My Favorite Restaurants: Top 30 Fancy, Non-Tasting

Closed

Was #19.) Robin Square  (Montreal - 2018, 2019, 2020)

To my knowledge, this is the only restaurant on this list to have closed. It's a shame really, but not too surprising since the place was completely family run, with dad being the chef, mom being the maitre'd, and kids being waiters and cooks (they had non-family employees as well). The food was great, from a truly excellent pork belly I had when we went on my friends bachelor party, to one of the great desserts I've ever had at a restaurant. My only qualm was their lunch menu was a set of sandwhiches, which while good, paled in comparison to their food for dinner.

Was #17.) Espiritu Santu  (Valparaiso - 2018)

Valparaiso is a town on the Pacific Coast of Chile, and high up in the hills is Espiritu Santo, often ranked highly on the list of best seafood restaurants in Chile. Seafood isn't all they serve but it basically is and was all great, from cured tuna with chilean chiles, to a great octopus and fish play on a ceviche, to so much else. In totality, Espiritu Santo more than lived up to its billing, with the only real downside being a more expensive menu than maybe it should be.

Was #4.) Olam  (Santiago - 2024)

The chef worked at El Bulli, and brings that style, maybe amps it down one degree below the $400/menu molecular gastronomy El Bulli is known for, and it works perfectly. Mixing in asian flavors, weird combinations (my favorite dish being a kombu, chilean fish dumpling in coconut broth with aju verde - just the weirdly best combination of words), and so much more. Olam probably could convert itself into a 10-course tasting menu one day. And it is very much like the Chilean version of the two restaurants to come - probably best enjoyed with a group of six people where you can share 8-10 dishes from their collection. If I go back to Chile, I can't wait to go back to Olam, probably get those dumplings again (they were that good) and try more - even if I could get say the salmon tataki again as well.

30.) Manda de Lao  (Luang Prabang - 2019)

Luang Prabang is arguably the most remote, random place I've traveled to, but even in the heart of this two road town is a beautiful little restaurant, open air with a pond of lotus flowers that all the tables are situated around. Their "tasting menu" as it were comes as three courses with multiple dishes, all being quite good, from a great spiced chicken leg, to their take on a samosa, to fried fish, to so much else. The best may have been their banana four ways dessert. All of it was a great night in Laos.

29.) Ravintola Muru  (Helsinki - 2024)

Muru serves a simple 4-dish set menu that is executed with exacting precision. Nothing overly tweezery, nothing that a lay person won't understand (e.g. some ingredient unearthed from under a cave). No, they just serve great food. From smoked whitefish with pickled asparagus, to a perfect preparation of elk, to one of the better risotto's I've ever had. Again, nothing of that was so crazy - I could make versions of each (well, maybe not the smoked whipped whitefish) but they won't be a patch on the great produce and great preparation.

28.) Tavaci Recep Usta  (Izmir - 2024)

If you like lamb, this is the place for you. White table cloths, great service, and dozens and dozens of preparations of lamb. From full lambs, to braised lamb over rice, to glorious lamb stews with teh weirdest, spiciest curry, to of course kebabs. Tavaci Recep Usta has their lane - serve great lamb in every conceivable way, and they do it super well. The place also has a fantastic wine menu, great little amuse bouches of grape leaves and kibbeh, and so much else to make it great. But really, it is the amazing lamb.

27.) Hilda  (Budapest - 2024)

It's always hard to judge places on this list because they have fairly sizable menus and I pick just a couple things. But for Hilda, what I did order was great, as was the tile-based yellow and blue striking, lively decor. The place was so lively. The dishes were a lovely white asparagus and pork jowl dish (something I went on faith given the waitress couldn't translate that effectively), and of course, a lovely goulash with a perfectly velvety stew consistency, the consistency I dream of. Hilda is a lovely example of refined, but still super approachable, Hungarian cooking.

26.) Murver  (Istanbul - 2024)

Deep in the heart of central Istanbul lies Murver, on the top floor of the Novotel. Get past the "hotel restaurant" stigma and you get a super cool spot with just a great menu of smaller bites and mains. It takes a truly modern view of traditional Turkish ingredients, such as a great preparation of celeriac (a very popular vegetable in Turkey), an insane beef cheek and beets main, great use of things like Tahini, persimmon and much more. Add to it slate black tables and a great view of the Bosphorus and you get so much more then just the food with a great atmosphere as well. 

