melted goat's cheese. The Akoko burger will come in Heard's signature roast potato bun and be served with dibi dipping sauce inspired by Senegalese barbecue.

In Mayfair and looking for the perfect burger? May we point you in the direction of Dover Street Counter, one of our new favourite restaurants in London . We've just reviewed this slick new diner, which comes from the same team as The Dover, the New York-style Italian restaurant which opened in 2023, and which we loved so much that it made our list of the best restaurants in London .

There's a brand new number one in Time Out's list of the best London restaurants with views , and it's a newly-opened joint just by Hyde Park. Congratulations to Shanghai Me, which opened last year on the 28th floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane. The same address was once home to Galvin at Windows, which closed in 2024 after 18 years of trading.