A curated selection of my experiences in three Michelin star restaurants documenting the highest level of gastronomy. These reviews focus on precision craftsmanship exceptional hospitality and the distinctive character of each kitchen at the pinnacle of fine dining.
23 articles
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In the grand setting of Hamburg’s Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Christoph Rüffer’s Haerlin embodies modern French refinement with northern precision and emotional warmth.
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.
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.
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.
