By the time you actually eat at one of the restaurants that were named in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards this year, it would be time for a new list. Some of these fine dining restaurants take bookings months in advance, but tables are snapped up faster than you can pronounce the restaurant’s name when they are released.
Top restaurant Osteria Francescana, for example, is booked out through September. Runner-up El Celler De Can Roca is fully booked for the next – wait for it – 11 months. We’re serious.
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We break down the reservation terms for the top five restaurants for your convenience, because life is better spent poring over the menu months ahead of the actual meal.
#1 Osteria Francescana
Where: Via Stella, 22, 41121 Modena MO, Italy
Reservations: Open 3 months in advance
What you need to know: New tables become available at 10am (Italy time) on the first day of the month. In case of Saturdays or Sundays, it will be the first Monday of the month.
Fun fact: The chef, Massimo Bottura, starred in the very first episode of highly acclaimed Netflix documentary Chef’s Table.
#2 El Celler De Can Roca
Where: Calle de Can Sunyer 48, 17007 Girona, Spain
Reservations: Open 11 months in advance
What you need to know: A new month becomes available at midnight on the first day of every month.
Fun fact: The restaurant was started by three brothers: Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca. They are the chef, sommelier and pastry chef respectively.
#3 Mirazur
Where: 30, Avenue Aristide Briand, 06500 Menton, France
Reservations: Open a year in advance
What you need to know: Mirazur offers a few booking options (standard à la carte alongside a few course menus).
Fun fact: The chef, Mauro Colagreco, has his own backyard farm from which his restaurant gets much of its produce.
#4 Eleven Madison Park
Where: 11 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Reservations: Open 2 months in advance
What you need to know: Reservations are offered for two types of tasting menus – an eight- to ten-course menu in the Dining Room and a five-course menu at the Bar.
Fun fact: Chef Daniel Humm and his team spill some (come on, surely not all) of Eleven Madison Park’s culinary secrets in two cookbooks you can buy now.
#5 Gaggan
Where: 68/1 Soi Langsuan, Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Reservations: Book at least 1 month in advance
What you need to know: This is a pretty elusive case. When making a reservation online, after you enter your preferred date, time, number of guests, and contact details, it still cannot be considered the final confirmation. You need to wait for an email response, so good luck.
Fun fact: Or perhaps not so fun. Chef Gaggan Anand plans to close Gaggan in 2020 (noooo) and open a small restaurant Fukuoka, Japan, with close friend and fellow chef Takeshi ‘Goh’ Fukuyama.
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