The Top Most Expensive Restaurants In The World

The 10 Most Expensive Restaurants In The World

If you love your food and have an expensive taste, you might be interested in learning about the top ten most expensive restaurants in the world.

The restaurants in this list might be miles apart in the distance, but they all have their high prices in common.

So, if you’re dreaming of dining in an underwater restaurant in the Maldives or fancy trying the most expensive sushi in Japan, here is our list of the ten most expensive restaurants in the world to whet your appetite!

Bon appetite!

1. Maldives – Ithaa Undersea

Approximate cost per person: $400

At Ithaa, you’re five meters (sixteen feet) below the ocean’s surface at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island in Alif Dhaal Atoll.

This restaurant was the first of its kind when it opened in April 2005, and it offers panoramic views of the coral garden. Guests here enjoy a fusion menu that is paired excellently with fine fines.

Typically, you’ll be served four or six courses mainly of European flavor.

The stunning restaurant is enclosed within an acrylic cylinder offering 180-degree views.

The restaurant can seat 14 visitors and can be hired privately for special occasions like weddings. Children can eat here at lunchtime, but at dinner, it’s an adult-only affair.

The name Ithaa means ‘mother of pearl’ in Dhivehi. The restaurant was built in Singapore in 2004 before being transported via barge to the Maldives – a journey that took 16 days.

Weighing 175 tonnes, the restaurant was sunk into place by putting sand ballast inside it. The restaurant has an expected life span of twenty years – so you’d better get in quick!

2. Tokyo, Japan – Aragawa

Approximate cost per person: $260 to $370

You perhaps wouldn’t expect one of the world’s most expensive restaurants to be located in the basement of an old office building, but that’s exactly where you’ll find Tokyo’s Aragawa restaurant.

While many of the restaurants in this list offer a price-per-head tasting menu, Aragawa offers an à la carte menu, and so it’s difficult to estimate the total cost of your bill.

That said, you can expect to pay upward of $260 per person for your meal.

This Japanese restaurant is most well-known for its beef dishes, Wagu and Kobe in particular.

The restaurant raises its beef in the best possible conditions, and the cows receive special treatments before slaughtering. It is for these reasons that Aragawa claims their beef tastes divine.

Remember, here you’re paying for excellent cuisine rather than an out-of-this-world dining experience.

3. Tokyo, Japan – Kitcho Arashiyama

Approximate cost per person: $380 to $570

Staying in Tokyo, we’re headed to Kitcho Arashiyama, a restaurant with three Michelin stars.

Unlike Aragawa, this Tokyo restaurant does have a tasting menu. You’ll try ten courses made up of the world’s finest ingredients.

Here, you’re not only paying for the exquisite food but also for the dining experience in a beautifully decorated location.

Kitcho Arashiyama is designed like a ceremony house.

It has low tables overlooking stunning gardens and tatami mats.

4. Paris, France – Guy Savoy

Approximate cost per person: $385 to $626

There are two Guy Savoy restaurants in the world, one in Paris and the other in Las Vegas.

While both have multiple Michelin stars, the Paris restaurant is the flagship.

Here, diners are offered a tasting menu comprising thirteen different courses. This will cost up to $626, not including drinks.

There is a heavy focus on meat, so if you prefer fish or vegetarian dishes, you might be a little overwhelmed.

Some dishes you can expect include lobster, marinated duck, barbecued pigeon, john dory, monkfish, aubergine caviar, sautéed ceps, and oyster concassé.

The famous chef Gordon Ramsey has Guy Savoy to thank for his training, so he’s a very successful chef indeed.

5. Crissier, Switzerland – Restaurant De L’Hôtel De Ville

Approximate cost per person: $415

Switzerland is known to be quite pricey, but there’s no denying that this restaurant is worthy of its place in the top ten most expensive restaurants in the world.

Meaning “Town Hall Restaurant,” the Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville doesn’t sound particularly expensive, but meals here cost around $415 per person.