25.) Capitan & Co  (Cuenca - 2025)

We'll get to Miller's Thumb, rightly further up the list, but it is crazy how similar this random fish-forward restaurant in Cuenca (a lovely pearl of a town) is to Miller's Thumb. The loud orange decor. The Mom & Pop of Mom being front of house, and Pop being the chef - here even the daughters are involved. But also the food, the incredibly fresh seafood, wtih great preparations - here just insanely decadent, delicious sauces. The seafood itself so fresh - rarely have had such thick cuts be so perfectly cooked. Just an awesome spot.

24.) Kiln  (Sydney - 2025)

While what I ate was closer to a tasting menu type set-up (the infamous "banquet menu" to use Australian parlance), as it was a selection of their normal menu I think Kiln fits in this category. It had the sharpness and attention to detail of a top spot, deserving of plaudits in a place like Sydney, along with the use of ingredients like Kangaroo or local Australian fish, Kiln showcase a great deal of creativity in their menu. Some of the mains were less inspired than those early snacks, but all of it was so well intentioned.

23.) Avenio  (Avignon - 2018)

Avenio was a classical french restaurant that served, as I would come to learn is fairly standard, set 3/4-course meals, at a relatively high fare and great level. The main dish I remember is an exquisite duck preparation, and their dessert was fantastic with a take on a lime pie. I would like to go back to Provence to try more of their great food; Avenio was a nice appetizer in that sense.

22.) Assador  (Rio de Janeiro - 2025)

The Churrascaria, the most staple of Brazilian meat houses. Fogo de Chao may get the worldwide press. Churrascaria Palace in Copacabana the populist love. But Assador blends probably meat as good as any, with an incredible location and view of Guanabara Bay and Sugarloaf Mountain. Sitting on their terrace, with Sugarloaf rising in front of you, incredible meat getting passed around with just the right amounts of fat, some great salads (though as always, eater beware on that) is about as perfect a Brazilian meal as you can have. Also - full credit for them knowing what sells - no surprise the Picanha is by far the most common to come around.

21.) A Terra  (Ponta Delgada - 2019)

We went to the restaurant in a hotel in a corner of beach-front in Ponta Delgada a bit dismayed taht it was fairly empty (mostly because it was pouring outside). But luckily we stayed, and it was amazing. We ordered about six dishes that were all great, the best being their take on Leitao, which while it wasn't the full pig, was just all the best parts. They also had great fish and squid to go with it, and even some good veggie dishes. The setting was lovely, the food even better - to me by far the best food we had in Ponta Delgada and the Azores.

20.) Restaurante Olde Hansa  (Tallinn - 2024)

I thought long and hard how high to rank what is, in many ways, a gimmick restaurant. Set to look like an old middle ages restaurant, it leans in to that with the way the waiters dress, with old timey music being played live, with beer served in giant earthenware steins. All of it. But you know what: the chef worked at Michelin star restaurants, and makes sure that the food tastes damn good and is presented well. I got a giant appetizer platter with rabbit, elk, bear and various pates and the like - all of it from game aroudn in the middle ages and all so well spiced. Same with the spiced beer, and the trio of elk, deer and boar filets. The place is a gimmick, but with very serious food.

19.) Aprazivel  (Rio de Janeiro - 2025)

You wouldn't think a random restaurant in bohemian Santa Teresa Hill would be so interesting and great, but this multi-level, semi-indoor / outdoor spot, with great views of Rio splayed out in front of you is just excellent. The food is mostly featuring Northern Brazil and Amazonic flavors, from incredible tucupi-flavored soups to duck and black rice, to inventive cuts of meat. Aprazivel is a tour of a part of Brazilian cuisine that is often ignored, in a setting that is hard to deny. The one knock I guess is that it is not too cheap, but then again, this is the "fancy, non-tasting" list.

18.) Honto  (Brisbane - 2025)

Honto was essentially the even better version of Kiln - the Sydney fusion spot higher up the list. This wasn't even fusion - it was in many ways outright Japanese, but the dishes were just excellent. To a truly immaculate tartare and smoked fried kohlrabi dish, to truly world class gyoza, to and incredibly wagyu fillet to finish. Honto was a special restaurant, every bit as commanding of its style as its flavors - a boldness you can truly appreciate.

