# The Fine Dining Journal
> The Fine Dining Journal documents Michelin-star restaurants and fine dining, based on first-hand experience from over one hundred three-star visits.
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## Pages
- [About the Author William Herbert](https://thefinediningjournal.com/about-william-herbert.md) - A long-standing love for travel and food I have loved travelling and eating well for more than twenty-five years, and over time the meals became part of how I remember places. When I travel I am usually looking for a good meal, and it does not need to come from a famous kitchen. Sometimes it is ver…
- [About The Fine Dining Journal](https://thefinediningjournal.com/about.md) - The Fine Dining Journal is an independent publication focused on Michelin-star restaurants and high-level gastronomy. It began with a simple intention. I wanted a place to document the restaurants I visit and to keep track of the meals that stood out. Over the years, friends and colleagues often as…
- [Contact](https://thefinediningjournal.com/contact.md) - For any questions regarding the site or its content, or for inquiries, invitations or collaborations, please feel free to get in touch. If you notice an error, would like to suggest a correction, or believe that a photograph or reference should be removed, you can reach me at: editor (at) thefinedi…
- [How to Get a Table at the Best Three Michelin Star Restaurants](https://thefinediningjournal.com/how-to-get-a-table-at-three-michelin-star-restaurants.md) - Getting a table at the best three Michelin star restaurants is often easier than expected. With some planning and flexibility, many are bookable. Based on 50+ three-star visits, this guide explains how to get a table and which places are truly difficult.
- [Michelin, Gault Millau, Falstaff, Repsol, OAD und 50 Best](https://thefinediningjournal.com/michelin-gault-millau-falstaff-repsol-oad-und-50-best.md) - An overview of how the world’s major restaurant guides interpret excellence, and what their different perspectives reveal about contemporary fine dining.
- [Michelin Stars Explained](https://thefinediningjournal.com/michelin-stars-explained.md) - A clear explanation of how the Michelin Guide evaluates restaurants, what its stars really mean, and why it remains the most influential benchmark in fine dining.
- [Privacy Notice](https://thefinediningjournal.com/privacy-notice.md) - Last updated: October 2025 1. Introduction Welcome to The Fine Dining Journal (“we”, “our”, “us”). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This notice explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information when you visit thefinediningjournal.com. By using this w…
- [FDJ Rating System](https://thefinediningjournal.com/rating-system.md) - The Fine Dining Journal evaluates restaurants using a 5.0–10.0 scale, in steps of 0.5. Scores reflect flavor, product quality, craftsmanship, harmony, emotion and the overall dining experience. Michelin star levels are given only as a reference point; the FDJ rating is independent and personal. 10.…
- [Restaurant Guides & Michelin Stars](https://thefinediningjournal.com/restaurant-guides-michelin-stars.md) - A structured guide to Michelin stars and the world’s most important restaurant rating systems, from Gault Millau and Repsol to OAD, Tabelog, and national guides across Europe, Asia, and Australia.
- [The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Explained](https://thefinediningjournal.com/the-worlds-50-best-restaurants-explained.md) - A clear explanation of how The World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking works, what it values, why it’s both praised and criticised, and how it compares to Michelin.
- [The Michelin Three-Star Restaurants I Have Visited](https://thefinediningjournal.com/three-michelin-stars.md) - A personal and continuously updated record of Michelin three-star restaurants experienced by The Fine Dining Journal, shaped through years of dining at the very summit of global haute cuisine. The year shown indicates the most recent visit. Last updated July 2026. Austria * Amador — Vienna — 2026 ·…

## Posts
- [Provence and the Côte d'Azur: Seven of the Eight Three-Star Restaurants](https://thefinediningjournal.com/provence-and-the-cote-dazur-three-star-restaurants.md) - Eight three-star kitchens sit between Menton and Les Baux, the densest concentration in France after Paris. I have eaten in seven. The best food is in Saint-Tropez, the best single dish in Cassis, the best room in Monaco. Here is what each house is like and which one is worth your trip.
- [La Table du Castellet Review: Fabien Ferré's Four-Course Lunch in the Var](https://thefinediningjournal.com/la-table-du-castellet-review.md) - Fabien Ferré took three Michelin stars in a single stroke, and I gave him four courses to prove it: a driving day, the last meal of a family week in Provence, a plane to catch. Technique came through at full strength. Ambition stayed behind the longer menus.
