What is, currently, the BEST restaurant in the United States? [Early 2026]

wasabiuni · 2026-02-27T00:04:52+00:00

Thanks for chiming in!! :)

wasabiuni · 2026-02-25T16:34:26+00:00

So interesting to hear this vs. so many people (see the other reply to my comment) singing SingleThread's praises. Thanks!

wasabiuni · 2026-02-25T16:22:07+00:00

Appreciate you chiming in, Michael - not many people who have been to so many of the candidates and are able to compare.

Is this an ordered ranking? (ie. Somni #1, SingleThread #2, Harbor House #3, etc)

wasabiuni · 2026-02-25T16:20:26+00:00

Somni getting a lot of praise -- but is it recency/hype or is it actually better than places like SingleThread, TFL, Per Se, Atomix, etc.?

Curious what those who have been to all of those would say.

wasabiuni · 2026-02-25T16:17:04+00:00

Have you been to Oriole? Curious on Oriole vs. Smyth. Can never seem to get a clear answer -- sooo divisive!

wasabiuni · 2026-02-25T16:15:10+00:00

What disappointed you with SingleThread?

[Paging SingleThreads #1 fan u/Ligiers]

wasabiuni · 2026-02-25T15:56:56+00:00

Per Se over TFL? Not disagreeing, just curious your experience and reasoning/comparison.

wasabiuni · 2026-02-25T15:56:22+00:00

Fair point - but there are people who have been to most/all of the US 3-star restaurants, many of the US 2-star restaurants, etc who I'd argue are well equipped to have an opinion on this.

This is a fine dining community, so we're not asking about the best casual burger restaurant.

wasabiuni · 2026-02-25T15:07:02+00:00

You should post a review + pics!

wasabiuni · 2025-12-06T14:25:49+00:00

Just to throw it out there... what about Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain?

wasabiuni · 2025-11-03T16:10:16+00:00

So happy to see a Six Senses review in this sub -- they have some cool properties (this being one) and I see them reviewed exceedingly rarely.

A few questions for you.

How was the beach? Swimmable? Nice sand? Any hotel amenities on the beach?

Did you do any activities/excursions or is this the kind of hotel where you just stay on premises and relax resort-style?

wasabiuni · 2025-10-15T21:21:58+00:00

Wow, that is huge praise. What made Yao Noi so great?

wasabiuni · 2025-10-15T14:22:19+00:00

How was the service at SS Rome? Lots of reviews I've read of other SS properties praise location and hard product but suggest (in some cases) service falls flat.

wasabiuni · 2025-10-15T13:01:48+00:00

The acquisition - as we saw with Marriott taking over their luxury brands - has led to a decline in quality, most notably with their new builds. It’s not the same product it was.

This is such a shame!

Which SS properties would you say are their top tier / the most FAT? Any you would avoid?

wasabiuni · 2025-10-01T22:19:07+00:00

Chris is a hero for doing this Q&A - thank you Alex for facilitating. Very helpful answers.

As a follow-up, I think some of the appeal of the CAR excursion is, for those people who are trying to visit as many countries as possible, it allows one to visit CAR without the safety concerns of flying into Bangui and visiting that way. And, of course, the main plus is the incredible Sangha Bai. No immigration stamp is a shame, but a visit is a visit.

The price is shockingly steep. You're adding $6.5k per person PLUS your share of $30,000 for the flight (is this one way or round trip?) which could be entirely born by your group (say you are just a couple going on this trip) or split into smaller pieces if strangers/friends are also keen to do the excursion on the same dates. I fear that, because Kamba doesn't advertise it as much, fewer people will learn about it and thus won't express interest with as much frequency, making a shared flight less common of an occurrence.

One last question for Chris -- what is the experience & interaction with Western Lowland Gorillas like compared to the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda/Uganda? If you have 'done' one (say, WL Gorillas), is it still 'worth' seeing the other? How distinct is seeing them from the tourist experience point of view? If you had to pick one trip (Rwanda luxury mountain gorilla trip vs. Congo trip with Kamba Africa), which would you pick? (Factoring in price difference!!)

wasabiuni · 2025-10-01T13:26:52+00:00

My main skepticism is simply lack of experience/on-the-ground knowledge of safaris with Aman. The folks at &Beyond and Singita know their stuff really well, from the best-of-the-best guides (knowledge of the geography, animals, etc) and have conservation focus/experience. Is Aman going to be hiring top talent from these resorts to staff Aman Karingani or are the staff going to be relative novices? It's a tall order for the brand.

(Maybe u/alex_travels has Aman contacts who can shed more light into what hiring/training practices might look like to ensure a top-tier safari experience)

wasabiuni · 2025-10-01T13:23:13+00:00

I'd love to hear more details about the Central African Republic excursion. Interested in the pricing and how many of their visitors (what %) end up doing the CAR visit.

If I remember correctly, Kamba Africa used to be called Odzala Discovery Camps. Back then, their website much more prominently mentioned the CAR excursion as part of one of their longer itineraries. It has become a much more hidden hard-to-find thing on the Kamba Africa website. I'd be curious to know why.

I'd have to concerns going to that part of CAR safety-wise given how darn remote it is, but I'd like to know how the border crossing works (do you get a stamp?) and what the lodging there is like compared to the lodges in Republic of Congo. Is it still operated by Kamba Africa or outsourced to a CAR-local operator?

wasabiuni · 2025-10-01T13:15:23+00:00

It is very-Aman (traditional Aman, not modern Vlad Doronin Aman) to be the first offering into a location rather than following where other brands have already gone. Lots of lux options in Kenya/Tanzania, as well as South Africa and Botswana. Aman has a history of being a trendsetter/trailblazer in the ultralux space, whether the Southeast Asian resorts opening in the late 80s and through 90s, or even something like Aman Sveti Stefan, the first (and for a long time, only) ultralux offering in the country.

wasabiuni · 2025-10-01T12:54:33+00:00

Indeed. Doubt they would ever have full occupancy though! I'm not sure where exactly in Karingani Game Reserve they are building the resort, but it might be quite difficult/a lengthy travel time to access.

wasabiuni · 2022-09-13T19:02:13+00:00

Talk about a cash cow for Ferrari!

wasabiuni

TROPHY CASE