18 November 2025
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They say the best room at a party is always the kitchen — away from the shine and sparkle, but at the heart of where things are really cooking. The same holds true for restaurants. Discerning foodies are trading the formality of traditional dining rooms for something more special: chef’s tables and counters that offer a backstage vista of the culinary action. Here’s a selection of our Inspector-approved establishments worldwide where you can take in the sounds, smells and drama that go into every plate.
1. Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, Paris, France – For Private Dining With a View Backstage
The draw of the chef’s table isn’t limited to witnessing the professional kitchen firsthand: It’s also an exceptionally private way of dining, making it ideal for VIP visits or get-togethers that call for an intimate setting. At Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, guests booked at the table du chef enter the eight-seat space via a private entrance. The only thing separating them from Executive Chef Amaury Bouhours’ bustling workplace is a tinted glass window: You can see the team, but they can’t see you.
By reservation: www.alainducasse-meurice.com
2. Gordon Ramsay au Trianon, Versailles, France – For Insider Access to Chefs and Their Craft
Beyond the privacy and behind-the-scenes view, there’s another appeal to this style of dining: the opportunity to meet the chefs and pick their brains for culinary tips. If you’ve secured one of the six kitchen-facing seats at Gordon Ramsay au Trianon, Executive Chef Gabriele Ravasio will give you the lowdown on the carefully selected ingredients and techniques he uses. Hearing him share stories about the passionate producers he works with will make the food taste even better — and might even inspire your own cooking at home.
By reservation: +33 (0)1 30 84 50 18 or www.waldorfastoriaversailles.fr
3. Lasarte, Barcelona, Spain – For a Culinary World Tour
At the Three-MICHELIN-Starred Lasarte, the Il Milione menu is served in a private room away from other diners — and it is indeed a one-in-a-million kind of experience. The multicourse tasting meal takes guests on a gastronomic journey, with each course paying homage to Marco Polo’s adventures. The menu’s name is the Italian title of The Book of Marvels of the World, a 13th-century travelogue that chronicles Polo’s travels around the globe. In a similar spirit, Chef Paolo Casagrande invites diners to explore the world of flavor combinations.
By reservation: www.restaurantlasarte.com
4. Disfrutar, Barcelona, Spain – For Playful Souls Who Savor Surprise Moments
Every restaurant has its own approach to the tabletop — whether bare, draped with a tablecloth or adorned with flowers and candles. But what happens inside the table is a far more unusual concept. Disfrutar offers the Mesa Viva experience, where guests sit at a custom-designed “living table” with dozens of drawers, compartments and other surprises to explore. Each drawer holds a different culinary delight, and since you never know what awaits with the next reveal, it’s one of the most playful and inventive dining concepts around.
To make a reservation, email recepcio@disfrutarbarcelona.com or call +34 93 348 68 96
5. Gion Sasaki, Kyoto, Japan – For a Surprising and Delightful Kaiseki Tradition
Many people go to a restaurant before or after a theater visit, but at Gion Sasaki, you can enjoy both experiences together. At this Three-MICHELIN-Starred kaiseki restaurant, the counter becomes a theater where the drama unfolds. Like actors, Chef Hiroshi Sasaki and his team of young chefs take center stage, crafting each course in front of their diners. Just as in the best of plays, there are plenty of surprises, with momentum building as the meal progresses. And like a hit performance, it is always fully booked — so be sure to secure your seats in advance.
By reservation: www.gionsasaki.com
6. Humble Chicken, London, UK – For Ringside Seats at Soho’s Hottest Counter
Japanese-born Chef Angelo Sato’s upbeat Soho izakaya earned its first MICHELIN Star in 2024 and a second in 2025. In a remarkably short period, the ambitious young chef has become renowned for his highly creative cooking, in which Japanese classics — from hand-roasted Anjou pigeon to shokupan bread — are given a modern overhaul. Guests are seated ringside around Humble Chicken’s open kitchen, but be aware: With just 13 seats at each of the two nightly sittings, these spots are among the most coveted in town, so be sure to book well in advance.
