Guide to international eating: the best restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London and Tokyo
With international borders reopened, we’ve listed the best places to eat and drink in some of the greatest cities in the world according the people in the know – Australian chefs and restaurateurs who call these metropolises home.
The best thing about travel has to be eating your way around cities with different cuisines, seeking out local specialties and discovering the coolest restaurants. With international borders reopened, we’ve listed the best places to eat and drink in some of the greatest cities in the world according the people in the know – Australian chefs and restaurateurs who call these metropolises home.
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NEW YORK
Linden Pride, restaurateur
The bartender and restaurateur landed in New York with his wife Natalie Hudson after cutting his teeth setting up bars around the world, including Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar and Grill in Sydney. The couple were in the process of trying to open a restaurant in the Big Apple when they missed out on a space at the last minute, an outcome that was equal parts frustrating and devastating.
“We went back to our real estate broker and asked ‘What else is around?’ And he said ‘I have this one-off market deal for a place that has been owned by an Italian family for 52 years’,” Pride tells WISH. “So we went and had a look it. It was called Caffe Dante and it was a legendary New York institution that had been run down. We met owner Mario Flotta and he wanted to hand it over.”
So that is how a couple of Australians got to run a legendary New York café in Greenwich Village. Pride and Hudson reopened it in 2015, called it Dante, and pretty soon the locals warmed to the idea and it has been incredibly successful ever since. It has been awarded the best bar in the world – twice – as well as taking the top spot in numerous other best bar lists in New York and the US.
TOP FIVE NEW YORK RESTAURANTS TO VISIT
Gage & Tollner is a fabulous New York steakhouse in Brooklyn. Dating back to 1879, it was restored to its former glory and reopened in 2021. It has oysters, steaks and great drinks. 372 Fulton St, Brooklyn. https://www.gageandtollner.com/
Crown Shy, the brainchild of ex-Nomad and 11 Madison chef James Kent, serves delicious high-end New York cuisine. Located downtown in the Financial District. 70 Pine Street Ground Floor, New York. https://www.crownshy.nyc/
Atomix is a wonderfully delicious and inventive Korean restaurant, from husband and wife team chef Junghyun Park and manager Ellia Park. It only seats 14 and you go for the chef’s tasting menu. 104 E 30th St, New York.https://www.atomixnyc.com/
Ci Siamo specialises in cooking over wood fire from New York hospitality guru Danny Meyer. It is designed by the incredible up-and-coming Matt Goodrich. Exciting and delicious. 440 W 33rd St Suite #100, New York. https://www.cisiamonyc.com/
Pastis. The reboot of the original legendary French bistro, still in the Meatpacking District, but this time combining kings of industry Steven Starr and Keith McNally. Consistently excellent. 52 Gansevoort St, New York.
Best new restaurant
Icca is a world-class Japanese restaurant specialising in omakase, where the chef serves a meal tailored and served to you personally. It is located in Tribeca and has the best sushi outside of Tokyo. 20 Warren Street, New York. https://icca.nyc/
Best place for decent coffee
Yanni’s Coffee on 7th Ave and 16th Street in downtown New York. It is precision and perfection. 96 7th Ave, Chelsea. https://www.instagram.com/yanniscoffee/?hl=en
Best place for a cocktail
Can I say Dante? I do believe it! We are known for our negronis and have multiple options like a negroni with tequila and banana (called the unlikely negroni), a chocolate negroni and a vintage 1970s inspired negroni. There is even negroni on tap. 79-81 Macdougal St, Greenwich Village. https://www.dante-nyc.com/
Best place to pretend you are a local
Forsythia is a wonderful Roman pasta bar from chef/owner Jacob Siwak. It started out as a pop-up during the pandemic but found a permanent home in the Lower East Side. Down and dirty on Stanton Street, just off Bowery. 9 Stanton Street, New York
Best place off the beaten track
Pier 17 at South Seaport is an old historic pier just next to the Brooklyn Bridge. It has a number of restaurants and bars, great views and plays host to concerts. 89 South St, New York. https://www.pier17ny.com/
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LONDON
Brett Redman, chef
Redman started as a chef in Sydney before deciding to pack everything up at 24 and try his luck overseas. “It’s something you do when you are young and a bit egotistical and take your two years’ experience, whatever ridiculous number it was, and get a job in London,” he laughs. He spent the first little bit “working in a bar and messing about” before starting to work at a restaurant owned by his friend’s mother-in-law.
