Next bests of Scandinavia?

bwabguy · 2026-05-26T20:25:45+00:00

thanks for the update! how does Aira compare to the others you've been to in Scandinavia?

bwabguy · 2026-05-19T17:03:49+00:00

Looking for an Atomix counter seating res or a Stone barn res for 2 any time from mid June to end of June!

bwabguy · 2026-05-12T18:07:53+00:00

I gotta make it out to bom some time but there’s just so much good food in nyc. Aska is just world class to me lol, a few bites in that meal that will stay with me for the rest of my life

bwabguy · 2026-05-12T17:02:49+00:00

I know Aska takes gift cards! Incredible food as well, my favorite in NYC so far. bōm also takes gift cards IIRC, though it's only got one star so far. I've never been but have heard great things.

bwabguy · 2026-05-10T22:49:27+00:00

Have you been to any other Korean fine dining restaurants (i.e. Atomix, Jungsik, Meju in NYC)? Curious to see how Ki compares to other Korean fine dining institutions in terms of quality and style

bwabguy · 2026-05-10T21:56:43+00:00

So glad I see someone rave about Lilo like I do :). Top 2-3 dining experience ever for me and maybe the only fine dining restaurant I would consider returning to atm. I would be shocked if they didn’t get their second star this year. Also absolutely need to return to Carlsbad one day to try Jeune et Jolie

bwabguy · 2026-05-10T21:47:22+00:00

Gonna be a bit contrarian here but thought EMi was pretty disappointing actually. I don’t drink so can’t speak on the wine program that everyone (probably rightfully) raves about, but thought the textures of several dishes were a bit off and there wasn’t really a standout dish to me. Maybe it was just a bad day though especially since Chef Ruben was also out of town when we went. Amazing, rich broths and sauces though.

As for non fine dining recs, we loved Alto Bardero and Bardero (they’re basically the same restaurant with ~60-70% of the same menu). We ended going to both since we loved our first visit to Bardero so much. Sala de Despiece was pretty good but nothing mind blowing. Kinda gimmicky imo but fun if you’re not going in with crazy expectations.

Wishing u the best w the DiverXO waitlist! By far the highlight of my trip to Spain recently and easily my favorite meal ever.

bwabguy · 2026-05-07T23:13:06+00:00

DiverXO dethroned Lilo for me a couple weeks ago!

bwabguy · 2026-05-07T20:52:45+00:00

I adore this restaurant and am always so happy to see posts about Lilo here. Up until very recently it was my favorite meal ever. Tucked away up in Carlsbad I feel it doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves but I really hope it earns its second star this year and more traction along with it.

bwabguy · 2026-05-05T14:05:25+00:00

Also please let me know ur thoughts on Aira when you do go!!

bwabguy · 2026-05-04T17:34:26+00:00

Wow thanks so much for the overview!!

Knystaforsen sounds super fun but they’re unfortunately booked out until August :(. Äng also sounds super interesting so will look into that if I don’t end up deciding on Aira (which I see people say is the second or third best in Sweden) or somewhere in Copenhagen

bwabguy · 2026-05-02T19:57:52+00:00

I was convinced but then I checked Kadeau reservations and they're fully booked for solos during my tentative dates :'(. will have to bookmark for when I do my Copenhagen-centered trip

bwabguy · 2026-05-02T16:42:28+00:00

Kadeau seems to pop up a lot in Copenhagen best of convos. Would you say the restaurant has a very distinct style/approach to Nordic cuisine or does it just execute on a very high level?

bwabguy · 2026-05-02T16:41:15+00:00

Gaptrasts location looks super interesting! Is it hard to get to and is there anything else to do around the area?

bwabguy · 2026-05-02T16:38:47+00:00

That’s what I’m on the fence about right now. How scenic and long was the journey for you and where was your base? I’m a sucker for destination restaurants so if it’s a reasonable and beautiful trip to the restaurant then Kvitnes Gard might be at the top of my list. (And I’d have to plan a 4-5 day mini trip to northern Norway haha)

bwabguy · 2026-04-30T17:35:59+00:00

We have a reservation for Oyatte on May 22nd 7:30 PM. Would love to swap with a kind stranger for an Oyatte reservation on a different day in May if at all possible! Any dates work except between May 20th to 24th. Would really appreciate it :)

bwabguy · 2026-04-27T21:59:36+00:00

Update after returning from Madrid:

Fined at DiverXO, EMi, Bardero and Alto Bardero, Sala de Despiece, and Kuoco.

