Lunches to try around the world

World-class dining experiences are within reach for savvy travelers who know that lunch menus at globally acclaimed restaurants offer exceptional cuisine at a fraction of dinner prices. From Tokyo's innovative French-Japanese fusion to Cape Town's theatrical mountain-top dining, these outstanding lunch destinations prove that Michelin-quality meals don't require emptying your wallet.

Florilège, Tokyo, Japan

Perched in Tokyo's tallest building, Florilège offers what might be the best-value lunch experience on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list. Chef Hiroyasu Kawate's seven-course tasting menu starts at just $82, featuring a unique 'table d'hôte' concept with a single 16-seater communal table.

The low-lit dining room encourages conversation around food, creating an intimate atmosphere where strangers become fellow gastronomes. Kawate's plant-focused menu showcases local Japanese ingredients through the lens of classic French technique, a skill he honed during his time at Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier. The result is distinctly Japanese character married with European finesse, making every course a cross-cultural revelation.

Septime, Paris, France

Ranked No.40 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list, Septime has been charming Parisian diners for over a decade with its creative modern French cooking. Chef Bertrand Grébaut, a former graphic designer turned culinary artist, offers a five-course tasting menu from $99 in his neo-industrial bistro.

Bookings release three weeks in advance and disappear quickly, so planning ahead is essential. The seasonal menu features ingredient-led plates with unexpected global touches, like white asparagus paired with sauce poulette, XO sauce, and preserved Meyer lemon, or banca trout tostada with rose and beetroot. If you're planning multiple European adventures, exploring diverse destinations helps you maximize your travel experiences across continents.

La Colombe, Cape Town, South Africa

Set atop Constantia Nek mountain pass within the Silvermist organic wine estate, La Colombe offers breathtaking valley views alongside its eight-course tasting menu starting at $68 on weekdays. This treehouse restaurant ranked No.55 on The World's Best Restaurants 2025 extended ranking delivers exceptional value for world-class dining.

Chef James Gaag's menu grounds itself in French technique while incorporating Asian flourishes, creating dishes that celebrate local and seasonal South African produce. Elaborate presentation and plenty of tableside theatre transform lunch into a memorable performance, making the journey to this mountain perch well worth the effort.

Celele, Cartagena, Colombia

Chef Jaime Rodríguez made a bold decision in 2021 to democratize his research-led cooking by abandoning tasting menus entirely. Ranked No.48 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list, Celele now offers an a la carte menu with starters from roughly $17, mains from $21, and desserts from $10.

The menu celebrates Colombian Caribbean biodiversity through extensive research with indigenous communities. Rodríguez documents traditional recipes and sources rare ingredients like orejero (tree seeds transformed into sweet paste), jumbalee (wild fruit), Caribbean flowers, yuca leaf, and La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta chocolate. This approach makes world-class dining accessible while preserving culinary heritage that might otherwise disappear.

Masque, Mumbai, India

Mumbai's first restaurant to offer a multi-course tasting menu experience, Masque occupies a converted space in the city's former industrial textile mill area. Chef Varun Totlani's 10-course tasting menu from $74 aims to change global perceptions of Indian cuisine by spotlighting hyper-local ingredients rarely known outside the region.

The seasonally changing menu features produce from local farmers and foraging trips, including buckwheat and cloudberries. Totlani's ever-evolving mission reinvents classic Indian cookery, proving that traditional flavors can be elevated through modern techniques without losing their essential character. For travelers exploring Asia extensively, tracking your culinary adventures becomes easier when you can scan boarding passes and document your journey through multiple countries.

Kol, London, UK

Chef Santiago Lastra embraced an unusual challenge: creating authentic Mexican cuisine in a climate where traditional ingredients don't naturally grow. Ranked No.47 on The World's Best Restaurants 2025 list, Kol offers a five-course tasting menu from $130 that excludes avocado, lime, and cactus.

Through extensive research, Lastra discovered UK alternatives like kohlrabi, sea buckthorn, fermented gooseberries, and seaweed that capture Mexican flavor profiles. He imports only corn, chocolate, and chillies from Mexico, taking a hyper-seasonal British approach to his childhood memories. The famous langoustine taco with smoked chilli, sauerkraut, and sea buckthorn remains permanently available, showcasing how innovation respects tradition.

A Casa do Porco, São Paulo, Brazil

This pork paradise ranked No.15 on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list offers an eight-course tasting menu from $59. Chef Jefferson Rueda rears his own pigs and grows most vegetables on his farm, ensuring complete control over ingredient quality and sustainability.

The Nosso Sangue é Latino (Our Blood is Latino) tasting menu showcases flavors from Rueda's childhood elegantly reimagined. Classics include six-hour slow roasted pork, pork jowl sushi, and pancetta crackling. Much like Mexico's diverse inland regions, Brazil offers culinary experiences that reward travelers who venture beyond coastal tourist zones.

Saint Peter, Sydney, Australia

Chef Josh Niland has rewritten the fish cookery rule book at this concrete-clad spot in Sydney's Paddington suburb. Ranked No.66 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list, Saint Peter offers a three-course tasting menu from $108 that champions nose-to-tail techniques more commonly used for meat.

Niland uses parts of fish other chefs discard, employing dry aging, precise butchery, and creative use of offal. The Chef's Table menu features adventurous dishes like soup with coral trout bone noodles and John Dory liver pâté tart, while the more affordable lunch menu maintains the same innovative spirit at accessible prices.

Rosetta, Mexico City, Mexico

Chef Elena Reygadas, named The World's Best Female Chef 2023, trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York and spent four years at London's Locanda Locatelli before returning home. Ranked No.45 on The World's Best Restaurants 2025 list, Rosetta offers an a la carte menu with starters from roughly $13, mains from $28, and desserts from $14.

Her global influence shines through dishes that source ingredients from small local producers while taking on a worldly feel. Try brioche with escamoles and tarragon béarnaise, smoked quesillo cappellacci with corn broth, or the famous Savoy cabbage tacos with pistachio pipián and romeritos. The on-site bakery specializing in sourdough offers an even more economical way to experience Reygadas' talents.

Track Your Culinary Adventures

As you explore these exceptional lunch destinations across continents, documenting your travels becomes part of the journey. Borderly AI helps frequent flyers track their culinary adventures by scanning boarding passes to automatically record travel miles and history. Whether you're island hopping to find Hawaii's best lunch spots or planning a multi-city Asian food tour, having a comprehensive record of your travels helps you earn points while building a personal map of global cuisine discoveries.

These lunch menus prove that world-class dining experiences don't require dinner reservations or inflated prices. By choosing midday meals at acclaimed restaurants, savvy travelers access the same exceptional ingredients, innovative techniques, and creative presentations that make these establishments globally recognized. The key is planning ahead, booking early, and embracing the adventure of discovering how different cultures interpret lunch as both sustenance and celebration.