Restaurants Of The Week

Never mind who's in the dining room, what's on the plate? Andy Lynes chooses 10 of the best, worldwide

It's all very well being snapped crossing the threshhold of the latest restaurant but what's the grub like inside? Discerning jet-setters are just as picky about what's on their plate as getting the best table. That's why these 10 restaurants are must-visits for any celebrity claiming to have a gourmet palate.

Chef Yannick Alléno brings youthful energy to the hotel dining room at Le Meurice (00 33 1 44 58 10 10) in Paris. Feel like a million Euros as waiters build a millefeuille at your table. Isabelle Adjani has had her tastebuds tickled here.

Perched on a hillside in France, ultramodern Michel Bras (00 33 5 65 51 18 20) serves a divine gargouillou - a refined ragu of young vegetables flavoured with ham.

The elegant white-on-white dining room at St John (020-7251 0848) in London is mirrored by an iconic dish of roast marrow bones, parsley salad and toast. Chef Fergus Henderson designed both.

Alain Ducasse is the greatest chef of his generation and Le Louis XV (00 377 98 06 88 64) in Monaco is his hymn to the Mediterranean. Turbot cooked with Arbois wine, grapes and figs, mushrooms and onions is typical of the simple yet refined cooking.

David Kinch's outstanding culinary knowledge makes his marathon tasting menus at Manresa (001 408 354 4330), in California, an education. The delicate Japanese fluke with scallion, sesame and geoduck is very impressive.

Take "The Tour" at America's most experimental restaurant, Alinea (001 312 867 0110) in Chicago. Brace yourself for 28 courses of the likes of "bacon, butterscotch, apple, thyme" served on stands, frames and tubes.

David Hawksworth trained with notables including Raymond Blanc before returning to his native Vancouver to open West (001 604 738 8938). Wagyu beef with Cascadia porcini and broken red wine jus is one of the best plates of animal protein you'll ever eat.

Inventive dishes such as lobster broth with parmesan custard and artichoke have drawn celebrities including Ben Stiller and won chef Mark Best at Sydney's Marque (00 61 2 9332 2225; www.marquerestaurant.com.au) three hats from Sydney's Good Food Guide - its highest rating.

Despite being in the same family for four generations, Arzak (00 34 943 278 465; www.arzak.es) in the Spanish resort of San Sebastian is at gastronomy's cutting edge. (Woody Allen ate here.)

Fulvio Pierangelini is fabled for his modernised Italian cuisine at his restaurant Gambero Rosso (00 39 0 565 701021), in San Vincenzo, Italy.

Andy Lynes is UK manager of the gastro-website eGullet.org