Without a doubt, one of the greatest pleasures of traveling is to discover new flavors and imbibe the cuisine of the city we visite. Especially for those who love food and always are searching the best restaurants and the latest foodie trends. In partnership with Booking.com, we suggest a list of Michelin star destinations to you can taste the luxury of eating during your holiday.
Modena
Birthplace of the famous balsamic vinegar, Lambrusco wine, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Modena ham and Tortellini pasta, no doubt that this Italian city is a real gourmet paradise. And if we add that its most famous restaurant, Osteria Francescana, has just become the best in the world (dethroning El Celler de Can Roca), this means that Modena is a mandatory stop on our foodie route.
The Osteria Francescana‘s chef, Massimo Bottura, makes a modern reinterpretation of the traditional Italian dishes and he is a standard bearer of slow food and proximity ingredients. The two tasting menus offered are Tradizione in Evoluzione, a tribute to the Italian raw materials and Sensazioni, focused on experimental cuisine.
Views of Modena (Italy)
Massimo Bottura, chef of Osteria Francescana, world’s best restaurant 2016 (Photo credit: Paolo Terzi)
Osteria Francescana reinterprets traditional Italian dishes
Besides the three Michelin stars Osteria Francescana, there are two more restaurants in Modena included in the famous guide:L’Erba del Re and Strada Facendo. Both of them stand out for the quality of their superb seasonal ingredients, presented with a pristine aesthetics in order to arouse emotions among their dinners.
Dish of L’Erba del Re, a Michelin-starred restaurant
Tortellini of Facendo Strada restaurant, a typical product of the Modena’s gastronomy
San Sebastián
This is a good year to visit Donostia and enjoy its gastronomy, because it has been elected European Capital of Culture 2016. Not surprisingly, it is one of the cities with the highest number of Michelin stars per square meter, a total of 16 in just over 25 km2.
Arzak, Akelarre, Mugaritz and Martín Berasategui are every year in the top ten of the best restaurants in the world, but San Sebastián also has another five restaurants with star. Less well known (and with a less extensive waiting list) Alameda, Elkano, Kokotxa, Mirador de Ulía and Zuberoa are worthy representatives of the Donostian cuisine.
Views of San Sebastian, European Capital of Culture 2016
Exterior of Martin Berasategui Restaurant in Lasarte – Oria‘Roast hake fillet with truffled spinach, mellow spider-crab and sparkling K5’, Martin Berasategui dish
Mugaritz Restaurant by Andoni Luis Aduriz, two Michelin stars and the world’s fourth best restaurant according to ‘Restaurant’ magazine
Daniel Lopez chef is leading Kokotxa restaurant with one Michelin star and two Repsol suns
Eating in any of these mentioned restaurants is a real gastronomic experience for the senses, but nobody can leave San Sebastian without to spend an afternoon eating pintxos in the old part of the city. A culinary art in miniature that is literally finger-lickin’ good and it’s made to enjoy laughing with a glass of wine.
San Sebastián not only has Michelin stars. An afternoon eating pintxos is always a good plan
Kyoto
The ancient capital of Japan is known as the “foodie Asian Mecca”, as the city with more Michelin stars in the world. Neither more nor less than 175 in total, awarded to 20 different types of cuisine. There is also recognition of hosting seven three-star restaurants: Chihana, Hyo-tei, Kikunoi Honten, Mizai, Kichisen, Nakamura y Kitcho Arashiyama Honten.
Among them, Hyo-tei Restaurant is one of the most special, since its inception were 400 years ago as a tea room which also served sweets and boiled eggs. Over the years, they have specialized in kaiseki cuisine, but always keeping their roots. “Hyotei eggs” remains the specialty of the house and the aesthetics of the dishes evokes the spirit of the tea ceremony. In addition, their grounds are beautiful.
Views of Kyoto, the city with more Michelin stars in the world
Exterior of Hyo-tei Restaurant in Kyoto, with three Michelin stars
Hyo-Tei restaurant is specialized in kaiseki cuisine
Kikunoi, on the other hand, is a Japanese ryotei restaurant. Its aesthetics are the maximum refining typical local style and dishes are designed with exquisite taste. As for Kichisen restaurant, it merges several traditional Kyoto cuisines in a contemporaneously way, always paying great attention to seasonal products.