17.) Emprio con Arte  (Foz do Iguacu - 2025)

I mean this the best way possible: Foz do Iguacu shouldn't have a restaurant this good. This tourist trap of a town has deep within it a simply amazing bistro, run by an amazing husband and wife duo. The place is built into an old house, that couples as basically an art museum. The menu is just simply amazing, from great Brazilian starters to a mix of various deep Brazilian mains, from duck to various eggplants, to so much more. It is just simply truly elevated, world class, home cooking, in a brilliantly adorned home. Their selection of gourmet bolinhos could honestly work as a tasting menu on their own. Just a great experience deep, deep within Brazil.

16.) Embla  (Melbourne - 2025)

Embla is a super successful Melbourne spot more notably for its wine (nominally, it is a wine bar) but their shared plates are all excellent as well. They had some of the best takes on classic dishes, from a delectable Artichoke tart with such complexity, to a truyl great beet and fish tartare dish. They were able to pack such refinement in what often looked like homely packages. Embla is the type of place that could do well as a tasting menu but does just fine serving their great shared plates next to their famous wines.

15.) Cire Cumbaya  (Quito - 2025)

Our first night proper of our long South American odyssey had us leave central Quito, descend nearly 1,300 feet to the suburb of Cumbaya, its own bustling little square, to reach Cire Cumbaya, a zany decor filled ode to modernism. The ingredients Ecuadorian (I guess) but the dishes so inventive, adding Japanese, Indian, Thai flavors into something excellent. From one of the most tactful mussel broth dishes to a great play on duck confit, to much more - Cire Cumbaya is representative of a modernist take on South American cuisine - already to me one of the msot underrated Continents. They're stuff features all over the top spots of my Tasting Menu lists, but it is places like Cire that make that Continent sing.

14.) Pirouette  (Paris - 2018)

More than maybe any restaurant on this list (other than maybe the one at #2) this place had all the trappings of a tasting menu spot, from the preparation, to the setting (right in the heart of Paris). We had enough people that we ordered enough (seven dishes) that it almost served like a tasting menu. The best dishes might have been the perfectly cooked elk (with the sauce in a shape of elk antlers) to a really nice play on a stuffed pumpkin, a dish I've tried and failed to emulate since. Often I find French haute cuisne to be just a little bit too much, but in this case it was all excellent.

13.) La Tagliata  (Positano - 2019)

The only issue of this family meal style place high up on the hills of Positano was that they didn't tell us ahead of time how many courses they were preparing, so we all gorged a bit too much on the grilled vegetables, char-grilled meat starters and delicious pastas which didn't allow us to enjoy the really well cooked meats and fishes at the end. The place is family run, with a boisterous, brilliant chef heading the family and the place. It all works. It might be a bit pricey, but it is about as good a "family meal" as you can possibly have.

12.) Miller's Thumb  (Cape Town - 2018, 2020, 2022)

It was the #1 restaurant on Tripadvisor in Cape Town when I frst went to the city in 2013. It's maintained a super high ranking ever since, and done so by just doing what it is - a mom & pop shop serving incredible, fresh, local fish in myriad styles with great starters (mussels are always my go-to), and a charm that is diametrically opposite to its garish green and orange decor. Miller's Thumb has remained just a brilliant stronghold in the Cape Town cuisine, despite never once feeling the pressure to change from just serving combinations of 8 different fish over and over and over again.

11.) La Calma by Fredes  (Santiago - 2024, 2026)

Seafood in every form is the name of the game at La Calma, from the normal (all types of fish, all immaculately cooked) to the abnormal but brilliance (limpets and snails). All of it was so well done, including a lovely starter of just a shit ton of various seafood in a spicy lech de tigre broth. Even the main, of a garlic rubbed fish, was so perfectly cooked. The seaweed and algae side was even better. Chile has some weird (read: good) seafood options, and maybe no restaurant does a better job, at least certainly any that I went to, than La Calma.

10.) Xoma  (Lima - 2025)

It's almost stunning that Xoma doesn't have a tasting menu (yet, I would imagine). What it does have is all the good trappings of it, the dark but mysterious decor, the cool plates and even better plating. The inventiveness of its dishes. The playfulness as well - like their masa taco version of Vietnamese Duck (amazing). Historically, my eating in Lima has been a bit bipolar, from tasting menus ranking amongst the best in the world, to places that are brilliant but inexpensive. Xoma was the rare middle ground, and brilliant all the same. If they do develop a tasting menu one day, I am right there.

