I WOULD TELL MY PAST SELF TO EAT HERE BEFORE I DIED
TOP 5 EATS
#1 Ceia
📍Lisboa, Portugal
This was both a social and story-driven experience. Celia is located in a pretty discreet residential district in Lisbon. A host greets you, serves you a chilled rosé, and leads you into a garden.
When dinner begins, you are led back into the space and a dining hall opens. There is one large communal table and seat assignments based on the guests with commonalities. When we went, they organized one side of the table for Americans, the British in the center, and the French on the other side to encourage commonality and conversation.
The food conceptually was tied to the Portuguese landscape. Appetizers started in the sea and desserts ended in the forest. In the end, they handed you a wax-sealed card set that summarized the menu. This experience was thoughtful, unexpected, intimate, and executed meticulously.
Campo de Santa Clara 128, 1100-473 Lisboa, Portugal
#2 Uma
📍Barcelona, Spain
We tried a lot of one-star Michelin restaurants in Barcelona because there were so many concentrated in one city but out of the ones we tried - this one takes the cake. Uma was a curated meal with explorative showmanship and concept. Each dish felt like a playful experiment by the chef. Most experimental restaurants focus on the presentation more than the outcome but the food here was thoughtfully paired in a delightful way that still tickled our tastebuds.
Some memorable courses include a 'golden egg' upon a pillow or a cotton candy 'cloud' sitting upon a rock that revealed a duck broth. This experience was experimental, curated, and delicious.
C/ de Mallorca, 275, 08008 Barcelona, Spain
#3 Nishimuraya Ryokan
📍Toyooka, Japan
This was such a memorable and intimate experience. Perhaps we were influenced by coming from the sauna in the Ryokan, but it made the meal all the more special. By the time we came back from the baths, the tatami room was transformed into a private dining experience. Servers would come in between each course to set up either a self-cooking Kobe beef bbq or a curated set of sashimi.
The entire meal ranged across the repertoire of Japanese cuisine as we know it. We even cooked fresh abalone for the first time. If you do manage to stop by this small bathhouse, I would recommend the ryokan with dinner.
1016-2 Kinosakicho Yushima, Toyooka, Hyogo 669-6101, Japan
#4 Rich Table
📍San Francisco, California
I came to celebrate paying off my student loans, a true milestone worth a bit of a splurge. The fruits and vegetables celebrate California agriculture to the tee. Imagine the freshest peaches or the juiciest piece of chicken.
Each dish came in a small tapa style but the pacing was thoughtful and by the time dessert came, I was comfortably full. I distinctly remember cucumber and mint shaved ice paired with fruit. A photo of the said desert was not pictured because it was happier in my stomach.
199 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102
#5 Pujol
📍Mexico City, Mexico
This is one of the incredibly underrated cities to get the best food. Pujol was memorable for the authentic and creative taco-tasting menu. The environment had a lively yet ethereal atmosphere, lighting fixtures reminded me of a moon eclipse. Their tasting menu consists primarily of taco varieties in the most experimental forms. I distinctly remember the octopus with a double wrap of blue corn tortilla and a cut of hoja santa. The hoja santa made the dish so special not only in flavor but also because the giant edible leaf is considered sacred in Mesoamerica. I appreciate when restaurants like Pujol tie back their local origins to the story of the tasting. I would absolutely recommend coming.
Tennyson 133, Polanco, Polanco IV Secc, Miguel Hidalgo, 11570 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico