There is a difference between eating well and eating right now.
The former is reliable. The latter? That requires a guide who knows which chef just landed in a new city, which 12-seat omakase is actually worth the hunt and where the Beautiful People are congregating this season. Not last season.
Shinan Govani, culture vulture, society columnist, novelist and our man on the ground (and at the counter and in the corner booth). He has been crisscrossing the globe, following whispers and booking tables so you do not have to guess.
From a canal-side canteen in London to a jewel-box Korean BBQ in Toronto, from a fish-whisperer in Lisbon to a listening bar that doubles as a sushi den in Mexico City, here is The Bold List: eight hot tables worth planning a trip around.
Lisbon: Barbela C.P.M.
Chef: Leandro Carreira
Vibe: Industrial-chic done right
Price: $$$$
Reservations: Hard
Best for: A creative night out with well-maned creatives and in-the-know expats
Order this: Tuna tartare with seaweed and a cushy waffle
Chef Leandro Carreira, the “fish-whisperer.” Photo: @arleilima.foto/@leocarreiraa
Tuna tartare trumpeted with seaweed and a cushy waffle. Photo: @arleilima.foto/@leocarreiraa
They call him the “fish-whisperer.” Leandro Carreira, whose new spot is both the talk of Portugal and Europe at large. An alum of Mugaritz – that much-ado culinary temple in the Basque Region – Carreira has created something in Lisbon that many people are calling truly inventive, with pescatarian gaining a new reverence and “dry-aging” part of the trickery (the C.P.M. in the name, a nod to the Companhia de Peixe e Marisco signs at a local fish market). The menu? It pops with items like tuna tartare trumpeted with seaweed and a cushy waffle. Spider crab? Meet toasted rice! The room, meanwhile, is industrial-chic done right, humming with well-maned creatives and in-the-know expats.
Rua da Cintura do Porto de Lisboa, Armazém B, 1200-450 Lisboa, Portugal
instagram.com/barbela.cpm
Vancouver: Nero Tondo
Chef: Devon Latté and Lucas Johnston
Vibe: Hidden gem counter restaurant
Price: $$$$
Reservations: Hard
Best for: Date night or solo at the counter
Order this: Albacore tuna two ways
Photo: Nero Tondo
There’s just something about a “counter restaurant,” right? One of the more intriguing ones opened last year in BC and instantly started to earn the “hidden gem” rep! Hyper-seasonal and locally inspired, chef-owners Devon Latté and Lucas Johnston don’t repeat the same song every night. Driven by ingredients, the menu is constantly evolving, leaning on both French and Italian inspirations. An itsy-bitsy spot where the albacore tuna comes two ways, the lemon is from nearby Salt Spring Island and where the guys even make their soy sauce. Home cooking – but not at home!
2387 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V5L 1V4
nerotondo.com
Stockholm: Brasserie Astoria
Chef: Björn Frantzén
Vibe: Old-school cinema, art-deco, beautiful people
Price: $$$$
Reservations: Hard
Best for: A convivial night of dinner and a movie (in spirit)
Order this: Mussels swimming in champagne cream
Photo: Brasserie Astoria
Dinner and a movie! This white-hot restaurant in the Swedish capital nods to that idea, at least in spirit, housed in what was once an old-school cinema, complete with spiralling, art-deco stairs and multiple floors of Beautiful People. You know the buzz when you hear it – the vibe that made me think, this place is to Stockholm what The Wolseley is, perhaps, to London. Coming via celebrity Scandi chef Björn Frantzén, set in the Östermalm district, it’s his most convivial of spots, full of nooks and tables beset by white candles. Think new/old classics: mussels swimming in champagne cream, table-side Caesar salads, beef tenderloin a la Cambodian peppercorn sauce and “sticky toffee pudding.”
Nybrogatan 15, 114 39 Stockholm, Sweden
brasserieastoria.se/en/
Singapore: Loca Nirú
Chef: Shusuke Kubota
Vibe: Grand mansion, fine dining, elegant restraint
Price: $$$$$
Reservations: Hard
Best for: A special occasion worth dressing up for
Order this: Frog leg wrapped in kadaif
Chef Shusuke Kubota reinvents specialty Okinawan ingredients through French techniques in this exclusive eight-course menu.
Location, location, location: the old adage takes on fresh meaning in this fine dining resto, recently opened inside the House of Tan Yeok Nee. The last of Singapore’s four grand mansions, known as the “Teochew,” it gives diners a chance to be one with a space that was off-limits to the public for more than a century. The food rises to the occasion – a culinary odyssey spanning France, Japan and Southeast Asia, as divined by chef Shusuke Kubota. Elegantly restrained, the nature of his eight-course tasting menu, consisting of dishes like “frog leg wrapped in kadaif,” a fine noodle-like pastry dusted with chichi, a seven-spice blend, and the “braised abalone,” swimming in deep mushroom consommé. History, technique and flair.
