Yesterday I published my list of ten best London restaurants for 2012. Today, I’m sharing a list of some faves from trips beyond the M25.
I didn’t get out of town as much as I would have liked during 2012. However, I travelled more than I actually thought I was going to, and a significant number of my trips were (wonderfully!) food related. My first meals of this year were in sunny Miami followed by tasty excursions to Burgundy, San Sebastian, Parma, Pembrokeshire, Japan and a few other places. Here are but a few of my non-London dining highlights from the past 12 months.
Le Bistrot des Grand Crus
8-10 Rue Jules-Rathier, 89800, Chablis, France
Simple and savoury Bourgogne dishes (I remember the veal flaking with the lightest of touches from my fork). As this bistrot’s name suggests, it’s a smart spot for wines as well!
La Ciboulette
69 Rue de Lorraine, 21200 Beaune, France
Classic Bourgogne cooking at this low key and seemingly humble little eatery in the heart of Beaune. Humble, that is, until they pull out the wine list. Bam!
Cwtch
22 High Street, St David’s, Pembrokeshire SA62 6SD, Wales, United Kingdom
Preceded by its outstanding reputation and requiring a reservation for pretty much any time of day or year you intend to visit, Cwtch lives up to the hype and is indeed worth the forethought and planning ahead.
L’Ecusson
2 Rue du Lieutenant Dupuis, 21200, Beune, France
The best of Burgundy’s restaurants are down to earth with a tasteful focus on simple dishes made with quality ingredients and, of course, phenomenal wine lists to accompany the menus. L’Ecusson is no exception.
Itoh Dining by Nobu
1300-64 Gora Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Itoh Dining by Nobu is a group of steakhouses from chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and the crew behind his famed Nobu brand. The one I went to was up the mountains in the resort town of Hakone. This was my first experience eating Kobe beef and to do so in a minimalist zen-like setting with forested mountain vistas was like a dream.
Loiseau des Vignes
31 rue Maufoux, 21200, Beaune, France
Loiseau des Vignes is famous for being the first restaurant in Europe to offer an entire list of wines by the glass, with close to 70 different wines, a number of which cannot be found anywhere else nowadays. It’s also home to arguably the yummiest damn cheese board in the world and one of the tastiest soufflés I’ve ever had. Triple wow.
Morihei
Bottom floor inside JR Kyoto Station, Kyoto, Japan
A rather luck of the draw approach to lunch paid off big time when I took a chance with a seating at Morihei restaurant, one of the many eateries inside Kyoto’s bustling and massive JR train station. A hearty bowl of udon nabeyaki (noodles with shrimp tempura, scallions, yuba, steamed fish paste, rice cake, chicken and egg served boiling in an earthenware pot) turned out to be one of my favourite meals of the year!
Puerto Sagua
700 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, 33139, USA
Nowhere near as flashy as most of its SoBe competition, nevertheless this stalwart of the Collins Avenue strip knows how to reel ’em in: with a solid reputation for excellent food, efficient service and a no nonsense approach to dining.
Restaurante Illarra
De Illarra Bidea 97, 20018, Gipuzkoa, Spain
I think Illarra is the only restaurant to make this list that I actually haven’t blogged about this year. Still, such a fantastic restaurant is worthy of so much more than this mere slice of bandwidth. A great Basque country establishment on the outskirts of San Sebastian but well within that famed foodie city’s parameters of good taste and fine dining.
Ristorante Cocchi
Viale Antonio Gramsci 16, 43100, Parma, Italy
A smart place to keep in mind for trying the best of Parmigiano cuisine. Upscale and more modern, Cocchi is nonetheless molto autentico. Enjoy the service, the attention to detail and most of all the food! You can’t go wrong with the flan di Parmigiano al tartufo nero (Parmesan soufflé with black truffles) or the city’s favourite dish, anoli in brodo (handmade pasta stuffed with meat and cooked in broth).
YUCA
501 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Florida, USA
YUCA’s menu features traditional Cuban dishes with a contemporary twist, and the result is delicious.
Yuzuya
Miyuki-cho Sanjo well east Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
This spacious and attractive restaurant is an ideal venue for sampling a range of izakaya dishes. Highlights? Many! Grilled mackeral, conger eel tempura, mushrooms in foil, salmon, lotus root, matcha ice cream …
So many more that almost made this tasty list! To read more about the above listed restaurants and all sorts of other great eateries around the world, check out my blog’s Restaurants category. Thanks for a delicious year!