“She was the most amazing Korean chef and did this unbelievable food, but he and his mother-in-law had a fight one day and he bought her a ticket to Korea,” Redman explains. “He chucked the keys at me as he stormed out the door and said ‘It’s all yours now; do what you want with it.’”
So Redman started a little Australian-style café called Elliot’s (as he wasn’t a Korean chef) in the premises in 2006. It was supposed to be a pop-up as it was slightly illegal, but it ended up being the first incarnation of a restaurant that now has two locations; East Hackney and just near Borough Markets.
Elliot’s is now a restaurant and bar that focuses on good, locally sourced produce from the markets and farmers in the UK and Redman says he cooks it simply over the woodfired grill and ovens.
“We do good, simple food that is designed to be shared, like woodfired pizzas, natural wines, cocktails, and all the things that seem very on trend now but weren’t so popular when we started doing them in 2011,” he tells WISH. “But now the whole world has caught up and it has made our restaurants still very popular and quite relevant. We have been very lucky.”
TOP FIVE LONDON RESTAURANTS TO VISIT
Brawn in Hackney, East London, has been one of my favourite restaurants for the past decade. It has great modern European-style food. It’s wonderful sitting outside in the sunshine on a Sunday afternoon with a negroni in hand. 49 Columbia Rd, East London. https://www.brawn.co/
Koya Ko Hackney is an amazing Japanese restaurant at the Broadway Markets in Hackney. Their thing is udon and they make their own noodles served in a dashi stock with either veggies, meat of fish. 10-12 Broadway Market Mews, East London https://www.koya.co.uk/restaurant/hackney/
Kol in Marylebone, Central London is a Mexican restaurant that only uses British ingredients. Whether it’s lobsters or mackerel or rhubarb, it is seen through a Mexican lens. It’s like Mexican like you have never tasted it before. Also, bring your wallet. 9 Seymour Street, Marylebone, London. https://kolrestaurant.com/
Dim Sum Duck is a tiny 15-seater restaurant that does really good Cantonese food, which is hard to find in London. It’s a good place to go on a Monday as you will have to queue on the other busier days. 124 King’s Cross Rd, London. https://dimsum-duck.business.site/
Elliot’s for the wonderful food and wine. There are two locations in East London. 121-123 Mare Street, Hackney and 12 Stoney Street, Borough Market. https://www.elliots.london/
Best new restaurant
Rita’s is a new place in Soho that mixes modern American and British produce. It is really unpretentious and the service is fantastic. Chef Gabriel Pryce has teamed up with Missy Flynn, who is running front of house, and the food is delicious. 49 Lexington Street, Soho, London. https://www.ritasdining.com/about
Best place for decent coffee
Good coffee is everywhere now in London thank god, but it did take a while to take off. Paradox Design + Coffee is a very cool spot in an area called Netil Market, which is made up of shipping containers that now house food and drink operators. 13-23 Westgate Street Unit A, Netil Market, East London. https://www.welcometotheparadox.com/
Best place for a cocktail
If you want to do it properly in London then go to Claridge’s Hotel and have a martini at the bar. Brook Street, Mayfair. https://www.claridges.co.uk/restaurants-bars/claridges-bar/
Best place to pretend you are a local
Towpath Café is right on the edge of Regent’s Canal and it’s a really nice place for a walk or a cycle. The café is only open in spring and summer and you rarely get the same food twice. 42 De Beauvoir Crescent, London. https://www.towpathlondon.com/
Best local dish and where to get it
There is a place called Roti King and they have a few locations now, but they started in a small space in Kings Cross. They are known for their homemade roti. You have a guy out the front and he’s stretching the dough and slapping it all around and folding it over. Everyone in London loves the roti. 40 Doric Way, Euston.
