Imagine that money isn't an object, and you can eat at any Michelin-starred restaurant worldwide. Would you choose to spend nearly $2,000 per person at a restaurant in Spain? What about a restaurant in New York City that costs more than $500 per person? What if you got an entire experience at these restaurants; would that influence your decision to spend this kind of money on a meal?
Food to a chef is like a painting to an artist. Culinary legends like Chef Joël Robuchon, Chef Masa Takayama, and Chef Thomas Keller pride themselves on creating food experiences for all wanting to dine at the chef's table.
Put down your Michelin guide and enjoy reading about some of the world's most extravagant and indulgent restaurants with hefty price tags. From Europe to America, French cuisine to Japanese cuisine, these are the most expensive restaurants in the world.
The Most Expensive Restaurants in the World
1. Sublimotion – Ibiza, Spain
Price per person: $2000
The most expensive restaurant in the world is Sublimation, in Ibiza, Spain. Chef Paco Roncero founded this world-famous restaurant, which costs upwards of $2000 per person to sit.
The “greatest gastronomic show in the world” features more than just food. Even the website is set up to be an audio and video experience (at least on desktop, it is). Sublimation has the best waiter to diner ratio in the world, at 3 to 1. Included in your meal is a laser light show, scored music related to the imagery, and transportive moments via 360-degree screens.
They even use virtual reality headsets to transport you to various places related to food. The dancers, music, and food are all brought together to form the ultimate dining experience, and right alongside it is the most expensive price for dining in the world.
Sublimotion only allows 12 diners at a time, and everyone sits at one table to enjoy the same concept. You can eat underwater, in the desert, or a futuristic setting.
If the experience isn't enough to drive the price tag up, guests receive a 20-course tasting menu throughout the night. It takes nearly two hours to enjoy the entire experience from beginning to end at Sublimotion. This makes the $2,000 price tag a little more bearable, right? Do you think it's worth the money to eat at Sublimation? Let us know in the comments below!
2. Kitcho Arashiyama Honten – Kyoto, Japan
The cheapest option costs JPY 52,800 (384 USD), including 10% consumption and service tax.
The most expensive item at this restaurant is the chef's OMASAKE' Course. “Omakase” translates to “I leave it up to you.” If you select this option, the chef prepares a 13-course meal that showcases the day's freshest ingredients. It's fully personalized, and you watch as the chef takes the freshest seasonal ingredients and prepares them to perfection.
The price continuously varies based on market value, but there is no price ceiling, and for 13-courses, it can get quite expensive.
You can be seated in three rooms, all of which offer a unique and authentic experience to all guests. Each room has a view of the garden, so you can enjoy the view while enjoying your meal.
There is only room for five cars to park at Kitcho Arashiyama, so factoring in how to carpool to your dinner is part of the equation.
3. Masa – New York City
Price per person: $750-$900.
Located next to #9 on our list, Masa offers Masayoshi Takayama's famous tasting menu of top-quality Japanese sushi.
Masa in New York City offers guests a choice of what type of Japanese dining experience they want to have. The Omakase experience is around $750 per person and takes approximately two hours to complete. Oh, and that's without accounting for drinks or tax.
The Hinoki counter experience offers guests an up-close and personal experience around the sushi counter for around $950 per person, seating you in front of one of the world's most skilled sushi chefs, eating some of the world's most expensive fish.
Compared to other restaurants on this list, Masa incorporates a minimalist design that is meant to “act as a blank canvas on which the food will be allotted the space to shine.”
If you want to enjoy wine with your meal, it will cost you $200 for corkage per bottle, and there is a limit of two bottles per party. As part of Japanese custom, gratuities are not required and are vehemently denied if offered.
Depending on your experience, a party of two can easily spend nearly $2,000 on a meal at this Japanese restaurant.
4. Alchemist – Denmark
Alchemist is located in Denmark and offers guests an immersive dining experience to enjoy wine and food impressions. There are up to 50 food impressions that guests will be able to enjoy during their affair. Each experience lasts four to six hours, and the cost ranges from $233 per person to $2,000 per table.
When visiting Alchemist, it's important not to rush. The restaurant owners recommend that you keep an open mind during the experience to immerse yourself in the entire restaurant experience.
5. Restaurant Guy Savoy – Paris, France
Price per person: $620.
Restaurant Guy Savoy is located in Paris, France, and you can order items off the menu for each course or choose a set menu for approximately $620. The set menu is a 13-course meal, sometimes more, per person. It includes a variety of salads, appetizers, soups, entrees, and desserts. The entrees are primarily protein and may vary between lobster, fowl, and shellfish.
6. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet – Shanghai, China
Price per person: $1000
Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet is located in Shanghai, China, and it upwards of $1,000 per person. The restaurant describes itself as “avant-garde“, which means a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.
One menu is filled with oysters, fish, lobster, eggplant, bread, wagyu, lamb, soup, salads, and desserts.
Another menu includes yogurt, oysters, bread, eggs, chicken, veal, and chocolate.
The final menu includes sea scallops, surf and turf, bread, soup, sashimi, and chocolate.
These three menus still exist at Ultraviolet, but there's always the chance that Chef Paul Pairet has something new to offer his guests.
7. Aragawa – Tokyo, Japan
Price per person: $440
Aragawa is located in Tokyo, Japan, and it costs $440 and up per person to eat here. The menus you can choose from are preset and seasonal; however, there is one area of the menu where you can choose items a la carte.
For the preset menus, for example, the menu for April consists of Kobe Beef Wagyu steak (one of the world's most expensive steaks), homemade bread, an appetizer salad, risotto, a dessert, and an after-meal drink. Certain menus may come with specific accompaniments, such as a complimentary bottle of wine.
Restaurant le Meurice
$350 usd per person.
This expensive restaurant is inspired by the Salon de la Paix in the Chateau de Versailles. The restaurant is a picture of majesty and elegance. With large antique chandeliers, iconic Eero Saarinen Tulip Charis, and a sculpture that captures the suspended movement of water, this restaurant is akin to dining in a French castle. Every minute detail is covered, and bronze, frescoes, and marble cover the walls and highlight the beautiful architecture of the restaurant and dining room.
This is another restaurant that forgoes the visual and sensory experiences, focussing instead on the taste, smell, and look of the food they serve.
Alain Ducasse heads this two-star Michelin restaurant. The most expensive pre-set menu experience is $350. It includes four entrees, a second plate of your favorite entree, french cheese, and dessert.
9. Per Se – New York
Per Se is another gem in North America. Located in New York, this place boasts a variety of experiences that you can choose from that range from $200 per person to more than $500 per person. The price of the experience depends on the menu that is provided as well as the location of the dining room where you will be seated. Some of the dining rooms have views of Central Park, which can contribute to the cost of the experience.
You can make reservations online, but you must provide a deposit, even for the less expensive menu options.
A nine-course menu allows guests to enjoy the tastings that the Chef has prepared.
Why are These Restaurants the Most Expensive in the World?
As you have seen from our list, many of these restaurants are immersive and offer an experience for all senses. Some have virtual reality immersive dining, while others may have stunning aesthetics, visualizations, sounds, and smells to accompany the meal.
More than the immersive dining experience is the length of the experience. The most expensive restaurants in the world have everything to offer for all of your senses, allowing the meal to last for two hours or more, giving you an authentic dining experience about more than just food.
You're paying for more than just the meal at these expensive restaurants. You're paying for the experience. Many hosts and servers who work in these restaurants are trained to give you the best dining experience while you're there.
Remember that many of these restaurants are small and only offer service for just a few people at a time. Because of this, availability may be minimal, so if you're considering visiting one of these restaurants, you should book in advance.
It's important to know that the chefs at these restaurants are highly trained and use only the best ingredients in the world. The cuts of meat for the main courses and the products used for the sides are the best, which only adds to the cost of the meal.
Conclusion
Whether you're in the United States, Asia, or Europe, you can find one of the most expensive restaurants in the world. These restaurants are filled with chefs who know how to prepare food and technology geniuses who know how to create an immersive dining experience. Who knew technology and food could go together so well to make this class of restaurants?
It's no surprise that many of these restaurants are located in Asia, where the latest technology is born. Outstanding cuisine and futuristic technology combine to create a dining experience that only the wealthiest can afford.
Those who have visited the most expensive restaurants in the world, especially those restaurants with immersive experiences, have said they are worth the money. The experience alone is worth the price tag but adding a delicious meal to it only makes it better.
The fine dining experience is available worldwide. From Europe to South America, Hong Kong to San Francisco, your next delicious bite is just a plane ride away. Next time you come across one of these high-end eateries, will you swallow the splurge? If you do, be sure to savor the experience!
Read More: Sushi restaurants are featured so many times on this list. If you're interested, we've written a guide that details Why Sushi is so Expensive.