207 River Valley Rd, Singapore 238275 (House of Tan Yeok Nee)
instagram.com/locaniru
Toronto: Takja BBQ
Chef: Not specified
Vibe: Jewel-box, neighbourhood, nouvelle Korean
Price: $$$$
Reservations: Getting harder
Best for: A fun, flavour-packed night with someone who loves to share
Order this: Buckwheat noodles with caviar and perilla
Shrimp, hiramasa, bluefin tuna, scallop and oyster — the seafood platter at Takja. Photo: Takja
A nouvelle take on the Korean BBQ experience, set in an exquisite jewel-box of a room, this place is minimum effort with maximum ambience – complete with dashing servers brandishing tongs like wands. Premium, house-aged meats do the heavy lifting, naturally, held up with a carnival of super-fun side-dishes and enough umami/fiery goodness to satisfy the biggest condiment whore. Oh my, the seafood pancakes! Hits too: buckwheat noodles, decked with caviar and perilla, as well as “bingsu,” a syrup-soaked shaved ice phenom that helps to act as show-closer. What makes the restaurant stand out is that it’s on a stretch of College West that still feels super neighbourhood-y, yet not overly hyped.
624 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 1B4
takja.ca
London: Cafe Cecilia
Chef: Max Rocha
Vibe: Canal-side canteen, minimalist gallery
Price: $$$
Reservations: Walk-ins possible but plan ahead
Best for: A lazy morning-to-eve meal by the water
Order this: Sage and anchovy fritti
Violet artichokes served with clams, mussels and bread.
Hackney chic: this morning-to-eve, canal-side canteen lures foodies ever since it opened in 2022. Some even think of it as the new-get answer to London’s venerable River Cafe (where Cafe Cecilia owner Max Rocha once worked, incidentally!). It also does not hurt that Max is part of those Rochas – the fashion dynasty that includes dad John and sis, Simone. The look: Minimalist gallery. The food: Equally unfussy. Tarts, pies, chips, zingy tomatoes and a word-of-mouth “sage and anchovy fritti.” The Guinness bread is, of course, always on tap – a nod to the family’s Dublin roots. Also noteworthy, the many food-world idols that the restaurant already counts as fans, like Yotam Ottolenghi and Diana Henry.
32 Andrews Rd, London E8 4RL, United Kingdom
cafececilia.com
Mexico City: Kill Bill
Chef: Not specified
Vibe: Super-chic listening bar, 12 seats, jazz
Price: $$$$
Reservations: Nearly impossible
Best for: An intimate, playful sushi experience
Order this: Lotus root sandwich with toro and shaved truffle
Photo: @killbillsushi
Photo: @killbillsushi
Kill, Bill, or Kill Bill: the three omakase options at this super-chic joint in CDMX – a place that takes its food quite seriously stuffy, but not itself. Nigiri, handrolls and hot dishes abound, including such sleights-of-hands as a “lotus root sandwich” (with toro and shaved truffle), fava beans that somehow arrive tasting like uni, and even chocolate clams (who knew?). Doubling as a listening bar, with a focus on jazz, and consisting of just 12 seats, it’s a reservation must, of course. A real vibe.
Address not published (speakeasy style) – ask when booking
instagram.com/killbillsushi
Las Vegas: Gymkhana
Vibe: Moody, well-upholstered, colonial-era oligarch’s second home
Price: $$$$
Reservations: The hardest rez in Vegas right now
Best for: A fever-dream of kebabs and biryanis
Order this: Gol Guppa (fried wheat puffs with potatoes, moong lentil, mint and cumin water)
Photo: Gymkhana Las Vegas
Photo: Gymkhana Las Vegas
The hardest rez to procure in Vegas these days is also a first for the Strip: the arrival of a two-Michelin-starred Indian restaurant. The City of Sin is, indeed, the City of Daal now, c/o this iconic London export (its first expansion across the pond!). Unravelling in the Aria Hotel, amidst a series of moody, well-upholstered rooms that could be the second home of some colonial-era oligarch – fit for about 175 – it’s a fever-dream of kebabs and tikkas and biryanis. One way to start: a spicy mezcal cocktail, paired with their “Gol Guppa” (fried wheat puffs, potatoes, moong lentil, mint and cumin water). And in a first for the restaurant brand, they’ve introduced beef to the mix here – think: “Beef Short Rib Pepper Fry,” a dish bursting with roasted South Indian spices.
ARIA Resort & Casino, 3730 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89158
aria.com/en/restaurants/gymkhana.html
