With 15 fine dining establishments in the country awarded the distinction of three Michelin-stars, you don’t have to venture far to find the best restaurants in Spain. From the vibrant capital Madrid, where high-end dining mixes seamlessly with rustic bistros and hipster markets, to Barcelona where cutting-edge dishes, innovation and flavor pairings converge, and that’s just for starters. Here are some of the top venues to visit on your next trip to Spain, whether you are tempted by the pinnacle of seafood platters, Iberian traditional flavours or a vegetarian bounty.

To experience the best of Spanish dining, join us on a luxury Spain tour.

1. Quirat, Barcelona

A new Michelin star hero in 2024, Quirat is a contemporary Catalan restaurant in a light-filled, neutral-styled dining room. Here, chef Víctor Torres (who had already had a hit with Les Magnòlies in Arbúcies) sculpts delicate, arty bites such as creamed rice with sea anemones or tenderloin with a roasted red pepper reduction. Two multi-course tasting menus are named 18K and 24K, in reference to the jewelers’ measurement of carats. You’ll find this high-end dining establishment in the InterContinental Hotel, in the locals’ favourite Poble-Sec neighbourhood.

Image credit: @quiratrestaurant on Instagram

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2. Atrio, Madrid

When a restaurant has been awarded three Michelin stars, you know it is something special. Atrio’s food and wine menu “harmonizes avant-garde cuisine with the greatest respect for tradition and Extremaduran products.” It deserves its accolade as  one of the best restaurants in Spain and one of Madrid’s most famous eateries. Housed in a luxury hotel , if you are lucky enough to get a reservation at this ‘temple of gastronomy,’ turn it into a cozy weekend away with a stay in the well-appointed guest rooms. Atrio also has a spectacular wine cellar, featuring numerous historic vintages. Over 40,000 bottles from 20 different countries, including 5 vintages from the 1891.

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3. Suto, Barcelona 

It’s not all about jamon and queso in Barcelona; some of the best fine dining in Spain, and in this city in particular, is to be found in its international restaurants. One of two new one-starred restaurants to join the guide in 2024 (along with Quirat), Suto is a bijou Japanese spot, where chef Yoshikazu Suto slices up an omakase menu to a small group in a setting that feels more like a Japanese home than a restaurant. The handful of seats up at the polished pine bar are most sought-after, where you can hear the chef’s stories and creative reasons behind each dish as they’re presented. Expect dishes such as a delicate mackerel escabeche with shimchi spices.

Image credit: @suto_barcelona on Instagram

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4. Akelarre, San Sebastian

One of San Sebastian’s three 3-Michelin starred restaurants, Akelarre has thrived under. the helm of Pedro Subijana. This famous Northen Spain eatery is tucked into the hillside on San Sebastián’s Mount Igeldo, the dining room overlooking the Bay of Biscay, with a breathtaking view of the Ocean. Offering a choice of set menus, on which you can also swap out certain dishes to customize your dining experience, each dish a work of art, both in presentation and flavor.

No flash in the pan, Akelarre was established in 1970, and has held 3 Michelin stars since 2007, after 25 years with two Michelin stars. Since 2017 it also has rooms, a spa and a new bar and restaurant with large terraces, creating a flawless combination of high-end dining in Spain and luxury overnight accommodation.

Image credit: @restaurantalekarre on Instagram

5. Disfrutar, Barcelona

A whimsical number in the Eixample neighbourhood of Barcelona, Disfrutar got the biggest cheer in the room when it was announced as a three-star winner at the 2024 Michelin Gala. Run by three chefs ‒ Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas ‒ all formerly of the legendary elBulli, it has long menus (25 courses on one option) and a “surprise and delight” ethos that diners love. Head here for some of the best fine dining in Spain: think beetroot meringues, molecular olives and vegetable sashimi.

