As travel publishers, we’re lucky not only to travel the world and call it work, but also to secure bookings in some of the best restaurants in the world– both well known and under the radar. We all have an interest and a flair for sniffing out the right places on our travels. After all, it comes with the territory.
After discussing our favorite dishes of the year in a very lively meeting, our team agreed that it would be a shame to deprive our readers of these nuggets. That’s why this year our editors (always enthusiastic and sometimes hard to impress) decided to share the best meals we ate in 2022 around the world, in Greece, New Zealand, Peru and beyond. . Each restaurant provided us with an unforgettable meal, unparalleled service and a deep desire to return. All are worth bookmarking for future travels; some offering such a unique experience, they are worth plan a whole trip around. Read on for our Editor of the Year’s 20 favorite dining moments.
Kingi, Auckland, New Zealand
I had time for only one dinner in Auckland on a recent trip to New Zealandand knew kingi had to fill it. I had heard about it for a few years – the smart and sustainable seafood restaurant inside Britomart, the country’s first urban green hotel. I called a friend who was happy to leave her children for the night and rush off. We basically ordered the entire menu, flatbreads and fish burgers and pasta with softshells, pairing it all with herbaceous local white wines. —Erin Florioeditor-in-chief
Le Bernardin, New York
The curtained windows of The Bernardine on West 51st Street have been seducing, yet out of sight, Chef Eric Ripert’s acclaimed fine-dining seafood restaurant for the past 50 years – it was recently named the number one restaurant in the world by The list, among countless other accolades. On a cold winter’s evening, I finally grabbed a notoriously hard-to-land reservation and walked behind the door into the elegant seascape-inspired dining room. The tasting menu unfolded like a symphony, with precise service, lovingly paired wines and, of course, technically perfect dishes with lifted yet surprising flavors, all meticulously directed by Ripert. This is one of those specials, unique dining experiences in New York definitely worth the trip. —Scott Bayassociate editor
Paradiso at Badrutt’s Palace, St. Moritz, Switzerland
You know what’s better than sitting on a snowy mountainside, sipping bubbling fondue and sniffing down crisp champagne while the sun warms your face? Not a lot. Naturally, I was devastated to learn how much I had missed – at least where after-skI am worried – when I first visited St. Moritz last March, where I had traveled to take my first ski lesson. Hotel Badrutt’s Palace, the nearby iconic hotel that overlooks Lake St. Moritz, took over management of Paradiso in 2021, a move that likely only secured its already golden reputation; Either way, the food and service now meets the same high standard as the hotel itself. Crispy, freshly baked slices of baguette are passed onto the picnic bench-style tables, the better to soak up the rich blended cheese fondue; buttery lobster rolls carefully coated in spicy mayonnaise suddenly appear out of nowhere, followed by a parade of thinly sliced charcuterie and dense pork terrines. It’s all you can do to not spend all day there, get a sunburn and come back down the mountain. —Betsy Blumenthal, feature editor
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