In the world of cuisine, the restaurants that have a Michelin star are more than just places to eat, they’re culinary experiences – every moment of a visit to one of these establishments is unforgettable. The ambience is exceptional, the service unsurpassable, and their food is more than just a meal – it’s art.
While there are 3 star restaurants to be found all across the globe, discerning travellers to Europe have some of the best choices – with over 60 of these exquisite restaurants to dine in. Here are some of the very best Michelin star restaurants in Europe.
Location: Milan, Italy
Aimo and Nadia Moroni are the most famous team of great chefs in the city. Sheer, unadulterated haute cuisine. The specialities for which they are renowned worldwide include spaghetti with spring onions and their veal en croute. Wonderful wine list.
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Sophistication and tradition are combined effortlessly throughout every component of this revered restaurant. With wooden panels adorned with paintings by Chagall, Mirò, Braque and Matisse, Kronenhalle‘s interior matches its elegant menu. Its history figures the likes of Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and James Joyce, who would often frequent the fashionable restaurant. Kronenhalle remains one of the most celebrated restaurants in Zurich and continues to attract an eclectic mix of visitors.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Honored as the world’s best restaurant from 2010-2014, Copenhagen‘s Noma, a portmanteau of Danish words nordisk (Nordic) and mad (food), is one of the world’s most exclusive dining establishments. Opened in 2003, head chef René Redzepi and his team have created their own interpretation of Nordic cuisine through foraging the land’s flora and fauna and making surprising discoveries through Noma’s ‘fermented kitchen’.
L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges
Chef: Paul Bocuse
Location: Collonge, Lyon, France
Atmosphere: This bright and ornamental building houses one of the longest reigning 3-star Michelin Star restaurants in Europe. Chefs at Bouse’s Restaurant wear traditional white uniforms with the emblematic hats. The atmosphere screams decadent French cooking at it’s finest.
Chef: Heinz Beck
Location: Rome, Italy
Atmosphere: Located inside the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria, La Pergola is the first and only 3-star restaurant in Rome. The décor is classic European – with cream linens, ornate vases, and beautiful murals. Enjoy gorgeous views of Rome from a table by the window, or dine in the open air on the terrace. From the décor to the food – everything about La Pergola is opulent.
Chef: Esben Holm Bang, Head Chef and Co-owner
Location: Oslo, Norway
Atmosphere: Maaemo is inspired by the Norwegian climate and history. The word Maaemo is an old Norse term for Mother Earth. It features eight tables in the dining room, and a private test kitchen table. If you sit at the test kitchen table, you will have a view of the skyline. The colour scheme features the contrast of black and lighter woods. It features a winding staircase and black and white art on the crisp white walls. It’s modern and stylish.
Chef: Dabiz Muñoz
Location: Madrid, Spain
Atmosphere: DiverXO is unlike anything you’ve experience before in the culinary world. The website says, “welcome to the dream world of Dabiz Munoz,” The food is art and the plate is the canvas. The décor features puffy white chairs, modern tables lit at the base. White sheer curtains, and cartoon-like animals on the walls. DiverXO is for those willing to try something outside of their comfort zone.
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
Chef: Jean-Philippe Blondet, Executive Chef
Location: London, Great Britain
Atmosphere: The décor matches the food: contemporary French. If you want a private dining experience, the ‘Table Luminère’ is partitioned by 4,500 ceiling to floor glowing fibre optics. The space also features a selection of Hermès china, Puiforcat silverware, and Saint-Louis crystal.
Location: Paris, France
Set inside the five star hotel on the edge of the Tuileries garden in Paris‘s first arrondissement, Restaurant Le Meurice is the epitome of sumptuous refinery. Decorated by master architect Philippe Starck in 2007, the dining room is inspired by the Salon de la Paix at the Château de Versailles. Le Meurice has since undergone several more renovations, with three-star chef Alain Ducasse taking over the kitchen in 2013. A name that needs no introduction in foodie circles, Ducasse’s credo is, ‘we must return to the essentials. Start from the beginning, where tastes are real and aromas are genuine.’ This is exactly what he achieves with sublime flare. Try the Collection Menu, a five-course journey featuring vegetables cooked in salted crust, lobster with Jerusalem artichokes, Albufera poultry and tartufi di Alba.
Location: Modena, Italy
Born and raised in Modena, chef Massimo Bottura describes growing up ‘under the kitchen table, escaping his brothers’. In opening Osteria Francescana 20 years ago, he aimed to take past culinary traditions and bring them into the present to offer something new to the Italian table. Taking only the finest of the region’s produce, the dishes are executed with contemporary flare for a truly unrivaled experience. There are two tasting menus; Sensations, currently titled ‘Come to Italy with Me’, a gastronomic journey across Italy with 12 seasonal tasting plates, and Tradition in Evolution, an exploration of Emilian cuisine which includes the signature ‘Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano’. The restaurant has garnered three Michelin stars and enters at number two on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List in 2015.
Location: Berkshire, England
The modern world of cuisine is an ever evolving and progressing entity, which is driven forwards by the minds of its most innovative chefs. Indisputably at the fore of this movement is England’s Heston Blumenthal, whose restaurant The Fat Duck has received global acclaim, as well as the famous 3 stars.
Situated a short drive out of London in the beautiful town of Bray, in the picturesque county of Berkshire, The Fat Duck is situated in a 16th century building, and the location, menu, and entire experience at this magnificent establishment all come together to take diners on a journey filled with nostalgia, memory, and curiosity.
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
At Ciel Bleu visitors can expect a spectacle: the view of the city is fantastic and the modern elegance of the decor is a feast for the eyes. The technically accomplished chef reveals his true character, producing an astonishing variety of international cuisine, surprising in its creativity and unexpected combinations of flavours.
From Culture Trip and viamichelin.com