Photo credit: @disfrutarbcn on Instagram

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6. L’Antic Molí, Uldecona

A real hidden gem, L’Antic Moli is a favorite of the locals for special family occasions and communions. A purveyor of the slow food movement, Chef and restaurant architect Vincent Guimerà describes his style as ‘country kitchen’, but we call it Spanish gastronomy at its finest. His innovative dishes focus on organic products, home produced ingredients and strong links with the local “Terres de l”Ebre” area. This guarantees the finest produce, whilst reducing emissions and farmers costs. As well as its Michelin-star status, the restaurant has numerous accolades for sustainability and offers a 100% vegetarian menu for those who want just a plant based culinary experience. Enjoy for yourself on our Spain & Portugal in Style tour.

Image credit: @lanticmoli on Instagram

Read more: Meet Michelin-star chef Vicent Guimerà of Spain’s L’Antic Molí restaurant

7. Abantal, Seville

Contemporary Andalusian cuisine at its finest, Abantal’s passionately crafted ‘avant-garde’ plates are worth every cent. Head chef Julio Fernández treats traditional Spanish dishes and flavors to a more cutting-edge approach, without losing an ounce of authenticity. Large, well placed tables provide a relaxing ambiance, and an 12-course tasting menu leaves you feeling satisfied and impressed. Depending on the season, expect sophisticated dishes featuring Sea Bass, lobster, red tuna broth, spring chicken and Iberian ham sauce. For the ultimate unforgettable dining experience at one of the best restaurants in Spain, you can actually book a table in the kitchen.

Image credit: @abantalrestaurante on Instagram

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8. Mina, Bilbao

Championing seasonal produce from local suppliers, this one Michelin-star restaurant sets the standard for Spanish cuisine in Bilbao. Located in a discreet building, opposite the busy Ribera market, Mina owes its name to a former mine entrance that once existed beneath. From the bar you can watch the chefs at work in the open kitchen, with head chef Álvaro Garrido presiding over what has been described as ‘life’s favors.’ With only 25 covers per service, a reservation at Mina is quite the coup. The restaurant’s focus on seasonality the menu changes daily, seafood places a key role with a balance of flavors from the land and from far away.

Image credit: @minarestaurant on Instagram

9. Cocina Hermanos Torres, Barcelona

This Barcelona hangout joined the ranks of three-Michelin-star venues in 2023, thanks to its theatrical cooking stations, standing unshielded in the middle of the dining room. This means diners can unobtrusively watch the maestros at work, frothing and saucing some of the most dazzling dishes in Barcelona. Chefs and brothers Sergio and Javier have dreamt up a high-ceilinged, glossy black-and-cream space with cloud-form light fixtures and shimmering gold wall panels. There are plenty of edible flowers, smoky dry ice dishes and unique ceramics to photograph: Iberian suckling pig with apricot and tamarind is a standout dish, alongside gazpacho bonbons and baby eels with pil pil sauce.

Image credit: @hermanostorres on Instagram 

10. Aleia, Barcelona

A 2023 addition to the guide, one-star Aleia is notable for its architectural pedigree as well as its food and wine ‒ it’s located in Lluís Domènech i Montaner’s Modernist building, Casa Fuster (now a hotel). With just one tasting menu at lunch and dinner, decision making is taken out of your hands (though you can choose how indulgent you want to be with a shorter or longer wine pairing). Chef Rafa de Bedoya champions European-Asian fusion, so expect mash-ups such as brioche with cuttlefish and hollandaise, or Iberian pork consommé.

Photo credit: @aleiarestaurant on Instagram

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 11. Estimar, Madrid

Serving up the essence of the sea and praised for its interior design, Estimar is a must visit for all seafood lovers when in the Spanish capital. Only the freshest of catches make it to the table in this sophisticated, intimate eatery. Spanish gastronomy is brilliantly showcased through crayfish carpaccio, sea urchin, pan fried razor clams and red prawn tartare with caviar, leaving you feeling you have the ‘sea in your mouth.’ Fresh produce is laid out in the kitchen while Head chef Rafa Zarfra and his team get to work.