9.) Eucalyptus  (Jerusalem - 2018)

     

Eucalyptus has a tasting menu, but its mostly a sampling of menu items at a smaller size. Instead since I went with my parents on our trip to the Holy Land, we ordered our own sampling of the menu to share, which were all fantastic. They were plated well, seasoned well, prepared well, from a duck pastilla which was excellent to fish kibbeh to my favorite dish which was their mansaf - essentially their take on lamb biryani. The restaurant was also in a lovely setting down a wide, green alley near the Jaffa Gate, a perfect scene for a great Christmas Dinner.

8.) Pulperia Santa Elvira  (Santiago - 2025)

Honestly, this could be a tasting menu if they wanted to make their 3-course selection of one of our appetizers, four entrees and four desserts into one. The dishes are plated delicately enough, well thought out enough, and simply tasty enough to make it work. In a more working class area of Santiago, Pulperia Santa Elvira is a hidden gem that isn't too hidden given its popularity. Their impeccable use of seafood, of crazy ingredients (a mushroom based dessert) and inventiveness again belie a chef group that easily could set their sights at the $100+ tasting menu sector, but ply their trade brilliantly anyway.

7.) JusteUne  (Gyeongju - 2024)

I struggled not putting this in the tasting menu category, since I got a 6-course chef's tasting. But the tasting is just modified selection of the alacarte. JusteUne is such a gem, helmed by a fairly young chef and his apprentice (I really only saw the two of them) just churning out amazing food from taht kitchen. The conceit is French cuisine with Korean flavors and ingredients, but I think French is just code for Western and refined, and it was that to every degree. Dishes like snail shaped pasta with shrimp paste sauce americaine and fried strings of chicken skin crisps - things that could be at any top restaurant in the world, cooked by this genius in a tertiary Korean city. Just magical.

6.) Noir: Dining in the Dark  (Ho Chi Minh City - 2019, 2022)

No picture for this one, because that is the point. This restaurant has great food, but also a better story. Noir puts diners in a completely black room, a level of black and darkness that seems impossible. Your given feed that you don't know what it is, but are told to eat and experience it with your sense other than sight. What really makes the mark, though, is the food itself is excellent and might have been on this list. Sadly I don't have pictures, but remember it being a mix of Vietnamese and Thai, from great little bowls of red curry, to galangal soup, to great beef preparations. Even the desserts were great, with maybe my favorite asian dessert I've ever had, with a dragon-fruit pannacotta. For the great idea, the excellent execution, and better food than you would expect from what is openly a fairly gimmicky concept, Noir was a full success.

5.) Candlenut  (Singapore - 2026)

Had a hard time thinking if this should go here or on the tasting menu list, as I did basically get one, but it was the style where they also serve a bunch of courses at once. Anyway, I settled on this, but it is a truly awesome palce that also seemed to have a great a-la-carte. Candlenut's claim to fame is the first perenakan (nyonya) restaurant with a Michelin Star, and it earned it fully. The food is awesome, the flavors are rich, deep, and so well spiced. They also don't feauture just the normal things (e.g. beef rendang) but play around with proteins - tons of fish, seafood, lamb, things you wouldn't necessarily expect. A heavenly spot a Singapore, a must visit to get something special at a price that is far less than some of the other similar spots in the city.

4.) Levadura del Olla  (Oaxaca - 2025)

Oaxaca is known as the food capital of Mexico, and if anything is one of the food capitals of the world. This is known. It is places like Levadura del Olla that it is known for this. Yes there are some tasting menu spots. Yes there is amazing street food. But what Oaxaca has is places like Levadura - fancy, airy, brilliant decor and just stunningly good food. It isn't overly tweezery - in fact my favorite dish was served in a taco taht was breaking apart a bit - but inside was a mole to die for, really well shredded chicken and spice. Same with the tamale, the pork belly, and I'm sure everythign else on their playful, large menu. Most dishes have some smoke element, but more than anything just a lot of love - elevating these old dishes back into something special. It very much earned its Michelin Star and to me is one of the epitomes of how good food can be even away from a tasting menu.

3.) Hiroo Onogi  (Tokyo - 2023)

This is about as good as you can get in Japan without spending hundreds of dollars. A trendy bistro spot with just amazing food, including a smorgasboard appraoch to the way they serve dishes. From an incredible, to a ridiculous combination wagyu and maitake mushroom sukiyaki, to lobster fried rice, all of it perfectly elevated versions of what otherwise are traditiona dishes. All with incredible sake pairings and highballs and the rest. The best version of a fancy Izakaya I geuss, as the key still is to just have a great time with great food. Hiroo Onogi was basically 10% less than a tasting menu spot, for about 50% less price and basically as good an overall experience.

2.) The Pot Luck Club  (Cape Town - 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023)

So damn good each time, and with a cosntantly changing menu of say 12-15 different tapas-sized brilliant options, you can easily keep going back. Some of my favorites over the years was a malay-style caulifower (seriously), a lamb ras el hanout with aubergine caviar, a lamb belly and berry tartine, and any of their deserts over the years. Given that The Test Kitchen (a sister restaurant, tasting menu style) has closed, the fact that Luke Dale Robert's culinary soul lives on with this brilliant place is all the more special. Given it's South Africa as well, it isn't all that pricey (even if The Test Kitchen was a fairly standard priced tasting menu). Secure a reservation early though, they understandably get booked up really quick.

1.) Don Julio Parilla  (Buenos Aires - 2023)

When you have a restaurant that is really high up the Top 50 Restuarants list and is not a tasting menu place, you know it has to be great. Of course I had ridiculously high expectations given that, but Don Julio blew it away. The steak truly was just that well cooked, perfectly medium rare, perfectly charred on the outside, perfectly fatty in the right places. The starter I had which was a coiled fennel sausage was about as good, as was the "ember potatoes" which were incredibly smokey and sweet. Probably helps that we ordered a wine far more expensive than we thought we were getting which was just an amazing Malbec. The whole experience was something amazing - again one of the rare places that somehow, someway, exceeds every bit of hype you can possibly put against it.

My Favorite Restaurants: Top 30 Non Fancy, Non Tasting

***Hey, another series I get to periodically update!!***

**As a brief intro, I'm doing a quick series on my favorite restaurants, all international (non-US). In past I did one list that was basically all tasting menus with a few exceptions. Instead, I'm going to blow it up, doing this in three parts.

1.) Non-Fancy, Non Tasting Menu - basically places that are, as stated not tasting menu restaurants, that are on the cheaper, lighter, side. Some probably toe the line here, but due to the countries they're in, probably still qualify as "non-fancy"

2.) Fancy, Non-Tasting Menu - which is as it states. Again, probably there's a few that are toeing the line on whether they are any more "fancy" than a couple in the "non-fancy" area

3.) Tasting Menu - again, fairly self explanatory. Howevrer, I'll state that a place with a set 3-4 course menu, I'm not counting as a tatsting menu. The fewest number of courses I have here in 6

Anyway, on the the stuff.**

*********************************************************************

Closed (new section - basically going to make space on teh list by periodically moving off restaurants that have closed)

Was #3 - Romdeng (Phnom Penh - 2013)

The star of the show was the tarantula, a famous appetizer of theirs. It might seem gimmicky, but the fried tarantula is truly very tasty. But this is no gimmick. The rest of the food at Romdeng was excellent as well. The curry I had there was a pure combination of the richness of Malaysia with the spiciness of Thai food, and it was excellent. The setting too, open air right in the heart of Phnom Peng made it all the better. I believe this restaurant to have since closed, but man was it a great spot in Cambodia.

29.) Jose Ramon Sangucheria  (Santiago - 2024)

Sanguche's are basically Chile's national food, and make a truly perfect lunch time meal. There's a wide range, from roadside stalls to super fancy ones. Jose Ramon probably leans on the fancy side, but barely so, with a fairly simple presentation, menu and options. But just made super well. Great bread that holds its form. Great meat adn add ins. A lovely decor and craft beer. All of it adds to a really nice spot. Are there better Sanguche spots? Maybe, but Jose Ramon is pretty great for a one and only.

27.) Sofra Istanbul  (Toronto - Many)

I feel weird putting a restaurant that I've mainly visited as part of client team so high up, but this random strip mall restaurant outside of Vaughan, Canada, is worth it for one thing alone: the best Beyti Kebab in the world - I've tried it in other places to way worse results. The great lavach filled kebab with slathers of red sauce adn spices is just great. Their other food is quite good too - including a really nice quick side salad. Their normal kebabs and Iskenders and all those things are good - as are their Lahmacun, but this is really about the brilliant Beyti.

26.) Chori  (Buenos Aires - 2023)

Argentina's version of the Sanguche is similar in taking a classic and elevating it. Here the hot dog becomes the Choripan, with excellent sausage options, made with local beef or prok. Some great fixings, with say great peppers and local cheese. The buns are well cooked. Everything is really great. It's also a great late night spot, though I went for lunch, splitting halves of two different choripans. South America has their hamburger/hot dog situations on point.

