International Tastemakers is our first-ever reader’s selection awards, celebrating the perfect culinary locations within the U.S. and overseas. F&W readers voted primarily based on journey accomplished inside the previous three years, on classes together with eating places and bars, cities, resorts, airports, airways, and cruises. As a result of limitations of pandemic journey, this 12 months’s International Tastemakers winners replicate a smaller portion of the globe. In lots of classes, we’re together with an editor’s decide to shout out some extra culinary locations in locations you’ll be able to’t miss. See all of the winners at foodandwine.com/globaltastemakers.
Eating places are about extra than simply meals. Ambiance performs a essential function within the eating expertise, setting the temper for first dates, celebrations, or informal catch-ups with associates.
For some, good ambiance is synonymous with being “Instagrammable,” and whereas we don’t low cost the advantages of a great photograph, we love the way in which stunning eating places make us really feel. Our readers voted the next 10 U.S. eating places as greatest at school for ambiance, that includes all the things from beachfront views to over-the-top luxurious. Learn on to find the eating places with auras simply as outstanding as their menus.
Yolan: Nashville, Tennessee
Courtesy of Yolan
Yolan, an upscale Italian restaurant in Nashville, seems like pure luxurious. The restaurant is situated on the lavish lodge, The Joseph, and it’s pushed by the imaginative and prescient of Tony and Cathy Mantuano. Tony, a James Beard Award-winning chef, and Cathy, a grasp of wine and pairings, have created a stunning setting for his or her award-winning meals. The restaurant boasts up to date decor with an earth-tone shade palette, complemented by heat lighting that’s as inviting as their spectacular wine choice. Each facet, from the glassware to the spectacular kitchen seen by open cabinets holding huge rounds of Parmigiano-Reggiano, has been rigorously orchestrated to create an distinctive eating expertise.
Merois: Los Angeles, California
Courtesy of Merois
On the roof of Pendry West Hollywood, Wolfgang Puck’s Merois restaurant, a fusion of Japanese, Southeast Asian, and French cuisines, affords fantastic eating at its best with beautiful views of Sundown Boulevard. With a glam Artwork Deco-inspired inside that options excessive ceilings, plush velvet seating, and daring geometric patterns, company are immersed in a world of glamor. Reserve a desk for sundown eating for an much more upscale eating expertise.
Camphor: Los Angeles, California
Josh Telles
It doesn’t get extra inviting than Camphor, an intimate French-inspired restaurant situated in downtown Los Angeles’ buzzing Arts District. Led by government cooks Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George, Camphor is a contemporary bistro that gives an distinctive eating expertise with a minimalist decor that options mild wooden accents and serene low lighting. Regardless of its calm ambiance, Camphor is a bustling must-eat spot in Los Angeles.
Cranium’s Rainbow Room: Nashville, Tennessee
Shutterstock
Named after David “Cranium” Schulman, a former proprietor and outstanding determine in Nashville’s leisure scene in the course of the mid-Twentieth century, Cranium’s Rainbow Room pays homage to Schulman’s legacy with reside music that captures the spirit of Nashville’s iconic music scene. With its shimmering crystal curtains and state-of-the-art sound system, the restaurant’s important stage is the centerpiece of the area. Plush velvet seating and vintage-inspired accents evoke the golden age of jazz. Plus, company can get pleasure from a stellar meal, all whereas being dazzled by a number of the metropolis’s most gifted musicians.
Windfall: Los Angeles, California
John Troxell
This Michelin-starred restaurant in Los Angeles has been serving award-winning seafood for over a decade. With a spacious room richly illuminated by pure lighting, the restaurant’s look is up to date and modern, designed with clear traces, gentle lighting, and a shade palette pushed by earthy tones. Past aesthetics, Windfall’s dedication to sustainability and environmental consciousness makes it a feel-good place to eat. Every dish on the menu is produced from sustainably sourced, wild-caught seafood and hyper-local, seasonal components.