By reservation: www.humblechickenuk.com
7. SINAE, Osaka, Japan – For a Table at the Heart of the Fire
While everyone appreciates a counter seat or an open view of the chefs at work, there’s nothing quite like dining right at the heart of the action. Guests at SINAE in Osaka can experience this when they book the table that sits directly in the restaurant’s kitchen, providing a peek into a world that usually remains firmly closed to the public. It’s the place to witness Chef Kazuhiko Daito work his magic with simple, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, cooked over an open fire for maximum flavor — and drama.
By reservation: www.sinae.jp
8. Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli, Verona, Italy – For an Intimate Chef’s Table
As befits a restaurant located in the home of Romeo and Juliet, the menus at Verona’s Three-MICHELIN-Starred Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli include Io e Silvia — an imaginative culinary homage to Chef Giancarlo Perbellini’s wife — and the more classic Io e Giorgio, celebrating the restaurant’s former owner, Giorgio Gioco. Planning a romantic dinner per due? We recommend booking the chef’s table, which consists of the Io e Silvia menu followed by four surprise dishes chosen by Perbellini himself.
Book the chef’s table experience on cheftable.plateform.app
9. Loumi, Berlin, Germany – For Front-Row Seats to Culinary Creativity
Self-taught Chef Karl-Louis Kömmler doesn’t do things the conventional way — probably because he never had to, foregoing traditional culinary training for his own genre-bending take on fine dining. In his eight-course tasting menu at One-Starred Loumi, Japanese purism meets classic French techniques in the likes of quail with kampot pepper jus and brioche au croissant. When visiting his suitably minimalist venue in the hip Kreuzberg neighborhood, make sure to ask for the counter seats.
By reservation: www.loumi-dining.com
10. Mono, Hong Kong SAR – For Counter Seats With Latin Flair
Of the only 22 seats at Chef Ricardo Chaneton’s pint-sized Latin American eatery Mono, 10 are at the long stainless-steel kitchen counter. Pull up a stool and watch Chaneton and his team prepare perfectly crispy sweetbread arepas with guasacaca sauce and bisque, and for dessert kumquat confit with saffron sorbet. It’s unbeatable entertainment when you’re dining out alone.
By reservation: www.mono.hk
11. Motoichi, Taipei, Taiwan region – For an Omakase-Style Experience With a Curated Tempura Selection
Arriving in front of the residential building that houses Motoichi — Taipei’s finest destination for light, crispy Japanese tempura served omakase-style — sets the tone for the experience to come. The restaurant is tucked behind a small bamboo-framed garden with a stone walkway leading to its discreet entrance. Inside, each of the two dining rooms features an eight-seat counter, behind which the skilled chefs perfect the art of tempura-making with quiet precision.
By reservation: +886 2 2778 3380
12. Rumour by Rácz Jenő, Budapest, Hungary – For Counter Dining With a Global Twist
In the Hungarian capital, the most sought-after spot for counter dining is Rumour by Rácz Jenő. After working in kitchens across Europe and Asia, Chef Rácz Jenő returned to his home country with a bag full of culinary influences from around the globe. Think eclectic ingredients — Sichuan pepper, garam masala, caviar — brought together with French techniques and Japanese precision. The venue’s 21-seat counter wraps around the large open kitchen, where you can watch the chefs meticulously plating their creations.
By reservation: www.rumour.restaurant/
13. Sorekara, Orlando, US – For Dining That Moves With Every Course
Dinners are usually a stationary affair, but not at Sorekara. At this Two-MICHELIN-Starred establishment in Florida, you move through multiple rooms as the meal progresses, each bathed in an earthy color palette and decked out with natural materials that echo the food on your plate. One of the dining rooms boasts a glass wall offering diners a peek into the lively kitchen. Take a seat and witness the culinary choreography unfold on the other side.
By reservation: www.sorekarafl.com/
14. Meju, New York, US – For Tasting Korean Fermented Foods Aged for a Decade
At the back of a Korean banchan shop in Long Island City lies this hidden eight-seat chef’s counter. Once you step through Meju’s speakeasy-style door and down a narrow hallway, you’re greeted by a spacious dining room with high ceilings and a massive sculptural light fixture above the open kitchen. Guests sit at an L-shaped counter facing the action, as Chef Hooni Kim crafts a Korean menu centered on wild ferments, some of which have been aged for up to a decade.
By reservation: www.mejunyc.com
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