The Most Expensive Restaurants In The World

In a time when $30 is considered normal for the price of pizza, it’s not uncommon to splurge on a great meal. When the meal is created by one of the best chefs in the world, in one of the most special places in the world in a unique setting that you won’t soon forget, then you are probably at one of the most expensive restaurants in the world.

Alinea, Chicago, Illinois

$385 per person

Photo Credit: NBC Chicago/Getty Images

Alinea is only one of a pair of Chicago restaurants to earn three Michelin stars. The high rating is part of the reason for the high price point. Grant Achatz’s in-demand menu (it was voted Best Restaurant in the World four years in a row) rings in at  around $770 for two people. The 21-course tasting menu can only be served to six people at a time, in a private dining room.

Saison, San Francisco, California

$398 per person

At last check, Saison was the West Coast’s most expensive restaurant. The 22-course tasting menu here will never be the same. Each  morning, a new menu is crafted based on the bounty that comes in from the local farms, fisheries and ranches the restaurant sources from. Expect a few surprises from the restaurant’s herb garden, every dish prettier than the previous. Want to add wine? Be ready to pay upwards of $1000 for two.

Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, Paris, France

$444 per person

As with any Alain Ducasse menu, the one at Le Meurice is pure perfection, as are the Versailles-like surroundings. And you’ve got options here. His collection menu can cost up to $550 per person for dinner with some added extras,  and lunch will never be less than $99 (before beverages and tax, of course). As the restaurant puts it, “each dish expresses the truth of the product around which it is built. For example, carrots, artichoke and Chioggia beets, which comprise the Vegetable Cocotte, are sourced from Créance, in Normandy, where they were grown in strict compliance with organic agriculture guidelines.”

L’Arpège, Paris, France

$456 per person

If you prefer meatless courses, L’Arpege is where you will want to be overspending for your meal. Alain Passard centers most of the dishes in the 12-course menu here around the chef’s “garden.” And by garden, we mean five acres of farmland. (Lunch is actually called the “gardener’s lunch.”) For dinner, expect earth & sea options including vegetable ravioli, purple vegetable tartare and farm-fresh eggs with four spices and maple syrup.

Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris, France

$456 , per person

Alain Ducasse’s other Paris presence is just as grand as you would expect. Located on the prestigious Avenue Montaigne, it’s a feast for your eyes as well as palate. The $456 menu here will get you just three half dishes, cheese and dessert, but what dishes they will be. Expect Alain Ducasse to tell you  personal and radical story though is food, Groix Island sole fillets are surrounded by ,undergrowth chanterelles and edible flowers while Volcanic hill green lentils and caviar are flavoured  with delicate jelly. “He represents the naturalness cuisine, inspired by the fish-vegetables-cereals trilogy, with the help of his chief of Romain Meder,” says the restaurant.

Guy Savoy, Paris France

$462 per person

Ask Guy Savoy about his job and he will say, “cooking is a day-to-day discipline where time and toil meet in a practice entirely subservient to touch, sight, smell and taste.” This makes complete sense since the menu at Restaurant Guy Savoy in Paris is titled the ‘Colours, Textures & Flavours’ menu and rings in at around $462 per person. Each dish promises to touch on each category. Think concassé of oysters, seaweed and lemon granité,, a Lobster ‘surprise’, Caviar with smoked sabayon’ and artichoke soup with black truffle. Other items in the multi sensory and course menu include  layered truffled mushroom brioche and barbecued pigeon.

Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas, Nevada

$425 per person

Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand is the first and only three Michelin star restaurant in Vegas. And the accolades re part of the reason the venue can demand over $400 per person. The other reasons? The exquisitely crafted dishes including frog leg kadaif fritter with red miso and Espelette pepper, Oscietra caviar served in a crustacean gelée dotted with cauliflower puree and rose Shrimp in bonito tuna and kombu seaweed broth with ginger.

Kitcho, Kyoto, Japan

$490 per person

The indulgent menu at Kitcho by Chef Kunio Tokuaka, is actually served on priceless Japanese tableware, so please be careful while feasting on 12 courses including seared octopus, pike conger soup, spotted grouper sashimi, homemade tofu with sea urchin and more sashimi of lightly grilled Japanese whelk and fatty tuna. It;s not just about dinner here. Kimono-clad entertainers will make an appearance in a setting built in the style of a tea ceremony house.

Masa, New York City, New  York

$595 per person

Celebrated sushi genius Masa Takayama has created a stunningly simple sushi mecca in New York City.  Each of the 20-25 courses on the tasting menu build on seasonal properties utilized only in their freshest most delicious state.. If you’re feeling festive, add the $250 per person wine pairing option.

Ultraviolet by Paul Pieret, Shanghai, China

$871 per person

Conceived by Paul Pairet, Ultraviolet is a complete and immersive dining experience including not just food, but multi-sensory technology, too. There are only 10 seats in a space that can fit 100.  There are no paintings, no views, no decorations. Instead, the dining room is “ascetic by nature, dressed up by lights, sounds, smells, images, imagination, scenario ad food.” Aso for the food, it’s “avant garde and figurative,” and “influenced by your memories, surroundings and expectations.”

Sublimotion, Ibiza, Spain

$1,633 per person

It takes 25 people to bring the 13-course and three-hour tasting menu to life at Sublimotion, located at the Hard Rock Hotel in Ibiza, Spain. Run by Chef Paco Roncero, a meal here includes DIY-cocktails, multi-sensory tasting experiences, 360 -degree visuals and is available for only 12 people at a time.