Zou Zou’s: New York, New York
Noah Feck
Zou Zou‘s is a energetic 75-seat restaurant within the coronary heart of New York Metropolis. As a part of its menu, the restaurant options a wide range of dishes that remember the cuisines and flavors of the Japanese Mediterranean area. The restaurant’s decor boasts darkish woods, off-white plasters, vibrant pink seats, and inexperienced tiles that spotlight the open areas punctuated by arches and domes. The restaurant’s open kitchen permits company to observe as their dishes are ready, including to the general eating expertise.
Aldama: Brooklyn, New York
Sandra Grattarola
Aldama is a vibrant restaurant that is firmly rooted in Brooklyn whereas paying homage to the range of Mexican delicacies. From the eclectic decor that includes funky lights and brilliant murals to the boho-chic really feel of the poured concrete bar with its woven-seat bar stools, imported wooden panels, textiles, and ceramics, Aldama is a pleasant place to get pleasure from a meal. The menu from chef Gerardo Alcaraz options inventive dishes, comparable to vegan mole and a Cornish hen Pollo Coloradit.
Le Bernardin: New York, New York
Nigel Parry
A quintessential New York establishment, from its decor to its menu, Le Bernardin exudes a way of refined luxurious. The area is elegantly minimalist, with darkish, muted tones, modern furnishings, and a heat ambiance conducive to specializing in the exceptional meals and wine. The menu is centered across the highest high quality seafood imported from all over the world, ready utilizing traditional French methods with a contemporary method. Its dedication to excellence in each facet of the eating expertise, from the delicacies to the service to the ambiance, has earned it quite a few accolades and recognition as one of many world’s greatest eating places.
Nobu Malibu: Los Angeles, California
Benny Marty / Alamy Inventory Picture
The flagship from famend chef and 1989 Meals & Wine Greatest New Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, Nobu is an upscale Japanese-Peruvian restaurant situated in Malibu, California, that has grow to be one of the crucial acknowledged Japanese eating places on the planet. With the stellar backdrop of the Pacific Ocean at this beachfront property, the restaurant’s inside design is the epitome of modern, showcasing pure supplies that complement the beautiful views of the ocean.
The Catbird Seat: Nashville, Tennessee
Andrew Thomas Lee
The Catbird Seat in Nashville, Tennessee, affords an intimate eating expertise centered round an open kitchen. There are solely 22 seats obtainable within the small area, which has a U-shaped counter that surrounds the kitchen, permitting company to look at the cooks as they put together every course. Regardless of having an industrial really feel being surrounded by the kitchen, the ambiance remains to be inviting, with dim lighting and cozy seating. A easy, up to date decor is intentional and permits diners the give attention to the meals and the general expertise.
Moon Rabbit: Washington D.C.
REY LOPEZ PHOTO
Moon Rabbit, a restaurant in Washington D.C. with Vietnamese roots, boasts an ambiance that falls completely between stylish and comfortable. The eating room is embellished with trendy Vietnamese-inspired decor, together with bamboo lighting fixtures and colourful murals, that contribute to its vibrant but subtle atmosphere. Seating choices vary from cozy cubicles to communal tables, offering an inviting ambiance for each giant and small teams. The mixture of scrumptious Vietnamese delicacies, attentive service, and classy ambiance make Moon Rabbit a must-visit restaurant in D.C.
Editor’s Choose: Mamey: Coral Gables, FL
Kris Tamburello
Each the meals and decor at Mamey make you’re feeling such as you’re in a lush, tropical paradise. Meals & Wine Greatest New Chef Niven Patel makes use of components sourced from his personal ranch to craft dishes impressed by his travels all through Asia, Polynesia, and the Caribbean at this must-visit spot in Coral Gables. Painted botanicals line the partitions, and greenery appears to pop up on each floor contained in the thoughtfully-designed inside. Crops hanging from above and heat, ambient lighting mix to make you’re feeling such as you’re outside, whereas nonetheless creating a comfy ambiance. – F&W Editors