Image credit: @estimarzafra on Instagram

12. COME by Paco Méndez, Barcelona

Opened in 2022, this Barcelona Mexican is a prime example of great fine dining in Spain. Mexican chef Paco Méndez and his pastry-chef wife, Emma, have created a concept that’s both authentic and modern ‒ hot pink walls, woven rope lanterns, tiled cacti and decorative skulls mean this is no stuffy ice-white Michelin venue. The food is a modern, high-end spin on typical Mexican dishes and drinks: think wagyu tostadas, avocado with black garlic mole, and a horchata-inspired rice pudding. Méndez started out as an intern at the world-famous elBulli, and it’s thrilling to see how far he’s come.

Image credit: @comerestaurant on Instagram

To enjoy fine dining in Spain, along with magnificent hotels and exclusive experiences, take a look at Spain & Portugal In Style, from our collection of luxury small group journeys.

There are almost as many ways to eat in Italy as there are to be a person. The twenty regions each foster their own unique flavours and techniques, and within those there are untold variations. Michelin star restaurants can be wildly creative, or classic, old-school affairs. Here’s our guide to the gamut of Italian fine dining, featuring some of the most famous restaurants in Italy, and some of the lesser known ones, too. 

Lido 84, Lake Garda

The lakeside dinner of your dreams is in lush little Gardone Riviera, among the cypress trees, oleanders and bougainvillea. This is a joyous, relaxed place to soak in the lake’s majesty, with chefs regularly bustling in and out of the jewel-like turquoise dining room to present dishes made using local sardines, raw mountain milk, olive oil, lemons and Wisteria flowers. 

 

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Accursio, Modica

Modica is one of three Baroque towns in southern Sicily – it’s dazzling and monumental, and somewhat mind-blowingly nestled in a valley 25 minutes from the sea. Accursio’s tasting menu is a vivid introduction to the wildly varied cuisine of Sicilia, taking you from the coast to the mainland, the east to the west. 

Piazza Duomo, Alba

In Piedmont, unassuming Alba lures foodies in their droves with its Barolo wine, gianduja chocolates and highly prized white truffles. And for a seat in meticulous creative genius Enrico Crippa’s rosato pink dining room. This is one of the most awarded Michelin star restaurants in Italy – it’s had three for 13 years. Crippa’s 51-ingredient salad will change the way you think about foliage forever. 

 

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Osteria Francescana, Modena

One of the most famous restaurants in Italy and indeed the world, Massimo Bottura’s colossus is quite used to being called ‘the best’. Bottura’s singular work must be eaten to be believed; his menus are influenced by art and the cultural traditions of his Emilia-Romagna homeland. This is Italian fine dining as exuberant theater. 

Read more about Michelin star chefs around the world. 

Joia, Milan 

Pietro Leemann was one of the first chefs to take Italian fine dining to the green side, and in 1996 his trailblazing Joia became Europe’s first entirely vegetarian venue with a Michelin star. Leemann’s dishes are indulgent, complex and brimming with surprises, and the dining room has all the cool, chic minimalism you’d expect from Milano. 

 

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Glass Hostaria, Rome

Cristina Bowerman draws on American and Asian influences, never forgetting that Glass is a Roman restaurant, located right in the middle of Trastevere, a cobbled neighborhood across the Tiber. In a super-modern space, in which glass wine cases are embedded in floors, Bowerman reimagines Roman classics – her Amatriciana-stuffed ravioli are yolky, silky, rich magnificence. 

Le Monzu, Capri

Picture a romantic table for two in Capri: white tablecloth, plate of exquisite cuttlefish, next to the window where the sun is setting over the sea and some dramatic rock formations. You are picturing Le Monzu, one of the Michelin star resaurants on our Ultimate Italy journey, and the only restaurant with a Michelin star in Capri (its tagline is “Where an extra star shines over the Med”) . It sparkles. 

What to expect when dining at a Michelin star restaurant. 