- [La Villa Madie Review: Three Michelin Stars Above the Water at Cassis](https://thefinediningjournal.com/la-villa-madie-review-cassis.md) - Three stars on a terrace above the sea at Cassis, where Dimitri Droisneau cooks straight out of the water below. Book lunch in summer and you get the full experience; a winter evening gives you far less for the same price.
- [L’Oustau de Baumanière Review: Three Michelin Stars Beneath Les Baux-de-Provence](https://thefinediningjournal.com/loustau-de-baumaniere-review-les-baux-de-provence.md) - Twelve years after our first family visit, the three-Michelin-starred L’Oustau de Baumanière feels both renewed and recognisable: contemporary in form, classical at heart, and deeply shaped by its setting beneath Les Baux-de-Provence.
- [Casa Marcial Review: A Three-Michelin-Star Dinner in the Hills of Asturias](https://thefinediningjournal.com/casa-marcial-review-2026-three-michelin-stars-asturias.md) - Casa Marcial sits alone on an Asturian hillside near Arriondas, far from any fine-dining circuit. You do not pass it; you set out for it. The Manzanos' Nordeste menu turns place, weather and memory into ingredients, in one of the finest three-star dinners I have eaten anywhere.
- [Aponiente 2026 Review: Ángel León’s Tide Mill Reaches Further Into the Marshes](https://thefinediningjournal.com/aponiente-2026-review-angel-leon-el-puerto.md) - Aponiente’s 2026 season brings Ángel León’s marine cuisine closer to its source. Part of the meal now unfolds in the marshes, where water, light, fish, and landscape become inseparable from one of the world’s most distinctive fine dining experiences.
- [Mirazur Menton Review: 20th Anniversary Menu by Mauro Colagreco and Ferran Adrià](https://thefinediningjournal.com/mirazur-menton-review-mauro-colagreco-20th-anniversary-ferran-adria.md) - At twenty years, Mirazur is not looking back. A collaborative menu by Mauro Colagreco and Ferran Adrià unfolds as a thoughtful sequence of ideas, where cuisine, service, and setting merge into a precise and evolving experience above the Mediterranean.
- [Le Louis XV Alain Ducasse in Monaco: Classical Grandeur at the Hôtel de Paris](https://thefinediningjournal.com/le-louis-xv-alain-ducasse-monaco-review.md) - At Le Louis XV in Monaco, Alain Ducasse’s classical Mediterranean luxury feels composed and precise. A grand old-school restaurant, with exceptional John Dory, remarkable lamb, and service of rare confidence.
- [La Chèvre d’Or in Èze: The Golden Goat, the Riviera View, and Tom Meyer’s New Chapter](https://thefinediningjournal.com/la-chevre-dor-eze-tom-meyer-riviera-view.md) - At La Chèvre d’Or in Èze, Tom Meyer gives the legendary two-Michelin-star Riviera restaurant a clearer, lighter voice through Mediterranean cooking, Chardonnay, and one of France’s great dining-room views.
- [Restaurant KEI Paris Review: French Cuisine with Japanese Precision](https://thefinediningjournal.com/restaurant-kei-paris-review.md) - Kei Kobayashi’s 3 Michelin star tasting menu delivers French haute cuisine with Japanese precision, from the signature “vegetable garden” to perfect blue lobster and Gunma wagyu, in a discreet dining room with calm, professional service.
- [The Eight of Ten Three-Star Restaurants in Paris I Have Visited](https://thefinediningjournal.com/seven-three-star-restaurants-paris-review.md) - Paris has one of the highest concentrations of Michelin three-star restaurants in the world. With my recent visit to Kei, I have now dined at eight of the ten in the city. This comparison draws on more than fifty three-star restaurants I have visited worldwide, with Kei as the latest addition.
- [Mraz & Sohn Review: What it’s like to eat at Vienna’s most difficult to book restaurant](https://thefinediningjournal.com/mraz-sohn-vienna-review.md) - At Vienna’s most difficult reservation, the two-star Mraz & Sohn pairs a €188,88 tasting menu with a come-as-you-are mood. A trolley of ingredients and “Wiener Schnitzel immer aus” set the tone: very good, witty cooking, looser plating, and hospitality that favors fun over reverence.
