Everyone enjoys treating themselves to a restaurant meal from time to time; it’s nice to let someone else do the cooking and washing up, and if you’re craving a particular cuisine, you know it’ll never taste the same when you make it at home. But just how much would you be willing to fork out for a fancy restaurant meal?
Some of the most expensive restaurant meals I’ve had include £60 per head at Native in Covent Garden, London (worth every penny), while the tasting menu at famed Indian restaurant, Moksh in Cardiff Bay (one of my all-time favourite restaurants) will set you back £70 per person with wine pairing. Meanwhile, the Chef’s Table tasting menu at Laguna Restaurant in Bar in Park Plaza Cardiff costs £59 per head for six courses with wine.
Across the world, however, you’ll find restaurants so expensive, they make the ones listed above seem highly affordable. If I ever happen to get lucky and win the lottery, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find me stuffing my face in one of the most expensive restaurants in the world while I stay in an exclusive resort!
SubliMotion, Spain — £1,613 per person
Based within Ibiza’s Hard Rock Hotel, SubliMotion takes the concept of food travel to another level. Michelin star dining meets futuristic technology as a combination of music, visuals, art and hi-tech headsets transport diners to new worlds, transcending reality with each course. Spanish Chef Paco Roncero and his team have eight Michelin stars between them, and the menu centres upon molecular gastronomy.
I can’t find a single negative review of SubliMotion, although for this kind of money, you certainly wouldn’t expect to be disappointed. This hi-tech experience comes with a hefty price tag; at over £1,600 per person for a 15-20 course meal, this has to be one of the most expensive restaurants in the world!
Masa, New York — £442 Per Person
Masa, located in New York City’s Time Warner Center, is named after its founder, Chef Masa Takayama. Ever since a young age, Masa has had a keen interest in fish. He grew up working in his family’s fish market in Japan, delivering sashimi on his bike and prepping fish dishes for weddings after school. When he graduated, he trained at Tokyo’s well-respected Ginza Sushi-ko, before opening his first restaurant in Tokyo and another restaurant in Beverley Hills, followed by Masa in 2004. If you want to get hired in high-quality restaurants similar to this, OysterLink can be a good option.
There’s no set menu, but for only £442 per person, you can spend the best part of two hours feasting on freshly prepared sushi from the kitchen. Think that’s expensive? Drinks are extra! However, tips are not accepted or expected (at that price, I wouldn’t have anything left to tip!)
Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, Paris – £378 per person
Run by legendary Chef Alain Ducasse (who also owns the equally expensive Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London), the two Michelin-starred Restaurant Le Meurice is situated within one of Paris’ finest luxury hotels, Le Meurice. The restaurant oozes affluent Parisian charm and glamour, inspired by the Salon de la Paix at the Château de Versailles. Think antique gold mirrors, grand fireplaces, crystal chandeliers and crisp white tablecloths, not to mention the elaborate fresco ceiling. The minute you set foot in this place, you know it’s one of the most expensive restaurants in the world.
At this level of fine dining, every stage of preparation is carefully considered — from the sourcing of ingredients to the specialist Cutting Boards chefs use to handle delicate produce with precision.
The chef’s group menu starts at £378 per head, while lunch costs £130, without wine or tips – this has to be one of the most expensive restaurants in the world!
Aragawa, Tokyo – £275 per person
Best known for its mouth-watering marbled Kobe waygu beef, charcoal-broiled Sanda Beefsteak and whole smoked salmon, Aragawa was previously named the world’s most expensive restaurant by Forbes.
Tucked away in the basement of an office building in Shinbashi business district, Tokyo, Aragawa offers an intimate dining experience for up to 22 people at a time. Its somewhat subtle location and minimal space reinforce its exclusivity
The set menu will set you back up to £275 per person – excluding drinks!
Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, Maldives — £242 Per Person
Named after the Dhivehi (the official language of the Maldives) word for ‘mother of pearl’, Ithaa restaurant at Conrad Hotel Maldive is the world’s first all-glass undersea restaurant, sitting 10-feet below the surface of the Indian ocean. Munch on modern European cuisine as you watch tropical fish and marine wildlife swimming in their natural habitats.
Considered one of the most beautiful restaurants in the world, you won’t have an easy time getting a reservation. But when you finally do, you can expect to tuck into salubrious seafood dishes like foie gras and truffle dumpling, reef lobster-stuffed calamarata pasta and coconut-crusted légine.
At £240 per person for six courses, Ithaa certainly isn’t cheap, but while your food will be polished off in a matter of hours, you’ll remember the dining experience forever!