 

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La Caravella dal 1959, Amalfi

As much a part of Amalfi as the lemons, La Caravella received its first star in 1969 at the helm of Antonio Dipino’s parents. It was later lost, but Chef Antonio won it back in the nineties with his imaginative reinterpretations of local dishes. Beneath spectacular frescoed ceilings, enjoy a Very Amalfi degustazione, ending with “the sun in a dish” – a legendary lemon souffle.

Casa Mazzucchelli, Sasso Marconi

A new star for 2024, Casa Mazzucchelli is just south of abundant Bologna, the city known for its ragus and brodos rather than its Italian fine dining. Brother Massimo takes the warm oak and bronze dining room and sister Aurora leads the kitchen, which is deeply devoted to bread. Look for Aurora’s leavening prowess in sourdough ravioli stuffed with chickpeas, lard and black cabbage, or in braised eel with corn focaccia.

 

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Duomo, Ragusa

Michelin awards two stars to Chef Ciccio Sultano for what they describe as “an intimate portrait of Sicily”. Enjoy a five- or eight-course showcase of the island’s finest almonds, sea urchins, lasagna and cassata in an old apartment, opposite the dramatic Duomo di San Giorgio, which sits with its neoclassical dome and Corinthian columns, like a giant honey-coloured wedding cake. 

Enoteca Pinchiorri, Florence

In a former Renaissance palazzo, with a soundtrack of live piano, this is opulent, dreamy Florence in a nutshell, with three Michelin stars. It’s the sort of restaurant in which the sommelier will find you a glass of wine that pairs with your very soul, and the service is so immaculate the staff seem to float around you. The menu is a catalogue of wonders. 

 

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Enrico Bartolini al Mudec, Milan

Chef Enrico Bartolini has been awarded more Michelin stars for restaurants in Italy than anyone else, and this one is his flagship. Find the exquisite dining room (all soft leather, taupe and gentle lines), on the third floor of Milan’s Museo delle Culture (Mudec). The ‘contemporary classic’ menu is rooted in Milan, but with influences and ingredients from all over Italy. 

Oasis – Sapori Antichi

 

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In the Fischetti family, the women have run the kitchen for 35 years now and the ricotta ravioli with walnut and seared garlic has been there throughout. Today, it’s Michelina and her granddaughter Serena collaborating on dishes that are open to the world, but faithful to local tradition. The restaurant also has a Michelin green star for its connection to the region – the Fischettis use mostly small-scale producers and make olive oil on their own organic farm.

Zia, Rome

Michelin describes Antonio Ziantoni as “a young chef of undoubted talent”. He has a lot of interesting things to say, and he does so through red shrimp with rhubarb and basil, and through tortelli stuffed with pork, plums, Parmesan and bitters, and through rice pudding with coffee and black cardamom. If you want to surprise and delight your taste buds, book a table at Zia. 

How many Michelin star restaurants are there in Italy?

In 2024, there were 395 Michelin star restaurants in Italy. 

Which city in Italy has the most Michelin stars?

In 2024, Rome and Milan topped the leaderboard, with 21 stars apiece. 

Read more: The essential guide to Italy for foodies. 

The sound of silver cutlery chiming against porcelain plates. The satisfying ‘clink’ of glasses, each holding a wine expertly tailored to each course. And, last but not least, the tingle of sugar on the tongue during the first bite of dessert: the feelings a fine meal evokes are second to none. But can you guess the country with the most Michelin stars?

It is the country that devised the entire Michelin concept: France. The first Michelin Guide was published in 1900 as an aid for French leisure drivers on long journeys – and as a way to get them to wear their wheels out faster, so they’d require more Michelin products.

The idea was a hit, soon spreading beyond France; in 1910, a guide featuring most of Western Europe was published. 124 years later, the series is still going strong, with international editions and chefs around the world prizing Michelin stars as the highlights of their career. 

France has typically topped the list since the guides were created, and in March 2023 Michelin released its celebrated guide to French restaurants – a detailed homage to the country who has the most Michelin stars in the world. 

