What is the best restaurant you’ve ever eaten at?

[PosyPrettyToes]

Just ate some delicious pho for dinner and it reminded me of a tiny place a few streets away from my childhood home. (Rural, EU foreign country) There was a little Vietnamese family run restaurant and it was the most INCREDIBLE place. They didn’t speak anything but Vietnamese, and while my dad spoke a little, it wasn’t very good and most of the diners spoke none at all. There was no menu either, they had a card with vegetables on you could point at if you were a vegetarian, you’d sit and delicious food would just start appearing. It was always packed, and they never turned people away - if there were spare seats on your table you’d get budge up gestures and be joined by whoever just came in. I loved that place! We used to eat there every week as a family.

From what my dad understood, the couple who ran the restaurant moved over with their adult daughter who was some kind of wealthy banker, and they were supposed to be retired but they got bored so they started the restaurant. We later understood all the waiting staff were their grandkids and all spoke the local language perfectly well but the grandparents thought it was fun to bamboozle the locals

Midsummer House, Cambridge.

Asador Extebarri in Axpe, northern Spain. Everything cooked on wood grills.
Chuen Cheng Ku - best dim sum, with traditional trolley service, in London's Chinatown. Now closed.😢
Midsummer House, Cambridge. Amazing food but eye-wateringly expensive these days.

A little taverna tucked away on a square in Murano. All the locals go for their lunch and it's only open at lunchtime, not evenings. But the food is fantastic, simple basic Italian food, lots of fresh fish. And it's dirt cheap by Venice standards. I always head out there when I'm in Venice.

@Hesperatum snap!

Taku in Tokyo is wonderful.

The Sportsman just outside Whitstable.

Similar to a poster above, some random place in the harbour in Portree, Skye, where we had a huge pile of langoustines in butter.

A restaurant in the square in Asolo, Italy, about 15 years ago, no idea of the name, where I had the nicest duck pasta ever.

I would say Sat Bains in Nottingham too

Has some fabulous meals when we lived in Copenhagen too but can't remember the names!! Most meals out there were lovely

Le Gavrouche definitely. Le Manoir comes second.

@jaundicedoutlook i forgot about the Sportsman. Wonderful food, mostly very local indeed.

Le Bristol (Paris)

The Sportsman is mine too. Many memorable meals, and my Off Menu dream restaurant dishes are almost all ones I’ve eaten there. Their pork crackling, oysters, slip sole, roast potatoes and chocolate mousse are all dear to my heart. Back there in two weeks for the first time since Covid and I cannot wait.

Food For Thought, Neal Street, Covent Garden. Not there any more 😥

@Spottywombat

I have a similar story at Rules in Covent Garden. I was an office junior, dressed in very average clothes and included in a manager's Christmas lunch for some reason!

I had no idea what to choose from the menu. All the staff there were so, so kind and made me feel so welcome.

Went back recently - it's still a fabulous place 💕

That's exactly what Sat Bains has turned his into - an over priced tasting menu restaurant. It's gone really downhill. Style over substance for a ridiculous price!

The Boatshed at The Royal Hotel in Stornoway. The best scallops, mussels and monkfish I've ever had tge pleasure to eat! Lovely staff too!

@PosyPrettyToes That sounds wonderful! my all time favourite is also a Vietnamese restaurant, but this time in Vietnam. No idea what it was called, it was tucked down some back street just off the river in Hoi An and was, we were told by the receptionist at our hotel, the best place to try Cau Lau - a noodle dish unique to Hoi An due to the water used to make the noodles. It was the best thing I’ve ever eaten and so friendly and authentic with pretty much zero tourists. I still remember it vividly even though it was 20 years ago!

I have eaten at my share of fancy Michelin starred places. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great but I feel like a laundry list of people listing crazy expensive and very predictable answers isn’t as interesting to read as posts like yours!

I've eaten in lots and lots of different restaurants, and nothing beats a little pub I found in Glossop whilst passing through. They served standard pub grub and also had daily specials which the landlady prepared - I think she was Thai. I ordered a spicy noodle dish and it was absolutely mouth watering. On top of that the friendliness, cosiness, atmosphere, location, it just made the whole thing an absolute 10/10 experience, and I'm a fussy fucker.

I can't even remember the name of the place off the top of my head, luckily I remember how to get to it!

I have eaten at lots of lovely restaurants over the years but current absolute fav is Bentley's in London.

Beautiful oysters, perfect bread and butter (so important) amazing service and perfect dover sole. I also had the loveliest pudding ever and I am not a pudding person.

Def my death row meal.

A place called Jardin in Alcudia. I had a whole black piglet and it was bloody delicious. Had Steal Tartare another time and nearly melted with happiness

Also a spot called Yorkshire Tapas in Harrogate. You can tell by the title what it sells, absolutely mind blowing food

The savoy hotel in st Helier jersey - amazing food served beautifully.

A b&b in Skye about 30 years ago. A couple who had semi retired and it was just us (me and ex) staying there. We had langoustine and scallops fresh from the docks that day. Fabulous.

Other favourites Mother India Cafe in Glasgow and Bleeding Heart in London. Also a Vietnamese place in Dalston. Not sure if it's there anymore

Have eaten at a few v.posh places but generally not my preferred option.

Oh I loved Rules.

On our honeymoon we stayed in a hotel outside Paris for a weekend that had one star from michelin. They were so so nice to us. picked a half bottle of wine for me in a good price range, gave us little extras. they were just so lovely. It probably helped that DH spoke excellent french with a Parisian accent and neither of us pretended to know anything about the food or wine and just asked for their help.

Still those meals aren't as memorable as that steak and chips after the hike.

For an amazing Michelin starred experience it was Restaurant Facil in Berlin.

For a lovely vibe and really unpretentious atmosphere but with great food - Erst in Manchester

A little French restaurant in Edinburgh. It wasn't even expensive at about £20 for lunch. I had some Toulouse sausage, mash and mini veg and even though it was about 5 years ago I still drool thinking of those mashed potatoes.

It wasn't Chez Jules was it?
If so I love that restaurant