Landmark hotel restaurants worth travelling for

Set above a tranquil bay on Crete’s northern coast, Elounda Mare is one of Greece’s few Relais & Châteaux properties – and the Old Mill is its gastronomic anchor. Set around an ancient millstone, the restaurant’s tables spill out among scented gardens overlooking the Aegean. Here, island ingredients (goat-milk yoghurt, spring lamb, shellfish) take centre stage. The menu remains deeply local and rustic dishes such as cuttlefish dolmades and rabbit casserole are handled with quiet confidence. Dining here is a stellar excuse to sample Crete’s spicy, aromatic wines, so ask for a bottle of something unexpected from the extensive cellar.

High Life says: Amber-hued carob honey, produced on the island, lends a herbal, earthy depth to soups and casseroles.

Few dining rooms rival The Ritz Restaurant's timeless glamour. Set beneath a stunning ceiling with marble columns and gilt details, it offers two Michelin-starred British-French cuisine by Executive Chef John Williams MBE. Begin with delicate amuse-bouches (like elegant takes on coronation chicken) paired perfectly with rosé Champagne. Highlights include the signature dish of langoustine à la nage with bronze fennel, an exquisite cheese trolley and a refreshing mint tea trolley, which can be infused with a flavour of your choosing. For dessert, don’t miss the ‘English strawberry, lemon verbena and lime’ with its rose-shaped sorbet, or the show-stopping crêpes Suzette, flambéed tableside in a blaze of orange liqueur. Diners can expect a gorgeously wrapped bar of rich, velvety dark chocolate as a parting gift.

High Life says: Start your evening with a martini in the cosy Rivoli Bar next door before making your grand entrance down the hotel’s iconic corridor.

Opened in 1987, Le Louis XV at the majestic Hôtel de Paris was the first hotel restaurant to snaffle three Michelin stars – and it has held onto them ever since. Alain Ducasse was just 33 when he achieved this remarkable success, having been wooed to Monaco by Prince Rainier himself. Today, his Riviera-inspired menu still pays tribute to terroir and provenance. The setting may be rococo, but the emphasis is on simple pleasures. Garden vegetables, local seafood and hand-pressed oils are deftly handled, meaning the cuisine feels fresh and relevant rather than theatrical. 

High Life says: Vegetarians, rejoice: Le Louis XV is where Alain Ducasse imagined and premiered his Jardins de Provence menu, a gastronomic classic that could soften even the most hardened of carnivores. 

Few dining rooms in New York carry as much history as The Palm Court. Long the heart of The Plaza Hotel, the space has hosted everyone from debutantes to diplomats and today is still the most iconic Manhattan address for afternoon tea. The setting – tall palms, mirrored arches, a soaring stained-glass dome – evokes early 20th-century glamour with nary a hint of cosplay. Dainty finger food is given a welcome twist: cucumber sandwiches zhuzhed up with mint labneh, say, or blueberry scones in lieu of the classic sultana. 

High Life says: The Plaza’s fictional six-year-old heroine, Eloise, has her own afternoon tea menu – a storybook feast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, lollipop cakes and rose and lychee macarons.

Minimalist, indulgent and achingly photogenic, Andronis Arcadia feels more like a cliffside sanctuary than a hotel – and its signature restaurant, Beefbar, adds serious culinary swagger. The menu is a globe-trotting love letter to premium cuts, with dishes spanning leaf, reef and beef (think truffle pizza, hamachi crudo and Giraudi Chateaubriand for two). A prime Oia position and open-air seating mean the restaurant offers a panoramic perch for Santorini’s golden-hour spectacle, complete with atmospheric DJ sets, flickering candlelight and the smug glow of knowing you have one of the best views in town.

High Life says: Even humble comfort food is given a star turn here, but beware – Beefbar’s Wagyu Bolognese might ruin all other versions forever.

Based in the postcard-perfect, chocolate box village of Great Milton, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is Raymond Blanc’s garden-to-table vision brought to life. The seven-course tasting menu at this two-Michelin-starred sanctuary changes daily, but some of its signature dishes include smoked salmon with beetroot and horseradish or roasted Anjou pigeon with truffle. All are crafted using ingredients grown just metres away in the estate’s heritage orchards, vegetable beds and mushroom valley. If you can find room, breakfast the next morning is just as impressive – the dazzling, artisanally carved fruit platter and the fresh pastries are among the most beautiful you’ll find at any hotel. 

High Life says: Check the hotel’s events calendar for extra-special themed lunches or dinners, from guest chef visits from the likes of Hélène Darroze to days spent learning about horticulture with senior gardeners in the verdant grounds.

Below the soaring Petronas Towers, Mandarin Oriental offers a welcome sanctuary from the heat and hustle of Kuala Lumpur. Taking its design cues from the ornate homes of 19th-century Chinese tycoons, Lai Po Heen is an intimate spot for some of the best Cantonese fare in town. Ask for a table by the open kitchen so you can watch the dumpling masters stretching, rolling and pinching their delicate creations. Dim sum here is a refined affair, with morsels such as black truffle soup dumpling, abalone pastries and stuffed chicken wings gracing the traditional tick-box menu.

High Life says: Bypass the classic Chinese teas and order a teh tarik, a strong, frothy, milky local brew that makes a rather fine brunch libation.