Michelin-starred dining is more than just food—it’s an art form, a statement of exclusivity and an unforgettable adventure. Especially for those who crave gastronomy that transcends the ordinary, a meal is an experience, a story and a sensory journey.
Whether it's eating under the sea, inside a volcano, at the edge of the Earth or feasting on live ants, some destinations offer the world’s most bizarre, exclusive, and surreal culinary experiences—where food meets art, science, and pure spectacle.
1. Alchemist (Copenhagen, Denmark) – The Culinary Metaverse of the Future
What to order: Edible human brain replica, reindeer blood ice cream, jellyfish infused with umami
At Alchemist, dinner isn’t just about taste—it’s about philosophy, ethics, and art. Imagine stepping into a massive dome resembling a sci-fi planetarium, where each of your 50 courses is paired with 360-degree visuals, soundscapes, and thought-provoking storytelling. One dish arrives as a hyper-realistic human brain, designed to challenge perceptions of what we consider "acceptable" food. Another serves plastic-looking edible jellyfish, symbolizing ocean pollution. If Christopher Nolan designed a restaurant, this would be it.
2. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet (Shanghai, China) – Michelin Meets The Matrix
What to order: Truffle "mist" soup, edible candle, neon-lit cocktail that changes flavor mid-sip
There’s no address. No signage. You’re blindfolded and taken to a secret location in Shanghai, where you enter a black-box dining room filled with high-tech projection mapping. At Ultraviolet, every course is a cinematic, multisensory experience. When you take a bite of your truffle-infused dish, the room suddenly fills with the sound of rustling leaves and the scent of damp earth, making you feel as if you’re deep in a French forest. A cocktail arrives glowing neon blue, only to shift flavors as you drink it. For true exclusivity, book the "Full Takeover"—where the entire dining room is customized to your preferences, right down to the music, scent, and projected visuals.
3. El Diablo (Lanzarote, Spain) – The Devil’s Own Kitchen
What to order: Volcanic-seared steak, lava-charred octopus, magma-roasted vegetables
This is the closest you’ll get to eating in Mordor without stepping into Middle-earth. At El Diablo, there are no stoves—just an active volcanic vent, where chefs use natural magma heat (600°C) to cook your food. Your steak sizzles over the Earth’s core, while you sip wine cultivated from vines growing in cooled lava fields. As the sun sets over the barren, Mars-like landscape, you realize this is the most primal, elemental dining experience imaginable. Our take would be to start off by booking a helicopter arrival to the volcano, with a champagne toast on the crater’s edge before dinner.
4. KOKS (Ilulissat, Greenland) – Michelin in the Middle of Nowhere
What to order: Musk ox tartare, fermented whale blubber, seabird eggs aged in ice
You don’t just "go" to KOKS—you embark on a full-fledged Arctic survival journey. First, you take a boat through iceberg-studded waters or a dog sled across the tundra. Once you arrive at a tiny, candlelit hut, you’re served food that tells the story of Greenland’s harsh yet beautiful landscape while you sip vintage Dom Pérignon as the sun sets behind glacial peaks. The whale blubber, fermented for months, tastes like a cross between butter and sea spray, while the musk ox tartare is surprisingly delicate. A meal here is an immersion into the wild heart of the Arctic. For the truly adventurous, a helicopter transfer to a private iceberg for a pre-dinner champagne course is available. It’s not just a dinner—it’s a brush with the wild, served in the purest, most untouched environment on Earth.
5. Under (Lindesnes, Norway) – A Secret Underwater Hideout
What to order: Arctic sea snails in fermented kelp butter, deep-sea squid ink foam, scallops harvested from the North Sea
Half-submerged in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, Under looks like a James Bond villain’s lair. The restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows let you watch marine life drift by as you dine on What to order: like razor clams served on glacier ice. The restaurant doubles as a marine research facility, meaning that your seafood is so fresh, it was probably swimming outside just hours before landing on your plate. Here’s an add on luxury tip – you can experience a personalized underwater lighting to create a custom ambiance and watch marine life swim past your private dining window.
6. The Fat Duck (Bray, UK) – Willy Wonka’s Michelin Wonderland
What to order: Snail porridge, gold-dissolving soup, edible bubblegum paper
At The Fat Duck, food is pure magic. A teapot arrives at your table, holding a gold pocket watch—until you pour hot water over it, revealing that it’s a consommé that melts before your eyes. Another dish? Snail porridge—which sounds terrifying but somehow works. Dessert comes as a Willy Wonka-style paper that tastes like bubblegum and dissolves on your tongue. The restaurant feels like stepping into a Lewis Carroll novel, where every bite is a mind-bending illusion. Guests can book for a "Time Capsule" Experience in advance which is a personalized tasting menu based on your life story.
7. Mugaritz (San Sebastián, Spain) – The Restaurant That Messes With Your Mind
What to order: Edible stones, burnt caramel squid ink, ice that evaporates in your mouth
Dining at Mugaritz is like walking into a Salvador Dalí painting. You’re served a plate of stones, only to realize that one of them is actually a potato croquette disguised as a rock. Another course looks like a pile of ashes, but when you taste it, it’s a rich caramelized squid ink reduction. Then there’s a dish made of ice that vaporizes the moment it touches your tongue—leaving behind nothing but a ghost of flavor.
8. Gaggan (Bangkok, Thailand) – A Theatrical Experience at Asia’s Best
What to order: Edible paint splattered on the plate, spicy mango ice cream with caviar, molecular deconstructed samosas
When you sit down at Gaggan Anand, you aren’t handed a menu—just a sheet of emojis. Each course is a surprise, but you might find yourself licking a plate covered in edible "paint" or biting into a samosa only to have it explode into thin air. Dishes such as the Flower Power (featuring goat’s brain mousse) and Brain Freeze, an ice cream are some highlights whose ingredients need to be guessed by the guests. Not to forget, Gaggan has been crowned the No. 1 restaurant in the region on the Asia 50 Best Restaurants list.
9. MINIMAL (Taichung, Taiwan) – The Michelin-Starred Ice Cream Fantasy
What to order: Fermented rice gelato, foie gras ice cream, miso caramel frozen foam
An entire Michelin-starred restaurant dedicated to ice cream? Yes, please. MINIMAL is a seven-course tasting menu that reinvents frozen desserts, blurring the line between savory and sweet. Foie gras gelato arrives with a drizzle of black garlic syrup, while fermented rice sorbet is oddly refreshing. The textures, temperatures, and flavors are unexpected yet genius, making this a dream for dessert lovers.
10. Hisa Franko (Kobarid, Slovenia) – The Alpine Culinary Wildcard
What to order: Roasted lamb brain with elderflower, raw trout with fermented cottage cheese, hay-smoked beetroot tartare
Tucked away in a secluded valley in the Slovenian Alps, Hisa Franko feels like a culinary outpost from another world. Helmed by the self-taught and boundary-breaking Chef Ana Roš, this restaurant draws entirely from its wild surroundings—everything is hyper-local, foraged, or fermented in-house. One moment, you’re biting into a hay-smoked beetroot that tastes like a campfire in spring, and the next, you’re savoring fermented dairy and trout cured in forest herbs. It’s raw, bold, and poetic—like eating inside a beautifully shot indie film, where every dish is a love letter to the land. The fact that it operates out of a restored countryside inn only adds to the feeling that you’ve stumbled upon a secret, magical world of edible storytelling.
