World’s most beautiful restaurants of 2026 chosen by Prix Versailles

The Prix Versailles has unveiled its list of the world’s most beautiful restaurants for 2026. The sixteen designs are “imbued with an array of styles and colors that put each one in perfect harmony with its environment… and its menu,” according to Prix Versailles Secretary General Jérôme Gouadain.

In December, three projects from the list will be given additional titles of a World Title – Prix Versailles, Interior, or Exterior. Stay tuned for further upcoming categories, including airports and emporiums, and review the selection of hotels published last month.

Below, we have published the sixteen projects comprising the World's Most Beautiful Restaurants list 2026. You can compare the projects with those of previous years by following our ongoing coverage of the series here.

Nobu One Za’abeel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates by Rockwell Group

Project excerpt: Rockwell Group’s design capitalised on high ceilings and an architecture of crisscrossing geometries to devise a monumental custom lighting system. Installed throughout the space, it unifies the venue, seamlessly connecting it from the point of entry to the private dining room. Unbeatable views during the daytime serve up an immersive culinary experience. And in the evening, when resident and international DJs set the tone alongside signature cocktails, the social ambiance of the bar galvanises conversations well into the night. Nobu’s fine cuisine is then further elevated by the backdrop of city lights.

Le Fou, Vienna, Austria by Theresa Obermoser

Project excerpt: Unfolding as a sequence of distinct yet interconnected rooms, each with its own décor, the layout emphasises contrasts while maintaining a coherent visual language thanks to the use of tactile materials like silk, mohair velvet, natural stone and patinated metal surfaces. Luxury here is defined by substance and longevity rather than polish. The main lounge, decorated in rust and terracotta tones, forms the emotional core of the project. The golden lounge and its private leopard-print area embrace a more expressive and theatrical language, playing with opulence and a dash of irony. These rooms function as intimate enclaves – spaces that are conducive to conversation, privacy and a sense of escapism.

Monti, Gstaad, Switzerland by Jakob Sprenger and Antonia Crespí

Project excerpt: This new location, from the minds of architect Jakob Sprenger and creative director Antonia Crespí, gives pride of place to fine Italian-inspired cuisine. The restaurant encourages togetherness in an elegant, sociable setting where woven bronze room dividers echo basket-weaving techniques while gently structuring the space. At night, a comfortable climate emanates from the exposed beams, customised woven carpets and banquettes draped in mohair. That intimate ambiance becomes a refined backdrop for sharing wine and plates of meat and fish prepared right at the table.

Akira Back, Hong Kong, China by AB Concept

Project excerpt: The main area, with its rounded lines and sophisticated lighting, features delicate timber posts that disappear into a sculptural ceiling. In addition to the restaurant’s many carefully arranged nooks, an even more intimate private dining room propels guests into the urban vitality of the city. A veritable time capsule, it showcases wall art inspired by the chef’s mother, Young Hee Back. Banking on conviviality, performance and refinement, this spot has become a true gem on the Hong Kong scene.

Hana no Kumo, Hong Kong, China by Hirsch Bedner Associates

Project excerpt: Hana no Kumo honours the spirit of shokunin: a disciplined devotion to craft, seasonality and the quiet dialogue between chef and guest. Soft timber tones, washi paper accents, stone surfaces, a crystal clear, illuminated resin ice cube sculpture at the entrance, and unique furnishings combine to form an ode to the senses. Delicate petal motifs and dynamic white-to-pink lighting call to mind sakura in bloom, bringing the memory of Kyoto’s cherry blossom season into the sky above Central. The end result is a cosy cocoon for the informed gourmet.

Monsieur Dior by Anne-Sophie Pic, Beijing, China by Christian de Portzamparc

Project excerpt: In this emblematic setting, each dish concocted by the chef is a poetic retelling of the legacy of the House. Black and white photographs reveal iconic silhouettes, while the couturier’s kindly gaze, looking out from a reproduction of a René Bouché painting, highlights his beloved art of hospitality. Similarly, three pieces commissioned from Chinese artist Hong Hao recall the effervescence of Beijing and the power of red, “the colour of life” according to Christian Dior.

Peridot, Hong Kong, China by Studio Paolo Ferrari

Project excerpt: Following Studio Paolo Ferrari’s philosophy of “Natural Futurism”, this lounge resembles a deconstructed disco ball, with over 20,000 hand-crafted lights endowing the space with an expansive feel. The venue, with its signature green colour, is resplendent with softly glowing, mirror-chrome capped, frosted cylinders. The bar itself is an Impressionist kaleidoscope. Vegan (plant-based) dishes go hand in hand with an extraordinary, seasonal cocktail menu that invites guests to taste terroir-inspired regions across the globe.

Escā Playa, Ras El Hekma, Egypt by Mohamed Badie

Project excerpt: At first glance, this structure, suggestive of ancient caves, seems to have been shaped by the wind, the sun and the tides. Instead though, its contemporary architecture defies the imagination, rising from the sand like a living organism: fluid, porous and sculpted by elemental forces. Here, the boundaries are blurred between enclosure and openness, interior and exterior, with shade and light moving through a spatial sequence that simultaneously feels primitive, refined and strangely familiar. As guests explore the space, they experience changes in scale, temperature and contrast, while discovering views framed in a hundred different ways.