Discover more of France’s finest on our Ultimate Southern France itinerary 

France’s finest food

France currently has 630 Michelin star restaurants, and the list from last March awarded many existing establishments their second or third star – plus, it conferred around 40 ambitious restaurants their very first.

Spectacularly situated at the end of a peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic is the aptly-named La Marine, which was awarded its third hard-won Michelin star this year. Chef Alexandre Couillon and his catering expert wife Céline work to create nature-inspired dishes within the rustic confines of an old fishing cottage. Each day, Alexandre wakes up early to buy fish directly from the local market. Sometimes, he can be found foraging in the local marshes for ingredients – the tasting menu changes whimsically to reflect the finest in-season local produce. 

A new two-star for 2023 is L’Amaryllis. Tucked away in a gorgeous Provençal hill village, the tables are within earshot of a tranquil mill stream. The cottage garden provides the earthly ingredients needed in the kitchen, but chef Cédric Burtin likes to keep everything else on the menu under wraps: prepare to see courses labeled simply as ‘River’, ‘Hive’, and ‘Fruit’.

Close to Calais is another culinary gem: the Château de Beaulieu, which also earned its second star this year. Sustainable cooking is integral to its philosophy, as over 30 local producers are used to supply everything from shallots to saffron. 

Rising culinary stars

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Paris is home to its fair share of new Michelin-listed restaurants – it boasts six of the mouthwatering Michelin newcomers in 2023. The food scene in Paris is as diverse as its people, with restaurants ranging from Franco-Japanese to modern Mediterranean.

In 2023, brand-new Maison Ruggieri impressed the Michelin critics with its subtle presentation and seemingly limitless choice: diners can request a particular dish or ingredient when they make their reservation.

Young chef Omar Dhiab, whose eponymous establishment is a stone’s throw from the Louvre, showcases France’s most iconic dishes – think grain-fed duck, toasted brioche and strong coffee – with a modern twist, while Ōrtensia on the banks of the Seine mixes French influences with Japanese presentation; you’ll almost certainly fall for the Gallic sea bream marinated in sake. 

Although plant-based eaters can find it tricky to enjoy France’s meat-and-fish heavy cuisine, newly one-starred Astrance makes it easy: crispy onion tartlets, zingy Thai curries and fruity sweet courses prove hard to resist.   

Dress to impress: here’s how to get ready for a Michelin-star restaurant

In second place: Japan

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While France is the country with the most Michelin stars, Paris is not the city with the most Michelin stars: with a total of 263 listed restaurants, that title goes to Tokyo, Japan. Japanese traditional cuisine (kaiseki) has always placed a strong emphasis on seasonality and immaculate presentation, and Japanese chefs strive to incorporate ancient styles onto modern plates.

In Tokyo, followers of the Michelin star will find everything from two-starred tempura (Japanese deep fried vegetables) to floreal Italian desserts influenced by Japanese Buddhist vegetarian principles. Newcomers include natural (straw and wood-fired) cooking at L’Eterre and the sumptuous sushi bar Hiroo Ishizaka.

Plus, there are now three ramen restaurants with a Michelin star in Tokyo, so those who crave a more discrete and distinctly Japanese dining experience can eat a Michelin meal in close company with hungry Tokyo-dwellers.

Discover more of Asia’s delectable dishes with India’s Michelin-star chefs

Old rival: Italy 

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As the country with the third-most Michelin stars in the world, European neighbors Italy are hot on France’s heels with 385 starred restaurants. Italian cuisine is beloved the world over, with rich sauces, wafer-thin egg pastas and an unfailing dedication to putting love and Italian passion into every dish. Take an al fresco seat in Rome’s three-star La Pergola, and you’ll see why Italy does food like no other: classics like punchy cacio e pepe and Milanese saffron risotto take on a new dimension when your table overlooks such a romantic vista of Rome’s seven hills. For a truly unforgettable experience, consider an Italy luxury tour that includes incredible dining options.

Eat around Europe: explore our guide to the best Michelin-star restaurants in Edinburgh