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PARIS
Hanz Gueco, chef and artist
Gueco grew up in Blacktown in Sydney and always wanted to cook for as long as he could remember. He did an apprenticeship with chef Mark Best at his landmark Surry Hills restaurant Marque, before working at Rockpool, Est and Café Pacci and then heading overseas to do a stint in top restaurants in the US, Sweden, Tokyo and Singapore. He landed in Paris six years ago with a plan to stay six months but fell in love with the place and the food and just bought his first flat.
“There are ingredients here that I have always dreamed about cooking, like truffles are so plentiful, and wild mushrooms and other ingredients that you only read about in cookbooks back in Australia,” he says. “So it’s hard to go back. I love all different cuisines, but what I love about cooking French food is that it’s got a lot of technique and finesse and a lot of freedom to do new things or experiment with different things.”
Gueco was working at Verjus, in the first arrondissement, but that is temporarily closed for renovation until October. In the meantime, he is cooking at its sister restaurant, fine diner Ellsworth, a few minutes’ walk from the Louvre. The chef loves cooking with good, fresh produce and has recently started experimenting with art as well, expanding his creativity to include sculpture.
TOP FIVE PARIS RESTAURANTS TO VISIT
L’Arpège, or Le Clarence for a special occasion. L’Arpège is a restaurant by legendary French chef Alain Passard that focuses on vegetables out of his market garden. Le Clarence is helmed by chef Christophe Pele and the grand French food is only rivalled by the regal interiors. L’Arpège, 84 Rue du Varenne, 7th Arr. Le Clarence, 31 Av Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 8th Arr. https://www.alain-passard.com/en/ https://le-clarence.paris/en/restaurant/
Le Bistrot Paul Bert for classic French bistro fare. 18 Rue Bert, 11th Arr. https://bistrotpaulbert.fr/en/home/
Clamato for casual seafood. 80 Rue de Charonne, 11th Arr. https://www.clamato-charonne.fr/en/
Chez Aline for the best baguette sandwiches in Paris. 85 Rue de la Roquette, 11th Arr.
Du Pain et des Idées for the beautiful buttery pastries. Worth the walk and the queue. 34 Rue Yves Toudic, 10th Arr. https://dupainetdesidees.com/
Best new restaurant
Parcelles is a small bistro tucked away in The Marais that is known for its outstanding food and wine list. 13 rue Chapon, 3rd Arr.
Best place for decent coffee
Le Peloton Café is all about good coffee, waffles and bikes. (It is also run by New Zealanders so that all but guarantees quality). 17 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 3rd Arr. https://www.lepelotoncafe.cc/
Best place for a cocktail
Get a €30 negroni at Bar Hemingway at the Paris Ritz – one of the most famous bars in the City of Light – or for the same amount get six negronis at Red House, where the next generation of expat writers (or wannabe writers) hang out. Bar Hemingway, 15 Pl Vendome, 1st Arr. (at the back of the Ritz). Red House, 1 bis Rue de la Forge Royale, 11th Arr. https://www.ritzparis.com/en-GB/bars-and-restaurants/bar-hemingway https://www.facebook.com/RedHouseBarParis/
Best place to pretend you are a local
Le Verre Volé. Grab a baguette, a wheel of camembert and a bottle of wine. And enjoy them all sitting by the Canal St Martin. 67 Rue de Lancry, 11th Arr. https://www.leverrevole.fr/\
Best place off the beaten track
La Vierge does simple home-style cooking and good wine in a neighbourhood tavern. 58 Rue de la Reunion, 20 Arr. https://www.alavierge.com/
Best local dish and where to get it
Duck and Olives at Restaurant Allard, an old-school French bistro in Saint Germain-des-Pres. 41 Rue Saint-Andre des Arts, 6th Arr. https://www.restaurant-allard.fr/en
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LOS ANGELES
Monty Koludrovic, chef
Koludrovic headed up the dining room at Icebergs with his wife Jaci (a pastry chef) in Sydney before deciding on a sea change that was supposed to be Queensland but ended up being Los Angeles.