For your money, you can expect to taste eleven different courses, which include dishes like mussels in saffron, lamb fillet, pip consommé, and caviar, among others.

The menu changes around five times per year. There are often up to twelve game animals included on the menu too.

Wine isn’t included in your menu price, but there is an extensive wine list with more than forty pages of wines.

This Swiss restaurant has three Michelin stars and was voted one of the Top Restaurants in 2019 by La Liste.

6. Paris, France – Maison Pic Valence

Approximate cost per person: $445

Another Parisian restaurant that makes it on our most expensive restaurants list. This time, it’s the female-run Maison Pic Valence.

Its chef, Anne-Sophie Pic, is only of only a few female chefs to have three Michelin stars.

At Maison Pic Valence, there is a nine-course tasting menu with dishes like marinated deer, candied turnips, langoustine tails marinated in honey, yuzu, kororima and angelica, Mediterranean Rouget with a saffron broth, and exquisite desserts.

Sophie’s dishes are experimental and often eye-catching with unusual flavors.

7. New York, U.S. – Masa

Approximate cost per person: $595 (excluding taxes and drinks)

Masa is famous for its sushi-tasting menu. Dishes are simple and prepared with fresh ingredients on the day.

You can’t see a menu in advance because the chefs prepare dishes from what’s available that day.

Masa does have a reputation as being overpriced, but if you want to surround yourself with celebrities and A-listers, this restaurant is a likely place to do so.

You’ll have to reserve your table a month in advance, though.

8. Shanghai, China – Ultraviolet

Approximate cost per person: between $570 and $900 per person (excluding taxes and drinks)

Ultraviolet is one of the most expensive and elite restaurants worldwide.

Unlike the other restaurants in this article, Ultraviolet only has one table, and it seats up to ten people.

The tasting menu has between ten and twenty courses.

Each course highlights different ingredients, and the dishes are presented in innovative ways.

Ultraviolet is a complete dining experience; not only is the food exquisite, but they combine visual and audio effects to complement the dishes, with images projected onto the walls.

This restaurant has three Michelin stars and also has three members of staff per guest! What’s more, they have cameras to monitor each guest so that servers know exactly when to come in without disturbing the guests.

Expect to reserve four months in advance.

9. New York, U.S. – Per Se

Approximate cost per person: $680

This New York restaurant opened in 2004 and has three Michelin stars. It offers delicious flavors and a delicate presentation.

There are three different tasting menus on offer here, including one for vegetarians.

The most popular of the three is the nine-course menu, which has American and French inspirations.

Per Se has 19 tables and offers views of Central Park and Columbus Circle.

The restaurant stocks an award-winning wine collection with a list of more than 2000 to choose from.

10. Ibiza, Spain – Sublimotion

Approximate cost per person: $2,380

Last but not least is Sublimotion in Ibiza, Spain.

This is officially the most expensive restaurant in the world, costing more than double per head than any other restaurant on our list.

For your $2,380, you get a 20-course tasting menu. The dining experience is brought to you by 25 staff over a three-hour period.

The dining experience is second to none. As you eat, you’ll be presented with virtual reality experiences, and laser light shows to enhance the dining experience.

Sublimotion has two Michelin stars and was awarded the 2014 Best Innovation Food and Beverage Award.

It’s not easy to get a table here, however. It’s only open for four months of the year (June, July, August, and September).

Finally, after reserving a table, the ticket you receive is edible!

But make sure you don’t eat it until you’ve got into the restaurant!

The 10 Most Expensive Restaurants In The World – A Summary

If money’s no object and you love to travel, why not try and visit all ten most expensive restaurants that have been featured on this list?

If that’s out of your price range, you could choose one for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Failing that, we’ll just have to keep dreaming!

Equally, if you’re not bothered about fancy foods like oysters, lobster, and caviar, you’ll probably appreciate a cheaper meal.

To summarise, of the most expensive restaurants in the world, two are in New York, two are in Tokyo, two are in Paris, one is in Switzerland, one is in Ibiza, one is in China, and one is in the Maldives.