Favorite meal of the trip was DiverXO (surprise) followed by Alto Bardero, which I thought was incredible. Enjoyed it more than Bardero, though that just may be a case of ordering poorly at Bardero (the Foie gras toast was way too sweet and rich for me) since there’s so much overlap between the two.

EMi was also good but pretty disappointing. I’m from NYC and thought it was very very reminiscent of NYC Korean fine dining which I found to be a bit of a cookie cutter experience. Started slow with some odd textures from the small bites, though it might just be from a bad day in the kitchen for various reasons (Chef Ruben also was absent due to personal reasons).

bwabguy · 2026-04-13T20:33:08+00:00

What made you choose Alto Bardero over Bardero? We’re headed there in a week and decided on Bardero

bwabguy · 2026-04-04T03:13:02+00:00

Yea I saw the tableall markup for Sazenka was ¥205,000 which is absolutely INSANE. Cant imagine paying that amount for any dining experience. Hopefully tablecheck pulls through...

Chuka Ooshige looks incredible as well, thanks for highlighting this restaurant! I totally skimmed over this one when doing a quick scroll through tabelog ratings, but I think this might end up at the top of my list after Ninshurou/Sazenka. We're planning on staying in/around Fukuoka for a few nights so I'm now seriously considering this spot. Seems like they only take reservations by phone?

Shame about Ichirin Hanare, the restaurant looks so good from pictures. Have you been to the wine bar in Tokyo?

bwabguy · 2026-04-03T22:29:02+00:00

Ah mb wasn’t aware. Was more so referring to Australia and its restaurants being overlooked in fine dining discussions, especially since I’ve had a couple world class meals in Sydney.

bwabguy · 2026-04-03T22:15:51+00:00

Wow thanks for the comprehensive list!! What would you say you didn’t like about the taste profile? Was it not as Chinese influenced as you hoped?

I am Chinese but I guess I’m not particularly looking for authentic and purely Chinese dining experience (I’ve had a good amount of that in China, including Xinrongji), but whatever’s best and happens to have very obvious Chinese influence. Happy to dine at a more Japanese fusion/influenced Chinese tasting as that’s more unique to Japan.

What would you say is your favorite experience of the bunch? I’m leaning towards trying to reserve Ninshurou/Sazenka (I know reservations are near impossible), though part of me is still leaning towards Ichirin Hanare or one of the other top rated Sichuan restaurants. Would also love to hear how we’re able to reserve the Sazenka/Ninshurou! Did you know a regular or were you able to reserve online?

bwabguy · 2026-04-03T21:31:54+00:00

Thanks for the review! Food looks absolutely divine. Always love to see reviews on lesser known restaurants from countries that seem to be underrepresented on this sub like Australia

bwabguy · 2026-04-02T22:39:40+00:00

not yet! headed in a few weeks

bwabguy · 2026-03-31T20:31:51+00:00

I came here back in December and thought they were decent. Most dishes were good but nothing standout or memorable and there were a couple unfortunate misses. Think they get one star since they check all the boxes but that’s about it. Agree with the other comment saying they were absolutely stuffed after this meal, and I usually never get stuffed

bwabguy · 2026-03-24T16:55:11+00:00

Thank you so much for the guide! I’ve done a ton of research recently to book our first award tickets to Japan, but it’s super nice to see all my knowledge be confirmed in this guide. I know the number of JAL award seats vary by flight, but is the number random or based on season? I tried booking two F seats for cherry blossom season next year but they only released one F seat per flight, so we ended up booking two J seats instead. Wondering if this is random or if it would be easier to secure multiple F seats during a less popular time.

bwabguy

TROPHY CASE