“The call came in that we have this incredible venue, an old recording studio in Hollywood, we would love for you to come and do it with us,” Koludrovic says. “So my family and I came and had a look in 2019 to see if everyone would be okay with living in LA [they have two kids], and we landed in January 2020.”
The next few months were fraught, to say the least, with the pandemic and then the civil unrest of the George Floyd protests. They didn’t end up opening the restaurant in the recording studio as planned but instead opened another venue with the Australian-owned The Botanical Hospitality Group called Strings of Life in West Hollywood, a café that was more suited to living with Covid-19.
The chef and The Botanical Group did open up Grandmaster Recorders in December 2021, with a restaurant and a rooftop bar complete with memorabilia from the legendary space that hosted the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Kanye West and David Bowie in its previous life.
“The studio space has been converted into a late-night bar, and then you walk through the other side of the building and it’s actually a big factory space where they manufactured guitar pedals and mixing equipment,” Koludrovic explains. “Motley Crew used to host parties there and that is now a restaurant. And the whole thing has been reinforced so that we can have a rooftop bar on top.”
TOP FIVE LOS ANGELES RESTAURANTS TO VISIT
The Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel is an excellent option. Someone is always on the piano belting out tunes and they might have someone singing. The service is great and the staff wear suits and there is so much history in the place. 9641 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills. https://www.dorchestercollection.com/en/los-angeles/the-beverly-hills-hotel/restaurants-bars/the-polo-lounge/
Found Oyster in Hollywood is a small bar that serves excellent local seafood such as oysters, clams and prawns, as well as wedge salad, dips, saltines and anchovies. During the pandemic it benefited from outdoor dining and being allowed to serve people in the car spots in the front of the restaurant. 4880 Fountain Ave, East Hollywood. https://www.foundoyster.com/
Night+Market is a really good Thai restaurant that dials back on the sugar and up on the heat, which is good as there is a pretty sweet palate here. The chef, Kris Yenbamroong, grew up in his family’s Thai restaurant and now he has three of his own in LA and Las Vegas. 9043 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood. http://www.nightmarketsong.com/
Slab Barbeque is another great venue, run by this guy called Burt Bakman who basically started barbecuing in his backyard because he absolutely loved it. It turned into an underground LA barbecue and evolved into a proper restaurant in 2015. Pulled pork, briskets and ribs are highlights. 8136 West 3rd Street, West Hollywood. https://www.slabbarbecue.com/
Guisados on Sunset Boulevard is a really busy taco joint and they have traditional horchata drinks as well. There are actually seven locations throughout LA. They have this one taco where the only ingredient is chillies; roasted chillies with chilli sauce. It is seriously hot. 120 S Linden Drive, Beverly Hills plus six other locations. https://www.guisados.la/
Best new restaurant
Grandmaster Recorders is a 15,000 square foot space with stunning views of the Hollywood Hills and one restaurant and two bars. The food is modern Italian and there are also incredible desserts by Jaci, like chocolate tiramisu and fresh ricotta gelato with black olive caramel. 1518 N Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles. https://grandmasterrecorders.com/
Best place for decent coffee
Our place Strings of Life has the best coffee as it is made by Common Room Roasters, some Melbourne guys based in Long Beach. We also do a great breakfast. 8535 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood. https://stringsoflife.com/
Best place for a cocktail
Cecconi’s in West Hollywood has always been my favourite here. The bar has beautiful Italian marble and old-school service, plus great cocktails, pasta, fried olives and calamari. 8764 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood. https://www.cecconiswesthollywood.com/
Best place off the beaten track
Circle Hook Fish Company is an excellent fish and chips shop down in Newport Beach’s Lido Marina Village. The location is a bit of a bay with an island in the middle of it and a beautiful view. 3432 Via Oporto #104, Newport Beach. https://www.circlehookfishco.com/
Best place to pretend you are a local
The Hollywood Farmers Market happens to be on the back step of Grandmaster Recorders but it is one of the best markets. There is a seafood section, an oyster bar, there is always a jazz band playing, plus there are incredible fruit and vegetables along with dumplings and great sourdough. Corner of Ivar and Selma Avenue, Hollywood. https://seela.org/markets-hollywood/
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TOKYO
Ken Takakura, coffee barista
Takakura was born in Australia and spent the first 16 years of his life in Sydney. His parents moved back to Japan and he returned to this country again for university to study media and communications. That is when he fell in love with coffee and he started “playing with a coffee machine” in between classes.
