Special Report

The World’s Most Expensive Restaurants

Photo by Dean C. via Yelp

Around the world, many millions of people don’t have enough to eat, and what they do eat must be begged or foraged. Many millions more eat meals that are spare and as cheap as possible — a few cents worth of rice, maybe, or something off a fast-food “dollar menu.”

At the other end of the spectrum, though, there are people paying hundreds of dollars (or more) apiece for dinner. Some spend more on a few hours’ worth of food and drink than a large percentage of humanity earns in a month or more.

How can a restaurant meal be so expensive? Many factors are at play. Luxury ingredients — wild mushrooms, caviar, bluefin tuna, and such — can cost hundreds of dollars a pound (or in the case of fresh Italian white truffles, as much as $10,000). 

Then there’s what restaurants do with their raw materials. The preparation of pricey dishes can be extremely labor-intensive; there are Michelin three-star restaurants where the kitchen staff literally outnumbers the diners.

Add in the costs involved in creating a memorable environment for patrons — dazzling decor, the finest tableware, intricate service — and the cost of prime real estate, and then put a price on the prestige factor of being able to afford an extraordinary meal at extraordinary prices, and the sky is pretty much the limit. In case you find yourself at a place like this — here are 25 things you should never ever do at a fancy restaurant.

Some establishments — like Ultraviolet in Shanghai and SubliMotion on the Spanish island of Ibiza — even enhance the dining experience with music, art, and theatrical performances. 

Click here to see the world’s most expensive restaurants

To compile this list of the world’s most expensive restaurants, 24/7 Tempo consulted numerous consumer and financial websites — including The Daily Meal, the Guide Michelin, GQ Australia, Fine Dining Lovers, Go Banking Rates, Groove Wallet, Work and Money, and Wealthy Gorilla — to compile a long list of establishments considered to be the priciest on three continents. Next we consulted the restaurant websites and local review sites to determine the cost of the most expensive meal served at each, whether with a fixed-price menu or à la carte (the latter is often more expensive for fewer courses). Prices are for one diner, and do not include tax (where applicable), tip (though some European restaurants include a service charge in the meal cost), or beverages (except where otherwise noted). Prices are subject to change.

24/7 Tempo has assembled a list of some of the most expensive restaurants in the world, places where you’ll pay as much as $850 for a single meal, and in one case almost three times that. And in case you think there’s something fundamentally wrong with paying so much money to eat, however elaborate and enhanced, remember that people think nothing of shelling out $250 or $300 to see “Hamilton” or a Beyoncé concert — and that Super Bowl tickets this year started at $9,540 apiece. And after enjoying those spectacles, you’d still be hungry.

Courtesy of é by José Andrés

é by José Andrés, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $290

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Photo by Igor C. via Yelp

Mirazur, Menton, France
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $302

Eleven Madison Park, New York, New York, USA
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $335

Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $350

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Photo by Annie Z. via Yelp

Alinea, Chicago, Illinois, USA
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $395

Photo by Olivier M. via Yelp

Maison Pic, Valence, France
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $375

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Courtesy of Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse

Restaurant Le Meurice, Paris, France
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $390

Courtesy of Lisa H. via Yelp

Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, Brooklyn, New York, USA
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $395

Photo by Michael U. via Yelp

Frantzén, Stockholm, Sweden
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $421

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Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville, Crissier, Switzerland
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $435

Photo by Ashutosh K. via Yelp

Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $456

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Courtesy of Alain Ducasse au Plaza-Athénée

Alain Ducasse au Plaza-Athénée, Paris, France
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $478

Photo by Michelle C. via Yelp

Restaurant Guy Savoy, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $555

Photo by Aziz G. via Yelp

Kitcho Arashiyama Honten, Kyoto, Japan
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $589

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Photo by Erika N. via Yelp

Restaurant Guy Savoy, Paris, France
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $595

AFP Contributor / Contributor / Getty Images

Ultraviolet, Shanghai, China
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $625 (with beverages)

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Photo by Elena D. via Yelp

Masa, New York, New York, USA
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $650

Courtesy of Per Se

Per Se, New York, New York, USA
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $680

Photo by Dean C. via Yelp

The French Laundry, St. Helena, California
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $850

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Photo by Bobbie W. via Yelp

SubliMotion, Ibiza, Spain
> Approximate price, dinner for 1, food only: $2,380 (with beverages)

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