25.) Bep Me In  (Ho Chi Minh City - 2024, 2026)

Bep Me In is a block away from an AirBNB I've now stayed at in HCMC twice. That's the reason I went teh first time, but the reason I went back is because it is great. It's actually quite a well reputed daily lunch spot in HCMC - perfectly designed to look like you're eating at a roadside stall. The menu is large of traditional Vietnamese classics. Maybe they could use a bit more editing (one of the more lengthy menus of any palce on this list) but the meat is grilled perfectly, the noodles and great, the sauces are nice, and the decor just screams a fun place to eat.

24.) Hangkook Jib  (Joenju - 2022)

Technically the place has more than one thing, but pretty much everyone comes here for their bibimbap, noted as one of the best in Jeonju, the home of bibimbap. The kimchi and various assortment of small bowls they give you at the start were all great. The bibimbap itself was about as tasty as any I had on the trip, with the raw beef preparation being a nice touch and more eatable, in my view, than the cooked beef version I had elsewhere.

23.) Cha Ca Thang Long  (Hanoi - 2019)

They serve one dish. That is in a way the genesis of this list to begin with. But that one dish, which is a cumin and turmeric spiced white fish, cooked in front of you. The server sets everythign up, gets the cooking goeing and prepares your first bowl, combining the fish with a little bit of rice noodles, bean sprouts, basil and mint, chili oil and seaweed. It is a perfect concoction, truly. After that you have to make the next few sets, but it isn't too difficult. Truly this was a special place, packed all for one dish.

22.) Myeongdong Kyoja (Seoul - 2022)

Down little lanes all over Seoul are tehse small noodle soup shops. All have fairly similar menus, of noodles of different variety, various additions of pork you can add, and other stuff. Jongmo is set apart because of theri amazing, spicy, brilliant broth. The noodles and meat and nori and seaweed and everything else is super nice as well, but the broth was just amazing. Definitely a lunch spot, where you idle up in a counter, sitting on a little stool, unsure how to order. But whatever you do order, it will be excellent.

21.) Busarin  (Chiang Mai - 2026)

Busarin was the first true meal I had on my trip, a Michelin-rated spot that has a tight, small menu featuring two Northern Thai classics - roti with curry (a tangy-er, spicier version of say the same thing you'll get in Malaysia) and fermented glass noodles with various combinations of toppings. The menu is small, the place is small (just a few tables) but it is all so well crafted and made. Rarely had better noodles, adn the roti was just the most fluffy. It was a special first meal, and let me know I would be in for some fantastic stuff in Chiang Mai.

20.) Tacos Nene  (Mexico City - 2025)

]

I could put a dozen of places in Mexico City in this spot, but still to date the best combination of authenticity, variety, taste and "just a level above hole in teh wall" I've found is Tacos Nene on the Northern edge of Polanco. The setting is brilliant, a street vendor style set indoor with rickety metal tables. The tacos themselves are fresh, brilliant and tasty, but more than anything it is the sheer brilliance of the combination of price and variety taht takes the cake. Just a special place.

19.) Hassaku  (Kyoto - 2023)

In a way, this is a stand-in for all the amazing Izakaya's in Japan, but Hassaku was the best. Like any Izakaya - it's fairly cheap, it has a weird, eclectic, random assortment of starters and dishes, and it is all cooked with such care and affection. Like all, it was a mom and pop joint, with them both acting as cook and server, along with their daughter who showed up halfway. Places like Hassaku are what make Japan special. Their amazing lightly dusted fish starter, and incredibly pungent, deep, complex short rib braise, are incredible memories - washed down with the best of sake. Just a great place.

18.) La Marmita  (Punta Arenas - 2017)

We went to Marmita for our first dinner on our trip to Patagonia. It was a really nicely adorned place and while the menu was super affordable, the chefs did a great job playing it up. It was the only place on our trip to serve Guanaco (cute animals are delicious, sadly) and they had some great other dishes as well. It is a bit more lowkey than some of the fancier places in Punta Arenas. Really nice spot.

17.) Olyugdon  (Gyeongju - 2024)

I love a place like Olyugdon, where it knows what it does so well to offer basically nothing else. Olyugdon serves pork three ways - a large bowl of perfectly light broth and shredded pork jowl, and then sides of a giant pork meatball with spring onion, and grilled pork belly sliced thin and doused in a rousing sauce. You sit down, order the main and as many of the sides, and are handed a lunch tray of golden goodness. When your main dishes are taht good, you don't need much else.

