Luxe Lunch Lust: The World’s Most Expensive Restaurants By Hanane Zahrouni Fois gras doughnut descended to your plate via a balloon? Nitrogen-frozen olive oil parcels pegged to a micro-washing line? Welcome to the weird n’ wonderful world of Sublimotion, the new swish new Paco Roncero eaterie – and now officially the most expensive restaurant on the planet. Plonked in Ibiza’s party central, Playa d’en Bossa, just a stone’s throw from Space and Ushuaia, Sublimotion is set in the island’s spanking new five star Hard Rock Hotel. The 12-seat restaurant, complete with dazzling futuro-projections which bathe walls and tables, invites high-rollers to embark on a 20 course, three-hour, culinary experience for a (g)astronomical price of £1200 a head. After years of research and investigation into the world of emotions in fine dining, Roncero presents his zany creations in the most “unique space where culinary art and technological innovation come together to create a complete and unprecedented emotional experience.” We assume weeping at the bill will be one of them. ‘Chromatic atmospheres’ are created via a control board which operates sounds, flavours and humidity according to which dish is being served. It is safe to say Sublimation guarantees sensory overload. So, who is the newbie on the block ousted as the world’s most expensive restaurant? Here are some of our favourite super-spendy restaurants from across the globe. 1) Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London It is no surprise that diners flock from all over the world to sample Alain Ducasse’s exquisite and signature dishes. Not only venerated for his French cuisine, but his impeccable dining concepts which reflect a variety of international cultures. Executive chef Jocelyn Herland, whom interprets Ducasse’s Michelin star cuisine with a unique approach, leads his contemporary French restaurant at the Dorchester. Their mouth-watering seven-course seasonal tasting menu currently includes heritage tomatoes, tender herb condiment, rib and saddle of Aveyron lamb, Provencal artichokes. Seven course tasting menu, £125 per person 2) Maison Pic, Valence, France Boasting France’s only three Michelin star-holding female chef, Maison Pic has a dining dynasty, which spans 120 years through the Pic family generations. With dishes crafted by Anne-Sophie Pic and before that, her father and grandfather (whom also gained threeMichelin stars during their tenure), the restaurant now offers four different menus: Menu
Discovery, Menu Harmony, Menu Essential and Weekday Lunch/Pleasure. Menu Essential, is Maison Pic’s most expensive, but offers tantalisingly indulgent dishes from young drome pigeon and blue lobster and berries to white mille-fuelled and kalingo chocolate and aromatic herbs. Menus begin at 160 Euros 3) Masa, New York, USA Run by Chef Masa Takayama, Masa offers the most painstakingly artful sushi and is located right in the heart of the Big Apple. The three-Michelin star restaurant’s tasting menus feature exquisite delights like mushroom risotto and eel cucumber with sunomono. According to Chef Masa, the courses are built on seasonal properties, utilised “in only in their freshest most delicious state.”Tasting menus from around £350 per person 4) KITCHO, Kyoto, Japan Award-winning Chef Kunio Tokuoka runs KITCHO, another pricey dining experience influenced by Japanese cuisine (but actually located in Japan). The flagship restaurant is based in a sukiya style of building, is in the style of a tea-ceremony house. The model menu changes every month, with July hosting delicacies such as homemade tofu with sea urchin, deep-fried and candied goby fish. Ten course tasting menu, £308 per person 5) Ithaa, Maldives A restaurant that is below sea-level, specifically five meters below the surface, Ithaa offers a dining experience like no other with both unique dishes and spectacular 180-degree panoramic views of coral gardens surrounding it. The name of the restaurant means in Maldivian native language as ‘mother of pearl.’ Their modern menu consists of a variety of dishes from European cuisine influences in a six-course dinner menu, which serves the likes of Malossol Imperial caviar with sour cream and potato blinis, and yellow-tail king fish with saffron champagne risotto and beurre blanc foam. From £120 for a 3 course lunch HZ
For further information and bookings, please visit: http://www.sublimotionibiza.com/en/