The premium price of the most expensive restaurants in the world doesn’t merely provide the best cuisine imaginable. The experience floods your senses, fills your soul, and leaves you with a lifelong memory of a spectacular adventure.
Whether steeped in rich tradition or venturing into the unknown, the world’s most luxurious restaurants fuse art with passion, food with love, and perfection with dedication. Every extravagant touch is born from expert hands and delivered with first-class care.
You can find these expensive restaurants scattered across the globe. They’re visited by the world’s elite and held to a standard that goes far beyond the usual, deep into the realm of the extraordinary.
While no two experiences are the same, they all hold one thing in common. An allegiance to excellence through edible endeavors.
11. Kikunoi Honten, Japan
Under the guidance of Chef Yoshihiro Murata, Kikunoi Honten is dedicated to pure deliciousness. In recognition of his efforts, he’s earned the “Kyoto-fu Bunka Korosho” award for his contributions to Kyoto culture.
Every aspect of this expensive restaurant is carefully selected, refined, and presented. Tradition is key, but a willingness to innovate leaves repetition behind. “Kirei-sabi” is the heart of his luxurious restaurant’s cuisine, meaning tasteful and powerful, not fragile.
The menu changes daily, so knowing what to expect is impossible, but some usual suspects include Sashimi with pickled chives and iris stalks and mountain yam with octopus gelee adorned with shisho flowers.
The result is one of the most expensive restaurants in the world that’s sure to entertain the taste buds of every guest.
| Location: | Kyoto, Japan |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $520 USD (~12 courses) |
| Cuisine: | Japanese kaiseki |
| Website: | kikunoi.jp |
10. Ultraviolet, China
High-end restaurants frequently offer something unique, but Ultraviolet turns convention on its head. It’s a 4-hour psycho-gustative odyssey tucked away in a secret location, a truly interactive culinary concept, and a thrilling journey.
10 seats are immersed in a dazzling choreography made possible by an intricate combination of images and sound, aided by advanced scent projectors and other eccentric presentation methods.
The creativity of Chef Pail Pairet is littered throughout every aspect of Ultraviolet. His work and the efforts of his talented team create one of the best Michelin star restaurants.
| Location: | Shanghai, China |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $550 USD (22 courses) |
| Cuisine: | Avant-garde figurative |
| Website: | uvbypp.cc |
9. Forum Restaurant, Hong Kong
A luxury restaurant’s worldwide reputation doesn’t fall into undeserving hands. Master Yeung Koon Yat has worked tirelessly for more than 60 years with Chinese cuisine, perfecting his signature dish Ah Yat Abalone. The dedication is evident to anyone who enjoys this luxurious restaurant.
Visited by national leaders spread across the world, Forum Restaurant provides a sense of belonging that goes deeper than flavor. It’s one of the top restaurants in the world, an icon with a strict standard for quality, always striving to improve and grow.
| Location: | Hong Kong |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $560 USD (7 courses) |
| Cuisine: | Legendary Chinese |
| Website: | forumrestaurant1977.com |
8. Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama, Japan
The knife edges are razor sharp, but cutting corners is not part of this expensive restaurant’s customs. By carefully selecting the best ingredients from around Japan, the Chef’s Omakase Course is a boundless pursuit of perfection.
Sublime flavors are served in traditional surroundings as the unparalleled dining experience aims to please all five senses. Painstaking attention to presentation and service ensures enjoyment at one of the nicest fancy dinner places imaginable.
| Location: | Kyoto, Japan |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $630 USD (>10 courses) |
| Cuisine: | Japanese kaiseki |
| Website: | kyoto-kitcho.com |
7. Ciel Bleu, Netherlands
By pushing beyond traditional French cuisine and inviting international flavors to the table, Ciel Bleu creates a mind-blowing culinary experience. Every bite conveys the love and craftsmanship behind the original dishes.
Located on the 23rd floor of the Hotel Okura Amsterdam, guests enjoy a sensational view backed by supreme hospitality. It’s a celebration of what it means to be one of the best restaurants in the world, where superlative meals meet premium ambiance.
| Location: | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $650 USD (10 courses) |
| Cuisine: | French |
| Website: | cielbleu.nl |
6. Restaurant Guy Savoy, France
Located with the 18th-century architecture of the Monnaie de Paris, or Paris Mint, Restaurant Guy Savoy uses the historical space to add to the wealth of France through culinary art.
Chef Guy Savoy formed the experience hand-in-hand with designer Bruno Moretti, finding their shared desire for extreme precision and harmony worked well to create one of the most expensive restaurants in the world.
Unmitigated beauty is found throughout the space, the meal, and the encounter.
| Location: | Paris, France |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $700 USD (12 courses) |
| Cuisine: | French |
| Website: | guysavoy.com |
5. Masa, United States
The best restaurants in the world provide exceptional attention to detail. At Masa, it starts with the heavy wooden door at the entrance and flows into the remarkable sushi counter. Made of a singular piece of Hinoki, or Japanese Cypress, it is sanded daily, providing a visual and sensual representation of renewal.
Masayoshi Takayama’s relationship with food goes far beyond sustenance. It’s a way of life. One that he keeps pure yet refined, favoring flavor instead of complication.
| Location: | New York, United States |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $950 USD (26 courses) |
| Cuisine: | Japanese sushi |
| Website: | masanyc.com |
4. Piazza Duomo, Italy
Creativity and research are central components of this luxury restaurant, but the core of Piazza Duomo is the land it sits on. Seasonal products grown in onsite greenhouses bring the area’s rich history to the table, connecting you to people and dishes of the past.