- [Shiki Omakase Vienna Review: Authentic Sushi Omakase in the Heart of Vienna](https://thefinediningjournal.com/shiki-omakase-vienna-review.md) - With Shiki Omakase, Vienna gains an intimate sushi counter dedicated to Japanese-style omakase. A thoughtful, chef-led experience that balances authenticity, ambition, and the realities of sourcing exceptional fish in a landlocked city.
- [Cañabota, Seville: The Sea over Fire, Nothing Else](https://thefinediningjournal.com/canabota-seville-michelin-star-seafood-review.md) - December suits Seville: streets lit with Christmas lights, nativity scenes in courtyards, chestnut smoke on the air, orange trees heavy with fruit. In that glow, Cañabota’s Michelin-starred seafood counter offers a focused, fire-led meal and the city’s most convincing reservation.
- [Smoked Room Madrid Review: Dani García’s Fire Omakase](https://thefinediningjournal.com/smoked-room-madrid-review.md) - Smoked Room Madrid is Dani García’s fire-first omakase: smoke as structure, not show. Despite the name, it isn’t a Japanese restaurant but modern Spanish cooking with Andalusian heart and a few quiet Japanese touches.
- [Plénitude, Cheval Blanc Paris: A Clear, Sauce-Led Masterclass](https://thefinediningjournal.com/plenitude-paris-review-cheval-blanc-arnaud-donckele.md) - Waitlist luck led to one of my finest three-star dinners at Plénitude, Cheval Blanc Paris. Donckele’s sauce-led Symphonie showed absolute control, from a perfect scallop to precise, warm service.
- [Lunch at L’Ambroisie, Paris: Classical Haute Cuisine Under Shintaro Awa](https://thefinediningjournal.com/lunch-lambroisie-paris-shintaro-awa.md) - A midday visit to L’Ambroisie: precise, classical cooking under Shintaro Awa, with a legendary langoustine feuillantine and the quiet formality of Place des Vosges.
- [Le Gabriel at La Réserve Paris Review: The City’s Most Palatial Three Star Lunch](https://thefinediningjournal.com/le-gabriel-at-la-reserve-paris-review-the-citys-most-palatial-three-star-lunch.md) - Le Gabriel at La Réserve shows Paris at its most polished: a palatial room, flawless service and precise, French cooking. The €148 four-course lunch is a clear, generous window into Jérôme Banctel’s three-star craft.
- [Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire Paris Review: A Jazzlike A La Carte Near the Arc de Triomphe](https://thefinediningjournal.com/restaurant-pierre-gagnaire-paris-review-a-jazzlike-a-la-carte-near-the-arc-de-triomphe.md) - Pierre Gagnaire’s a la carte menu is demanding, complex and almost overwhelming at times. But the depth, clarity and expression of the dishes stay with you long after the evening ends.
- [Skina Marbella Review (2025): Michelin Two Stars, Tasting Menu and Prices](https://thefinediningjournal.com/skina-marbella-review-2025-michelin-3-stars-candidate-tasting-menus-and-prices.md) - In my view the best restaurant in Marbella, Skina pairs high ambition and high prices with polished two-star technique, yet still needs more creative identity before a third Michelin star becomes inevitable.
- [The Best Fish Restaurants in Spain](https://thefinediningjournal.com/my-favorite-fish-restaurants-in-spain.md) - A curated list of Spain’s most exceptional fish restaurants — from Elkano in Getaria to Los Marinos José near Málaga.
- [Michelin Stars and Their Counterparts: How the World’s Restaurant Guides Really Compare](https://thefinediningjournal.com/michelin-stars-and-their-counterparts-how-the-worlds-restaurant-guides-really-compare.md) - A detailed comparison of the world’s major restaurant guides — Michelin, Gault Millau, Falstaff, Repsol, OAD and The World’s 50 Best — and how each interprets culinary excellence differently.
- [Le Clos des Sens Review, Annecy: Nature-Led Michelin 3-Star Tasting Menu](https://thefinediningjournal.com/le-clos-des-sens-review-annecy-nature-led-michelin-3-star-tasting-menu.md) - A first visit to Le Clos des Sens in Annecy: nature-led, lake-fish focused Michelin three-star cooking, precise service, and a luminous Savoie mushroom composition.
