The Eight - Macau
Cantonese fine dining in a glitzy atmosphere. Unfortunately, the world-class ingredients (with corresponding price tags) are underutilized in dishes that rarely justify three stars
Jade Dragon - Macau
Located in a luxurious casino complex, the kitchen serves Cantonese classics and French/Cantonese fusion cuisine. Add an excellent wine pairing, and one can almost overlook that the dishes didn’t quite reach a three-star level
Forum - Hong Kong
Great Cantonese cuisine is anchored by the kitchen’s phenomenal signature abalone dish, and an amazing (and surprisingly non-traditional) caviar preparation. A good wine selection is another plus
8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana - Hong Kong
The world’s only Italian three-star outside of Italy unfortunately served us a lackluster tasting menu. There were a couple sparks of brilliance, but the majority of the dinner deserved at most a single star
Cocina Hermanos Torres - Barcelona
A dramatic dining room with a centrally placed kitchen is the location for a culinary tour through Catalonia and Spain. Some amazing appetizers and desserts surrounded the good, but not stellar regular courses on the tasting menu
Atrio - Cáceres
A tasting menu where every dish includes Iberian ham. While this leads to some fun results, more often than not this gimmick works against the kitchen
La Villa Madie - Cassis
Phenomenal seafood meets lackluster non-seafood dishes in this three-star restaurant located right on the Mediterranean sea. The successes alone make this worth the trip
Addison - San Diego
A tasting menu that encompasses multiple cuisines that made their home in California, with influences from Mexico, Japan and Thailand. Several excellent dishes, and a consistently high level throughout
Azabu Kadowaki - Tokyo
Inventive Japanese cuisine full of non-traditional dishes, some of them better than others, but the successes were quite impressive. Even though the menu was pretty short, the restaurant still managed to rush us out
Sazenka - Tokyo
The world’s only Chinese three-star restaurant not located in a Chinese-speaking country. While the dishes might be familiar from “normal” Chinese restaurants, their execution and the ingredients are at a much higher level
L'Effervescence - Tokyo
French cuisine in a serene setting. There were only minimal Japanese influences in a meal that had several excellent dishes. A few other courses fell a bit short of their potential
Mosu - Seoul
The cuisine might be more Californian than Korean, but with local ingredients aplenty. there is no mistaking where we are. Many dishes are sublime, but even the rest are innovative and ambitious
Kashiwaya - Osaka
Classic Japanese Kaiseki cuisine that keeps it interesting by including some unusual ingredients and spiciness. Unfortunately, while half the dishes were amazing, the other half was only so-so
Le Palais - Taipei
Taiwan’s first three-star restaurant serves classic Chinese banquet cuisine, but sadly only a few dishes were outstanding. Come with an appetite, since the tasting menus are large enough for two
Memories - Bad Ragaz
Wonderful seasonal Alpine cuisine that sources most ingredients locally or at least from Switzerland. Many excellent dishes, but also several where I felt the flavors were too muted, possibly a result of the time of year
Villa Crespi - Orta San Giulio
A tasting menu of deconstructed classic Italian dishes ended up containing more misses than hits. Together with a lackluster service, it made for a disappointing dinner
Uliassi - Senigallia
Located on Italy’s Adriatic coast, Uliassi offers a reinterpretation of the local cuisine. This included some excellent, solid three-star dishes, but unfortunately, none of them appeared on the tasting menu, which was not the best representation of what this kitchen is capable of
Aponiente - El Puerto de Santa Maria
A menu that takes virtually all ingredients from the ocean is an intellectual and culinary tour-de-force, and a foodie’s dream come true. The rest of us will get mostly excellent dishes, but also the occasional one that’s more experimental rather than tasty
schanz - Piesport
Delicious French cuisine that balances flavors and textures in every novel dish. The few culinary missteps are easy to ignore next to an interesting wine pairing and the warm welcome befitting a family-run enterprise
Boury - Roeselare
Wonderful French cuisine that is especially strong on the seafood dishes. With relaxed service and a generous wine paring, it’s worth the trip to Western Belgium