Since 2005, this high-end restaurant has been paying homage to established tastes while exploring new frontiers. It tells a story based on biodynamics, the well-earned product of passionate culinary artists.
You can enjoy a more affordable tasting menu, but the premium Barolo Rarity tasting menu is in the elite group of the most expensive restaurants.
| Location: | Alba, Italy |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $1,100 USD (10 courses) |
| Cuisine: | Creative Italian |
| Website: | piazzaduomoalba.it |
3. The French Laundry, United States
Inside a quaint river rock and timber building sits one of the best restaurants in the world, impressing patrons for more than 25 years. Located in the northern end of Napa Valley, this fancy restaurant joins the finest ingredients with an intense focus on guest service.
As the only American-born chef to have two three-starred Michelin restaurants, you can put your faith in Chef Thomas Keller to send your palate to the moon and back.
The standard menu hovers around $550, but the special event Black Truffle & Caviar Dinner’s $1,200 price tag makes The French Laundry one of the most expensive restaurants in the world.
| Location: | Napa Valley, United States |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $1,200 USD (~12 courses) |
| Cuisine: | French |
| Website: | thomaskeller.com |
2. Sublimotion, Spain
12 diners become the stars of the show as each Sublimotion journey uses technology-focused entertainment with vivid imagery and a dazzling display of artistry.
The entire room transforms into new environments, bringing the patrons through a journey of locations and emotions. It’s an immersive adventure using 360-degree screens, projectors, and sound from an advanced team of designers, engineers, and composers.
The luxury restaurant goes above and beyond with its unique space, only surpassed by the intoxicating edibles created by Chef Paco Roncero and his dedicated team.
| Location: | Ibiza, Spain |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $1,800 USD (12 courses) |
| Cuisine: | Spanish avant-garde |
| Website: | sublimotionibiza.com |
1. Alchemist, Denmark
Hidden behind gargantuan metal doors sits a sensory experience like no other. An exclusive table of 15 guests is pulled through gastronomy, art, and design spread over 5 rooms and 50 courses.
It starts with dancers making their way into your skull by asking esoteric questions made to invigorate your mind. The planetarium-style dome projects magnificent visuals, at times transcending time and space.
The Sommelier Table experience is the most expensive, adding an extra emphasis on the expertly curated pairings from the Alchemist’s vast wine cellar.
| Location: | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Top Tasting Menu: | $2,200 USD (50 courses) |
| Cuisine: | Holistic |
| Website: | alchemist.dk |
Methodology
To gather the list of the most extravagant and expensive restaurant experiences, we carefully reviewed publicly available offerings from establishments across the globe. This list is a compilation of the highest-priced full-tasting menus per head.
Many of the most expensive menus available include alcoholic beverages, but in some cases, beverages are excluded. While we recognize this can cause an imbalance in the ranking system, leaving out either group would result in a list lacking some of the most expensive options.
Instead, we focused on compiling whatever choices came out as the absolute most expensive restaurant menu available.
In every case, the prices listed are part of a cohesive tasting menu. There have been no modifications to the menus or prices to tack on overly expensive wines or spirits. Every option is a carefully curated experience that may or may not include expertly paired beverages.
Conclusion: The most expensive restaurants
From high-tech marvels to historical landmarks, the most expensive restaurants in the world aim to please and always hit the bullseye. Along with the immense bills come a world of possibilities filled with creativity bursting in every direction. They’ll please your palate and send shivers down your spine through a flawless execution of culinary expertise.
The most expensive restaurants in the world are:
- Alchemist, Denmark
- Sublimotion, Spain
- The French Laundry, United States
- Piazza Duomo, Italy
- Masa, United States
- Restaurant Guy Savoy, France
- Ciel Bleu, Netherlands
- Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama, Japan
- Forum Restaurant, Hong Kong
- Ultraviolet, China
- Kikunoi Honten, Japan
Frequently asked questions about the most expensive restaurants:
The world’s most expensive restaurant is the Alchemist in Copenhagen, Denmark with a $2,200 50-course tasting menu paired with premium wines. Other expensive restaurants include $1,800 at Sublimotion in Ibiza, Spain, and $1,200 at The French Laundry in Napa Valley, United States.
The most expensive restaurant in the world is located in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a $2,200 tasting menu option at the Alchemist. Expensive restaurants can also be found in Spain at Sublimotion, in the United States at The French Laundry and Masa, in Italy at Piazza Duomo, in France at Restaurant Guy Savoy, in the Netherlands at Ciel Bleu, in Japan at Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama and Kikunoi Honten, in Hong Kong at Forum Restaurant, and in China at Ultraviolet.
Masa is the most expensive restaurant in NYC, with a $950 26-course tasting menu. It is a Japanese sushi restaurant under the leadership of Masayoshi Takayama. Masa fuses a relentless dedication to purity with a remarkable setting that features a massive slab of Japanese Cypress as the sushi counter.
The most expensive restaurant costs $2,200 at the Alchemist in Copenhagen, Denmark. You can also pay $1,800 to eat at Sublimotion in Spain, $1,200 at The French Laundry in the United States, $1,100 at Piazza Duomo in Italy, $950 at Masa in the United States, and $700 at Restaurant Guy Savoy in France.