Finlandia Bistro, Helsinki, Finland by Fyra

Project excerpt: The work was guided by a profound respect for the master’s vision. Existing Aalto-designed furniture was preserved, complemented by new bespoke furniture, and each space was imbued with its own identity, avoiding any pastiche. The muted atmosphere of the Finlandia Bistro stems from a dynamic contrast between preserved original features and more modern layers. Starting with the original vision for Finlandia Hall, Fyra brought timeless elegance to the structure’s new functions.

Carbone, London, United Kingdom by Ken Fulk

Project excerpt: The design, led by Ken Fulk, features signature decorative elements such as velvet banquettes, mosaics and lacquered woodwork that serve as a backdrop for a collection of contemporary creations by artists ranging from René Ricard (1946-2014) to Lola Montes and Ai Weiwei. The grand staircase, adorned with a hand-painted mural that narrates a mythic “night at Carbone”, guides guests to the lower level and its bar, lounge and main dining room. Conceived as an opulent, vault-like space hidden within the restaurant, a private dining room offers a final exclusive setting, akin to a theatrical experience.

Rosso, Hinganigada, India by Humming Tree

Project excerpt: In a radiant setting with views of the grapevines, the restaurant focuses on elegance, including a tasting of the flavours of Southern Italy. In fact, its design serves up an air of refinement, in a cultural encounter between India and the Mediterranean. Surrounded by furniture in warm hues, the bar contrasts the coolness of green marble with the voluptuousness of Solomonic columns made of polished wood, surreptitiously adjusting the conventions of the Italian Baroque. The result is an interior décor that is clearly aligned with the cuisine on offer, the local tone and the avant-garde spirit that dominates the entire place.

Marlow, Monaco, Monaco by Hugo Toro

Project excerpt: Inside, the artist and architect Hugo Toro immerses us in British elegance through a fictional character, in a subtle reminder of the presence of Brits on holiday on the Riviera beginning in the mid-18th century. This unexpected historical depth delivers a warm and sophisticated – almost eccentric – setting, as evidenced by the spaces around the sculptural central bar, each one its own little cabinet of curiosities. It was staged to blend a club-like atmosphere with contemporary influences, featuring custom-made furniture in which different eras intersect. These exchanges are also expressed in the restaurant’s cuisine, where British classics reinvent a whole new lifestyle.

Lucia, Los Angeles, United States by Preen, Inc

Project excerpt: Designed by Preen, Inc., the architecture is inspired: textiles and wall coverings are lush in tropicals; motifs and colours come in greens, corals and bold patterns; and sculptural moments appear in shell and palm form. Music, which is everywhere in the Caribbean, is overlaid with the culinary experience, as in the DJ framed by the smoked glass of the kitchen window, spinning a mix of rap, hiphop and traditional music by Black artists. This youthful, offbeat concept celebrates the fusion of Caribbean cool with mid-century glamour.

Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn, Beverly Hills, United States by Peter Marino

Project excerpt: Guests are first greeted by a photo of the Château de La Colle Noire, a place synonymous with tranquillity, before discovering interiors enlivened by vivid, joyous colours inspired by the gardens that were so dear to Christian Dior. A green wall and a monumental painting entitled Gardens of Courances (by Nicole Witten- berg, 2025) further reinforce the connection to nature. The bar, crafted out of ebony and onyx, and overlooked by a ceiling of sculpted rose petals in shades of white, is the ideal place to enjoy one of Monsieur Dior’s signature cocktails. Both refined and generous, Dominique Crenn’s cuisine is a blend of simplicity and elegance.

Mottai, Coral Gables, United States by Saladino Design Studios

Project excerpt: The location’s architecture, arranged around an open sushi bar beneath a delicate canopy in the middle of the room, echoes traditional Japanese spatial philosophies that emphasise discipline and minimalism. Here, the art of entertaining is an exercise in skill, in which the kitchen crew’s dance transforms the culinary experience into an interactive ritual. Custom furniture and architectural elements featuring curved forms and tactile materials encourage comfort and connection. Eschewing all convention, Mottai delivers a fluid, novel and resolutely contemporary interpretation of the fusion of Japanese and French aesthetic sensibilities.

Amura by Ángel León, Cape Town, South Africa by Tristan du Plessis

Project excerpt: Designed by interior architect Tristan du Plessis, the venue was inspired by the mysterious beauty and astonishing biodiversity of Cape Town’s coastline, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. Ángel León is known worldwide as the “chef of the sea”. Amura, which is Spanish for the bow of a boat, invites guests to embark on a culinary, almost documentary, voyage between two oceans. It is an immersive marine dining experience, the fruit of a dialogue between two coasts. Hailing from Cádiz, Spain, Chef Ángel celebrates the flavours of Cape Town with a Mediterranean twist in a curated tasting menu that guides guests through oceanic ecosystems.