Best Restaurants of 2016 (Excluding London)tikichris

La Petite Grocery, New Orleans

My Best of 2016 series commences with a look at some of the most amazing restaurants I visited this year.

There’s a whole lot of New Orleans propping up this list – which makes sense given the focus of my September foodie safari spent there. Indeed, some of these restaurants are remarkably close neighbours; two are just across the street from each other. But this year wasn’t only about luscious Louisiana cooking. I had great dining experiences in other corners of America too and across Europe.

Keep in mind this list excludes London restaurants. I left them out as I intend to share my favourite London eateries in future posts in this ‘best of’ series. As a London-based writer covering London first and the rest of the world second, I tend to differentiate between what happens here and elsewhere.

So without further ado, here’s a look at the 10 best non-London restaurants (and nearly as many honourable mentions) I had the pleasure of visiting in 2016.

Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.

Best Restaurants

La Balena
Junipero Street, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 93923, USA

From La Balena’s cucina Toscana, Italian born Chef Emanuele Bartolini creates “Cali Itali” style dishes from scratch with an intense focus on sourcing local ingredients. Considering the bounty of yum grown within even a 50-mile radius of this California Central Coast restaurant, such sourcing seems more like a no-brainer than a noble cause. Whatever the case, Chef Bartolini should be applauded for his daily changing menu.

Bar & Restaurante Albores
Calle Consistorio, 12, 11403 Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

A great mix of traditional tapas and more adventurous “global cuisine” is on glorious offer at Chef Julian Olivares’ bar and restaurant, Albores, in the historic centre of Jerez.

O Boufés
Dominikanerbastei 17, A-1010 Vienna, Austria

With a focus on regional ingredients and seasonal dishes, Viennese Michelin starred chef Konstantin Filippou draws on the tastiest moments of his upbringing (Austrian mum, Greek dad) to create a flavoursome and robust cuisine at his two adjacent eateries, both of which are known for innovative yet rustic cuisine and for a mind-blowingly broad selection of natural wines. I had the pleasure of enjoying the Austro-Greek (or is that Greco-Austrian) chef’s fixings at a closed press lunch at his bistro, O Boufés, with dishes from both the bistro and his more formal eponymous restaurant just a few steps away.

Brennan’s
417 Royal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130, USA

Since opening its doors in 1946 (yes this year marks the restaurant’s 70th anniversary), going to Brennan’s for a lavish and boozy breakfast has been among the most luxurious of New Orleans traditions. My experience at this gorgeous French Quarter institution was no exception. Egg Yolk Carpaccio (grilled shrimp, crispy sweet potato, and andouille vinaigrette) and Rabbit Rushing (fried Mississippi rabbit, with creamed collards, eggs over easy, and pickled pork jus) were two of the most satisfying dishes I got to devour this year.

Commander’s Palace
1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130, USA

Family owned Commander’s Palace has been wowing palates with inventive Haute Creole cuisine and utterly genteel service since 1880, making it the third oldest restaurant in New Orleans. With chefs such as Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse, Jamie Shannon, and now Tory McPhail among its kitchen alumni, this revered Garden District restaurant dripping with awards and accolades is arguably the city’s most popular and historically significant place to eat. Dining there was something like a dream come true – and a most delicious dream at that.

Galatoire’s
209 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130, USA

Galatoire’s was one the most raucous and rowdy restaurants I’ve ever entered. It was also one of the most rarefied and refined too. Maybe all the revelry was simply because folks were feeling understandably jubilant to be eating such great food in such an amazing establishment. I know I was over the moon to be at this iconic Bourbon Street restaurant.

K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen
416 Chartres Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130, USA

Legendary Louisiana chef, Paul Prudhomme, is widely recognised as the man who brought Cajun and Creole cooking to the masses through his fame as a chef and restaurateur and the popularity of his Magic Seasoning Blends sold throughout the US. Sadly, Chef Prudhomme passed away in 2015, but his legacy lives on in scrumptious glory at his French Quarter restaurant K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen.

La Petite Grocery
4238 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115, USA

Elegant and indulgent, novel and authentic, worldly and homespun, fine and funky: my uptown lunch at La Petite Grocery was a gourmet dream of gourmand extravagance. Blue crab beignets with malt vinegar aioli … turtle Bolognese with bucatini, dry sherry, parsley, and fried soft-boiled egg … homemade noyaux ice cream … Had I ever been presented with a richer, more inventive meal?

Shaya
4213 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115, USA

Only a few years old, Shaya already is well established as one of New Orleans’ most popular and celebrated places to eat, with Executive Chef Alon Shaya boasting a James Beard Award for Excellence among an abundance of other accolades and awards. So, I’m hardly the first fella to shout out about this place or make haste to dine there. Indeed, I was there for an 11.30am lunch, and the place was already packed. Only a few bites into my meal I could see what the fuss was all about. Food at Shaya reflects the chef’s Israeli roots and centres round his use of a wood-fired oven to cook seasonal ingredients sourced locally and responsibly.

Upperline Restaurant
1413 Upperline Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115, USA

JoAnn Clevenger’s Upperline Restaurant is one of the most delightful places to dine in New Orleans, for the authentic haute Creole cuisine, for the museum worthy display of local New Orleans art, and for the warm welcome by Ms Clevenger and staff. If you want to feel at home in an elegant setting and to have “that little place we went to one night” to remember for the rest of your life, go to Upperline – and by all means order the fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade.

Honourable Mentions