So many restaurants have the same clichéd formulas but our top picks will help you reclaim love, one spellbinding meal at a time. They have all the right elements for an unforgettable romantic dinner, including a seductive view, a leisurely atmosphere and terrific food.
Fasano, Uruguay
If you want to get away from it all, this restaurant in Punta del Este is the place to go. It is housed in an old farmhouse, a short drive from the luxurious Hotel Fasano Las Piedras. The gastronomic eatery appears as if it is carved into a rock face and its rugged stone walls, wood flooring and caramel leather banquets give it a simple, rustic feeling. The upper outdoor deck has sweeping views of the 1,000-plus acre estate, all the way to the beachfront that rises in the distance.
Eagle’s Eye, Canada
After taking a 15-minute ride up by gondola, you can experience dining above the clouds at nearly 2,347 metres. You will find a Pacific Northwest palette with honeyed timber, rugged stone and clean lines in this A-frame restaurant in British Columbia. What’s more the floor-to-ceiling windows let the view steal the show and the menu complements the breathtaking scenery. Canada’s most talked about mountaintop dining experience can be found at the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.
The Tides, Barbados
Situated at the water’s edge on Barbados’ platinum west coast in Holetown, this restaurant is the perfect marriage of ambience with the mouth-watering culinary creations of Executive Chef and Co-owner Guy Beasley and his team. Open-air and facing the ocean with trees growing into the roof, you can soak in the dramatic setting while enjoying their specialty seafood dishes with Asian touches.
Breeze, Thailand
The view from Bangkok’s highest open-air Asian restaurant and the 25-metre neon-lit sky-bridge is a sight to behold. You can marvel at the twinkling cityscape and the Chao Phraya River while you dine on Chef Sam Pang’s Asian cuisine, which breathes new life into ancient traditions. Accented by water features and mirrors, the restaurant in Bangkok’s Lebua Hotel, which has received worldwide recognition and numerous awards, occasionally offers wonderful surprises as well.
Ithaa, The Maldives
Savour fine contemporary European cuisine 16 feet below the Indian Ocean at the world's first all-glass undersea restaurant. Ithaa, which means 'mother of pearl' in Dihevi, sits five metres below the surface and offers 180-degree panoramic views of the vibrant coral gardens surrounding it, so the interior is understandably extremely simple. The unforgettable experience at the Conrad Maldives Resort & Spa comes with a six-course set dinner menu.
Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse, Monaco
With the exceptional dishes prepared by some of the world’s greatest chefs in the first hotel restaurant to obtain three Michelin stars, the culinary standards here are unarguably excellent. Since it opened in the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, the eatery, which is ornately decorated in gold, has been combining authenticity and a gastronomic cuisine inspired by the French and Italian Rivieras.
Grotta Palazzese, Italy
This restaurant in a vaulted limestone cavern, which is naturally lit by the aqua marine reflection from the waters, offers a superb view over the blue-green Adriatic. With this unparalled location, the summer cavern in the Hotel Grotta Palazzese in Bari’s Polignano a Mare has been the scene of many a romantic moment since local nobility held banquets there in the 1700s. Delicious seafood dishes can be savoured at the restaurant that juts out 22.5 metres above sea level, making it one of the world's most unique dining experiences.