He went back home to Japan and taught English, but it didn’t satisfy him. “I just had this feeling that I wanted to do something with coffee so I decided to study it as I didn’t know much about it except when I thought it was good,” he tells WISH, laughing.
The coffee lover then headed to Melbourne to study and his instructor informed him that black coffee had quite a history in Japan. “I thought I need to go back to Japan and learn more then,” he says. “I didn’t know the good cafes in Japan, so I got an unlimited rail pass and travelled to all 47 prefectures by train and visited at least one café in each prefecture. That is where someone told me about the Sydney café Single O.”
Skip forward a few more flights from Tokyo to Sydney and back again and Takakura was hired by the team at Single O, who were in the process of opening up their first café in Tokyo. The coffee lover was a perfect fit and he helped set up the cafe and is now part of a team of 20.
TOP FIVE TOKYO RESTAURANTS TO VISIT
Omnipollos is a great craft beer bar where they experiment with fermentation as well as having craft beers on tap from around the world. 9-5 Nihonbashi Kabutocho, Chuo-ku. http://www.omnipollostokyo.com
Bills Ginza. Not many places in Tokyo do breakfast so this may be an Australian café but it has great breakfast options and serves Single O coffee. It also does lunch and dinner. Okura House 12F, 2-6-12 Ginza, Chuo-ku. https://billsjapan.com/jp/%E9%8A%80%E5%BA%A7
Tsujihan specialises in serving just seafood on rice and it is located really close to the fish markets in Tsukiji. They only serve three dishes and it’s just the fish they got from the market that day. On the weekends you may have to queue for two hours, during the week maybe one hour. 3-1-15 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku. https://www.tsujihan-jp.com/
Isehiro Kyobashi is a yakitori restaurant (grilled chicken on skewers). The shop is about 100 years old and is known for its chicken cooked over charcoal with other flavours such as green pepper and shitake mushrooms. There is also this incredible secret sweet sauce they have with the chicken. 1-4-9 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku. https://www.isehiro.co.jp/honten/
Caveman at Hotel K5 is a restaurant that focuses on the seasonality of produce so the menu varies every week. It’s Japanese/western fusion that is absolutely delicious. 3-5 Nihonbashi Kabuto-cho, Chuo-ku. https://www.caveman.tokyo/
Best new restaurant
Kabeat is a café that only focuses on Japanese producers so all the fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood and even alcohol is all locally sourced. Kabuto One 1F, 7-1 Nihonbashi Kabutocho. https://kabeat.jp/
Best place for decent coffee
Single O of course! We have our first flagship café in Hamacho and we have espresso plus batch brew on tap. There is even food like Aussie jaffles (think Vegemite butter, camembert, cheddar, onion jam). 3-16-7 Nihonbashi, Hamacho Chuo. https://singleo.com.au/tokyo-tasting-bar/
Best place for a cocktail
ABNO café and bar inside the very cool and very minimalist DDD Hotel. Takakura recommends the Dark and Stormy, made from dark rum, lemongrass and ginger. 2-chōme-2-1 Nihonbashibakurochō, Chuo-ku. https://dddhotel.jp/abno/
Best place to pretend you are a local
Yanagiya is a specialty Japanese dessert shop known for serving fish-shaped pancakes filled with red bean paste. Sounds a bit wrong but it’s absolutely delicious. 2-11-3 Nihombashiningyocho, Chuo
Best local dish and where to get it
Katsuyoshi is a deep-fried pork cutlet that is delicious and you have it with wasabi, sea salt or soy sauce. The best place to get it is at Nihonbashi Takashimaya, which has a few stores. SC New Building 6F, 2-5-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku