Disfrutar
"Disfrutar" means to enjoy in Spanish. And that's the least you'll do at this restaurant where you won't just enjoy your meal, but you'll be surprised, delighted and have fun. The chefs were trained at the mythic El Bulli with Ferran Adrià, then opened a very successful restaurant in the quaint seaside village of Cadaques before starting their Barcelona adventure. They offer a unique mix of traditional and vanguard cuisine, where each plate is better than the next. Definitely go for one of their gargantuan tasting menus - and plan for a two-hour meal with such surprises as beet balls that emerge out of a black sesame bed, edible flowers, olive bonbons, unusual textures and flavor combinations, and lots of winks to the traditional Catalan culture. The staff is more than happy to cater to special diets when requested in advance: They even were able to adjust their top menu to a pregnant vegetarian. That's customer service! Dinner books quickly. Lunchtime usually has more availability, but do make your reservation ASAP through their website up to three months in advance, or you might be disappointed.

Größenwahn
Preparing German, Mediterranean and Thai cuisine, Cafe Größenwahn is as diverse and exciting as it has been for the last 25 years. In fact it has been awarded first place 23 out of 25 times (it came second both other times) in the annual Frankfurt Restaurant Guide’s ‘Frankfurt favorites’ list. The menu changes day by day, so don’t expect your favourite dish of the evening to be there the next night. This could be risky business, but thankfully they have quality chefs which can continue to create exciting dishes day by day. Their consistency with incredible food production and service earned them the title of ‘Best Restaurant of the Last 25 Years’ in the city. No mean feat!

moriki
This pan-asian fusion restaurant established itself as a place based upon the ideas of serenity and quality. Mixed in with Eastern philosophies and ideology it describes itself as a holistic interpretation of modern asian cooking. Mori translates in Japanese into ‘Forest’ and Ki is the word used to describe the supposed universal life energy in all things. The name then, Moriki, nicely represents the care and thought which has gone into their food and the finesse eat dish shows is a product of this philosophy approach to food. Try the Miso Cod (miso glazed Alaskan cod with ginger) or the beef tenderloin (tenderloin, teriyaki sesame sauce and sides). Moriki was selected by the New York Times as one of the "25 places to go" in the year, 2014, and it continues to be somewhere well worth a trip.

Knoblauch
This restaurant has been around for decades. Since 1979 in fact. It is a vision of days gone by, and has even been under the same management of Dorit and Hermann Jaeger ever since the late seventies. The food is of a classic French inclination and will satisfy even the most prudent of diners. Open for lunch and dinner, the restaurant attracts a varied crowd throughout the day - from business lunches to celebratory meals. The food is designed, constructed and cooked under the watchful eye of chef de cuisine Dominique Heintz, whilst the high level of service you will experience will be at the hands of his wife Denise. Choose from the lunch of dinner 3 course menu or from the new selection of seasonal dishes which change monthly. Great wine lists are on offer and during the summer months why not make use of the terrace!

MILK
Milk in Balham, had built a name for itself on the London breakfast circuit as a place of unique ability to produce food which can make your jaw drop. They do a selection of regular items (though each has a twist) and they do these very well, but there’s one particular dish which stands head and shoulders above the rest - The Convict. A proper English muffin, dry-cure bacon, Moens & Sons sausage, a Burford brown egg, crispy poacher hash and the most magnificent of hangover sauces. It is just insanely delicious and will satisfy even the hungriest and most choosey of brunchers. You can’t book, and things get really busy so show up early and dive for a table.

Jai Krishna
Serving up outstanding South Indian cuisine in a simple but authentic environment, Jai Krishna is famous in North London for making some of the best sub-continental food outside of the home country. It is no-frills and unassuming, but the selection of incredibly delicate and flavorful dishes more than makes up for it. The Vegetable Thali is more than enough for one person, coming loaded with a selection of veg curries, tarka dal, chapati or poori, rice and chutneys. It is beautifully seasoned and flavored to perfection. Also on the menu is the Kachori Chaat, delectable fried pieces of spicy moong dal mix, topped with curds, chutneys, channa masala and fresh coriander. This is probably the best side dish I have ever eaten outside of India and it is worth visiting Jai Krishna just for this.

Weinstube Schellenturm
The Schellenturm (bell tower) was built as a part of Stuttgart's city wall in 1565. It was used as a prison and a depot for wine. Nowadays you can find some exquisite Swabian cuisine at restaurant Schellenturm. But before you are allowed to sit down and enjoy a meal, you have to climb the mass of stairs up the old tower. The restaurant is located on the two upper floors and welcomes you with a rustic, homely atmosphere. They offer the local Dinkelacker beer that is brewed only a short distance away in the south of Stuttgart. What would be better to go along with it than the Swabian plate (Schwabenteller)? It consists of two slices of tender roast pork, homemade Swabian ravioli (Maultasche) and potato salad. Just a delicious quick journey through Swabian cuisine.

Weinstube Zur Kiste
Weinstube zur Kiste is a typically cozy Swabian restaurant in the heart of Stuttgart’s famous bean quarter. It’s located in an old timber-clad house where you sit on creaking wooden benches next to a beautiful, dark green, tile stove. The menu offers some of the best regional dishes in this area. The perfect match for a great local Stuttgarter Hofbräu beer is the onion beef roast with a classic mixed salad or some Swabian pasta. The roast is seared to perfection with a slightly pink centre. And covering the top of it you will find the sweet grilled onions that make it a Swabian Zwiebelrostbraten.

Bouillon Bilk
Ask any chef, writer, well-seasoned diner or food and wine aficionado their favorite upscale restaurant in Montreal - and Bouillon Bilk would almost always in the upper echelons. It's not as traditional (or famous, yet) as the godfathers (Joe Beef, Au Pied de Cochon, Toqué! etc.), but has become the benchmark for newer restaurants hoping to make "institutional" status. It opened in 2011 with a focus on modern eclectic cuisine for a sophisticated urban crowd. Chef François Nadon’s dishes are exciting, creative, polished, carefully thought-out, and flawlessly executed. The menu changes frequently, but the hamachi crudo is a mainstay. The slightly off the beaten track location for this 95-seat industrial-chic restaurant, with its white and black interior, can come off as cold, but the food has heart and there is no compromise. This is a favorite in Canada, let alone Montreal.

Le Filet
Don’t wait for a special occasion to come here, Le Filet is the occasion, especially for posh individuals who dine out regularly and for entertainment. The seafood driven restaurant by chef Yaku Okazaki is globally influenced, leaning towards Asian, but also has a Montreal pride, using some local ingredients. The food is refined and the room is lively, despite its tablecloths and elegance. Order the House cocktail - Le “Piscine” to start, and do not miss the signatures: tuna tartare, tataki of waygu (yes, they have some meat dishes, and this one is fantastic), seafood linguini, and a side of addictive jumbo onion rings. The appetizers and small plates are more exciting than the mains, and make sure you leave room for the maple syrup square. This dessert – a Quebec specialty – I would come for alone.