- [Best 3-Michelin-Star Restaurants in Barcelona 2025: Disfrutar, Hermanos Torres, Lasarte, ABaC](https://thefinediningjournal.com/best-3-michelin-star-restaurants-in-barcelona-2025-disfrutar-hermanos-torres-lasarte-abac.md) - A ranked guide to Barcelona’s 3-Michelin-star restaurants: Disfrutar, Hermanos Torres, Lasarte and ABaC. Based on multiple visits at each and 50 visits to different three-star restaurants worldwide, with highlights and booking tips for 2025.
- [ABaC Barcelona Review 2025: polished service, reduced ambition](https://thefinediningjournal.com/abac-barcelona-review-2025-polished-service-reduced-ambition.md) - Twice-dined at ABaC in 2025 confirms polished service but a tighter, safer menu. At 295 EUR, the tasting shows control yet less ambition than 2021. Good restaurant-with-rooms setup, but 30 minutes by taxi to the centre. Three stars now feel uncertain.
- [Review: Tohru in der Schreiberei – Munich’s New Three-Star Michelin Restaurant](https://thefinediningjournal.com/review-tohru-in-der-schreiberei-munichs-new-three-star-michelin-restaurant.md) - Chef Tohru Nakamura refines his signature blend of French technique with Japanese elements at Tohru in der Schreiberei in Munich, delivering a calm, precise and deeply mature cuisine that fully justifies its three-star Michelin status.
- [Restaurant Haerlin Review: Christoph Rüffer’s Three-Star Perfection in Hamburg](https://thefinediningjournal.com/restaurant-haerlin-review-christoph-ruffers-three-star-perfection-in-hamburg.md) - In the grand setting of Hamburg’s Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Christoph Rüffer’s Haerlin embodies modern French refinement with northern precision and emotional warmth.
- [Best Hotel in the World: Mandarin Oriental Bangkok vs. Capella Bangkok](https://thefinediningjournal.com/best-hotel-in-the-world-mandarin-oriental-bangkok-vs-capella-bangkok.md) - A personal journey through Bangkok’s world of ultra-luxury — comparing timeless heritage with modern serenity, and asking what truly defines the world’s best hotel.
- [Steirereck Vienna Review: Austria’s Most Iconic Three-Star Restaurant](https://thefinediningjournal.com/steirereck-vienna-review-austrias-most-iconic-fine-dining-restaurant-in-the-stadtpark.md) - When Steirereck finally received its third Michelin star in 2025, it felt only natural to revisit the place where my own fine dining journey had quietly begun. A modern Austrian icon in Vienna’s Stadtpark, blending seasonal clarity, quiet precision, and timeless elegance.
- [Restaurant Amador Vienna  Michelin Three-Star Review: Two Worlds, One Rivalry](https://thefinediningjournal.com/restaurant-amador-vienna-michelin-three-star-review-two-worlds-one-rivalry.md) - Led by a Spanish chef, Austria’s first three-Michelin-star restaurant unites bold flavours, precision, and individuality beneath the vaulted ceilings of a Grinzing wine cellar.
- [Aponiente Review: Ángel León’s Three-Star Marine Revolution in El Puerto de Santa María](https://thefinediningjournal.com/aponiente-the-poetry-of-the-sea.md) - In El Puerto de Santa María, chef Ángel León has shaped Aponiente into one of the world’s most original restaurants—a place where the sea becomes philosophy. Across eighteen visits since 2014, I’ve seen it evolve from a harbour bistro into a Michelin three-star temple of marine cuisine.
- [Searching for the Perfect Sea Urchin](https://thefinediningjournal.com/searching-for-the-perfect-sea-urchin.md) - From Cádiz to Hokkaido, a journey in search of the world’s finest sea urchin — from the rocky coasts of the Mediterranean to the pure sweetness of Ezo Bafun Uni in Hakodate. Two oceans, one taste of perfection.
- [The Tawaraya, Kyoto](https://thefinediningjournal.com/the-tawaraya-kyoto.md) - One of Kyoto’s most exclusive ryokans, Tawaraya embodies understatement and perfection. A reflection on its centuries-old kaiseki tradition — and one of the most extraordinary dining experiences I have ever had.
- [Where to Eat in Vienna: My Personal Recommendations](https://thefinediningjournal.com/recommended-restaurants-in-vienna.md) - I lived in Vienna for nearly a decade and came to know its dining scene intimately. This list began as a personal guide for friends visiting the city. A mix of modern Viennese cooking, Michelin-level restaurants, and timeless local institutions that still define how Vienna eats today.

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