16.) Ho-Jiak  (Sydney - Australia)

Another example of Australia's great lunch-style / home-style Asian, and more specifically Malaysian, cuisine was the excellent Ho-Jiak, a place with a great decor making it seem like an elevated street market, and food to match. The star for me was their "Rendang Pot Pie" with incredibly well braised meet cooked inside a roti pot pie. The concept great, the execution even better. Their satay also had the most smokey flavor I've had. It was a superb example of how to make your traditional base dishes the most non traditional as possible.

15.) Kenta  (Danang - 2026)

Earlier when I was writing about Bep Me In, I lamented slightly that they had a not to discerning menu. Kenta was the opposite - the central elements were around Bun Bo, the spicier cousin to Pho (and better, in my view) and theirs was excellent. As was their sausage dishes, their morning glory, and the few other dishes we tried. Kenta is a truly perfect, low-key lunch spot in Vietnam, centered around a truly awesome version of Bun Bo, such clear, spicy broth, such great care, and ample amounts of beef.

14.) Sufra (Amman - 2019)

This is one of them that toes the line a bit between fancy and non-fancy. In the end I went non-fancy given the cost. The food was excellent, from a great take on Mansaf (their version of biryani) a couple good grilled lamb dishes, and even good vegetables. The only real negative I would say about the place is that their mezze was a bit uninspired. But since I'm not a huge fan of mezze to begin with (I realize that is a bit weird), I'll give them a well earned pass on that.

13.) Ayasofya Kebab  (Istanbul - 2024)

If you could think of a place where you would get great Turkish kebab's, you probably wouldn't pick an alley with tons of other restaurants all wooing passerby travelers in the shadows of the Hagia Sophia. But indeed, deep in this tourist trap area is a perfect kebab spot. Truly the best adana kebab I've ever had - so succelent and smokey, a combination that should be fairly impossible. Their other dishes were great as well, such as a really nice take on Dolmas, and Kunefe. You may have to trust me, because this is basically like finding a great spot in an alley off of time square.

12.) Braseiro de Gavea  (Rio de Janeiro - 2025)

Steakhouses in Brazil come in many forms. Some are great Charrascuria types, but Braseiro isn't that. It is not fancy. The tables have white paper tablecloths. The steak and sides served in metal dishes. But what it lacks in pretension, it makes up for with some amazing food. And more than that, some ridiculous portions (in a good way). The picanha was just to die for. As were the sides, be it staples like fries and fried rice, or Brazilian staples like excellent farofa options. If ever someone asks me what restaurant lets them eat the most like a Brazileiro, to me that is Braseiro de Gavea.

11.) Martin's Corner  (Goa - 2013, 2015) 

    

On my second trip to Goa in 2013, I was dismayed that the resort we were at were far away from the shack-lined beaches of North Goa. The one positive development was getting a chance to go to Martin's Corner, which combined the great shack food, elevated it up a few notches and built out the rest of the meal beautifully. The menu is pure Goan classics, from Xacuti's to Vindaloo's to Pepper Fry's and everything else. The setting, open air with the breeze of the Indian Ocean waters wafting in, adds to it really nicely.

10.) Lobos de Mar  (Lima - 2025)

We went there only because it was a place I tried to order from and failed using the South American "PedidosYa" app (their Uber Eats). We couldn't, but then I drug the whole family there the next day to really enjoy, and my word did we enjoy. The best chaufa I've ever had, so perfectly cooked, spiced, toasted with such perfect little scallops. The ceviche was amazing as well - fresh, citrusy, delicate, with such a variety of seafood taht you imagine was just plucked out of the Pacific Ocean a couple miles away. It was a true neighborhood hole in the wall in the best possible way.

9.) Sushi Ichii  (Nara - 2023)

This is 100% a stand-in for all the gaitenzushi and non-super-fancy sushi spots that are all over Japan. Sushi Inchii in Nara isn't exactly a gaitenzushi spot. It's a more traditional sushi counter spot, with a sushi master cutting pristine cuts of fish on an elevated counter - with counter seats and ratan mat seats abound. There was no prices in the menu, which terrified me, but instead it was super affordable. The best was the unagi, which was amazing. But so were the cuttlefish, the various tuna cuts, and the great tea from a tap. This was a great space overall in the heart of Nara, a nice stop after the deer.