Have you ever been lucky enough to dine at one of the most expensive restaurants in the world? Tell me about the most expensive meal you’ve ever had in the comment box below.
Sublimation looks amazing! Omg the lights and the colours look fantastic but that is one hell of a price!
The environment around you changes with each course – it sounds amazing!
Wow looks a stunning place look at all the amazing features it has too just as shame on the price unless I win the loto hmmmm now that would be good.
Yes, finger’s crossed 🙂
Holy cow does anyone have a grand to spend on food?! To be fair the first one and the underwater restaurant are pretty cool but I would need to win the lottery lol x
Same! I love the look of the under-sea dining and also the French restaurant, but they are way above my budget haha.
I have not dined at any of these but would love the technological experience x
I think it would be great fun, although I’d feel a little guilty if I spent so much money on it.
This looks like some wonderful experiences. I have been quite lucky and had some fabulous meals at fabulous restaurants. Everything about it feels decadent and wonderful.
That’s good to hear! I’ve eaten more than my fair share of lovely meals too (and put on several stone because of it!)
I love food but I could never justify paying that much, haha! Very interesting though 🙂
It does seem a little wrong, doesn’t it? I’m not sure I would fork out for the ÂŁ1,600 one, but I’d be tempted with Ithaa in the Maldives and Restaurant Le Meurice.
Wow these places look insane, the underwater restaurant sounds amazing though x
I love the sound of that place the most, too. It would be an unforgettable dining experience!
Oh wow, these are expensive. But they look just stunning and I bet it’s an amazing experience.
I’d especially love to go to the one in the Maldives, under-sea dining sounds so cool!
Wow that one in Paris, OMG it looks stunning! If I had that kind of money to spend on dinner I would feinitely go there it is beautiful. I think I read the first one wrong, I am sure it says over ÂŁ1,600 per person for 15-20 courses?! That is insane
Yeah, that’s right! It’s nuts. It’s a hi-tech dining experience and the appearance of the room changes with each course. It sounds cool, but I don’t think I’d fork out that much for it!
That one in Spain looks amazing!! If I win the lottery, I think I know what I need to do…
Yep – book the flight, and book that table! Haha. Ooh, it would be lovely…
Sounds like you had tons of amazing experiences. The one in Paris is really beautiful.
I thought so too, it would make for a romantic setting for a meal.
If it’s an amazing setting and great food then it would be worth a couple of hundred price tag but would never spend a grand on a dinning experience – that’s crazy!
That did seem like a bit much even for me, with my lavish tastes, haha!
The undersea restaurant looks incredible! I’m not sure I could ever afford to dine at any of these restaurants but I have to say, they look like they are worth the money because they offer such unique, once in a lifetime dining experiences.
I’m the same – if only money was no object!
I would definitely want to do Ithaa Undersea Restaurant in the Maldives, it looks just stunning.
Same! That one really caught my eye.
Oh wow well I can safely say I’ve never dined in any of those. The under the sea one sounds lovely. It’s must be amazing to watch the sealife around you whilst you dine.
That’s my fave too! I hope to experience it at some point during my life.
Wow, these are some seriously expensive meals. I haven’t been lucky enough to eat at any…yet! 🙂
Me neither. I really want to experience under-sea dining in the Maldives, though.
Bloody hell these are expensive!!! I would love to be able to visit Restaurant Le Meurice in Paris one day – the decor is stunning!
That one really appeals to me, too. One day, if I win the lottery! Hehe
Wow that sashimi looks amazing – It would have to be a VERY special occasion to justify those prices though! Really interesting post to see how the other half live.
I think I could be tempted with some of the less expensive options in this round-up, but the ÂŁ1,600 one would be way more than I’d ever dream of spending on food.
Do you ever watch those ‘$5 pizza versus $5000 pizza’ videos from Buzzfeed? I think you’d really enjoy them after reading this! My fella and I eat out a lot but I think you’d have to REALLY appreciate food to try the ÂŁ1000+ placee. I’m also slightly skeptical because some of the best places I’ve eaten at have also been the cheapest – mainly street food when on holiday. I suppose if you want to go for the full experience and you’re a serious foodie, then I can see the appeal.
I love those kinds of videos 🙂 I know what you mean about cheap street food – sometimes it can taste miles better than any of the dishes I’ve eaten in fancy restaurants.
I remember when lived 5 min away from the Olympic stadium in London. There was a restaurant that was the closest private building to the stadium and at the night of the opening ceremony charged celebrities ÂŁ1000 per head.
Wow, that is expensive. London restaurants can be so pricey!