Kikunoi restaurant’s aesthetics
‘Hassun’ and ‘Gohan’ Dishes from Kikunoi Restaurant in Kyoto
Dish of the three-star Kichisen restaurant
Marlow
Located on the banks of Thames River, Marlow is a British quaint village with 14,000 habitants and the honor of hosting the only pub with two Michelin stars. As the same editor of the guide, Rebecca Burr, said: “At The Hands and Flowers the dishes are sophisticated yet familiar, and are a perfect match to the relaxed surroundings of his charming pub”.
Views of the picturesque village of Marlow
Exterior and interior of The Hand and Flowers, the only pub with two Michelin stars
The Hand and Flowers serves typical English dishes reinterpreted in a modern way
Hong Kong
It is undeniable that Asian food right now is pure trend. And to enjoy it with all the guarantees, nothing better than a gastronomic trip to Hong Kong. This hyper populated city has the cheapest restaurant Michelin-starred: Tim Ho Wan.
The restaurant is a contradiction in itself. For though at first glance may seem a chain of fast food, its dim sum menu is a real treat for the palate. In fact, its chef is a former head cook at the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong that prepares a cha siu bao worthy of the two hours of queue there is usually every weekend.
In addition to an overcrowded city, Hong Kong is also a foodie capital
Tim Ho Wan is the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant, but their food is a treat for the palate
For those who want to eat in a more upscale atmosphere, in Hong Kong there are five Michelin three-star restaurants: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Lung King Heen, 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo – Bombana, Bo Innovation and Sushi Shikon.
Booking.com suggests CHI Residences 279 for accommodation, located in the district of Yau Ma Tei and at 300 meters from the popular night market of Temple Street. Its luxurious apartments are fully equipped, but the best is its location and its staff.
Otto e Mezzo Bombana Restaurant in Hong Kong
Dish of the three-star Sushi Shikon Restaurant
CHI Residences 279 is a luxurious accommodation next to the night market of Temple Street
Lyon
Birthplace of the prestigious Paul Bocuse, creator of avant-garde cuisine and named chef of the century, it is said that Lyon is the French capital of gastronomy. Bocuse restaurant called L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges is located four kilometers north of the city. It has three Michelin stars and is an institution for any self-respecting foodie.
L’Auberge offers three different menus, with prices around €200. But undoubtedly the star dish is the mythical black truffle soup that Paul Bocuse created in 1975 for the French President Giscard d’Estaing.
Views of the French city of Lyon
Interior of the prestigious ‘L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges’ restaurant 
‘Soupe aux truffes noires V.G.E.’, the most famous dish of Paul Bocuse
With a more modern and creative cuisine and atmosphere, Le Neuvième Art restaurant of Christophe Roure chef is another essential in Lyon. It has two Michelin stars and you can appreciate on each plate the technique with the personal touch of Roure.
On the other hand, twenty minutes from the city, Guy Lassausaie restaurant is also worth of a visit. It has achieved two Michelin stars and has already gone through three generations of chefs. The traditional Lyonnaise cuisine merges with other cultures in it, getting a select touch of modernity and vanguard.
Interior of Le Neuvième Art restaurant, with two Michelin stars
Dishes of Christophe Roure chef, from Le Neuvième Art restaurante 
‘Sablé Bretón’ by Guy Lassausaie
Another great gastronomic attractions in Lyon is Les Halles Market, supplier of all the best restaurants in the area, because there are the most exclusive and premium raw materials. Walking inside the market is a good way to sample the Lyonnaise gourmet products kindly offered by the dealers.
Gourmet delicatessen from Les Halles Market in Lyon
From Horse we suggest destinations like something special, either by design, culinary excellence, curiosities or exceptional details. But in the world of Michelin stars, the king country is France, which has 600 of these awards. It is followed by Japan with 401, Italy with 334, Germany with 290 and Spain with 210. What will be your next foodie destination?