8.) Cuc Gach Quan  (Ho Chi Minh City - 2019, 2022)

Another one that toes the line between fancy and not, I went here because they want to be traditional vietnamese cuisine, served in a large home converted into a restaurant. The setting is gorgeous, with various rooms all adorned well. The food is even better, pure home-style Vietnamese cooking cooked perfectly. Their beef stew there was something incredible, as are the fresh salads with chicken or shrimps. Vietnamese cooking over the years has really risen up my rankings of foods, and places like this are a big reason why.

7.) Mahesh Lunch Homes  (Mumbai - 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021)

There's a few of them in Mumbai (and elsewhere in India). I believe each time I've gone is to the one in Fort, which has been excellent. For starters, they have maybe the best single curry I've ever had in an Indian restaurant. a half white, half red amalgamation of everything great about Indian food. The restaurant nominally serves Coastal food, similar if not right from my ancestral home of Mangalore, and all that stuff, from the pepper fry's and bangda's are all spectacular as well. The menu is giant, and to be hoenst you can go dozens of times and not hit everything.

6.) Getto Guylas  (Budapest - 2024)

Maybe stretching the definitions of non-fancy here, with a cool, metal-clad decor, but price wise, Getty Gulyas isn't. What it is, is a place that just serves great paprikash. They also have nice starters (had both an audacious bone marrow dish and a lovely, simple, rustic in the best way potato soup) and other mains, but in the name is goulash, and that's what tehy do best. Their veal paprikash, with a bacon-wrapped spaetzle pie, was jsut spectacular. Beyond that they have six or seven other variations of paprikash, all I'm sure being special.

5.) Gli Specialisti  (Rome - 2019)

It was our last day of our Italy trip, reaching a neighborhood on the outskirts of Rome after a flight delay with little options for food. So we went to Gli Specialisti, adorned with bicycles everywhere. On the plus side, it had maybe the best Cacio e Pepe I've ever had. So well seasoned and cooked. The other food we got, from pizzas to lightly grilled fish, were all great as well. It was so good, that when I was alone after a flight cancellation the next night, I went back.

4.) La Picante  (Lima - 2022, 2023)

In a fairly random part of Lima, certainly a distance away from the main touristy areas, on an unassuming residential street, lies La Picante, a lovely establishment with homey decor and upmarket fare at a fair price. Amazing ceviche of all types, amazing Chifu's (fried rice), and lovely stews of braised beef, oxtail and much else. La Picante though is best experienced with its ceviche - the best might be when I ordered a "leche de tigre" which was served in a vase-like glass with fried pieces of fish and squid to dip. Seemed reasonable - until I realized there was also normal ceviche fish in the vase-flute too. That's the type of place this is.

3.) Ruta de Azafran  (Granada - 2021)

This is the restaurant that probably comes closest to not being "not fancy". It has tons of outdoor seating at the base of the hill that leads up to the Alhambra. We went for dinner, with the Alhambra glowing above it. The food was all excellent, from my braised & curried short rib, to a strange but excellent meat pie in philo dough starter. My friends got fish and an eggplant dish (he's vegetarian) which both seemed excellent as well. The setting itself is worth a good deal of the price of admission, and add onto it great Moorish cooking (hence the name - "The Saffron Route" in English) and you get a truly special restaurant.

2.) Euang Kam Sai  (Chiang Mai - 2026)

If you want to understand why Northern Thai is so different, so varied, so brilliant - go to Euang Kam Sai. From the classics like Khao Soi (of which theirs was by far the best I had), to so many iterations of perfectly lemongrass, chili and galangal spiced meats mixed with things and roasted and steamed so perfectly in banana leafs, to seafood, to so much else. I could have gone back and back and back to Euang Kam Sai five more times and still not gotten through each of their incredible dishes. We went back twice, mostly because we had to, because the first time was so good. I've never felt less guilt or problem in going to the same restaurant more than once. I long for a subsequent trip to Chiang Mai to try the Khao Soi one more time, and a handful of their other brilliant dishes.

1.) Schwartz's Deli  (Montreal - Many Times)

I half made these various series of lists because I wanted a place to extol the brilliance that is Schwartz's. I've gone probably a dozen times on various trips to Montreal. In recent years it's generally been getting take out (a far shorter, though still long line) and eating self-made sandwhiches with their incredible smoked meat in a park. But a few times we waited the line and were treated to a slice of Canadian history. The line is due to notoriety, but that notoriety is due to consistent brilliance. The meat is always amazing, and truly not as fatty as you would think (granted, you can ask for the "fatty" option). The sauces, the bread, the mustard, the pickles, all the other stuff is top class as well. Some times, the experience exceeds the hype. Schwartz's is always one of those times.