Feast your eyes on some spectacular dining destinations

From eating out below sea level to brunch at the top of a New York high-rise, a meal in these restaurants is a chance to see the world in unexpected ways, says Helen Elfer

My best meals while travelling haven’t always been flashy – they include a picnic of gooey brie, crusty baguette and really good wine on the banks of the Seine and barbecued fish on Christmas Day by the Indian Ocean, without a mince pie in sight. But there is nothing like the giddy sense of occasion the world’s most beautiful restaurants deliver.

In a Himalayan wellness retreat, I was dreading dinner inspired by the latest health fad, but on the terrace that evening a waiter quietly asked if I’d prefer to try the “other” menu. Soon afterwards, an absolute riot of rich, spicy curries arrived along with warm flatbreads, roasted vegetables, creamy yoghurt and – I couldn’t believe my luck – a cold glass of sancerre. Nothing has ever made me feel as “well” as that wonderful meal in the mountains, enjoyed solo, watching peacocks wander across the lawn.

Food can connect us with a destination like nothing else, the ingredients offer a taste of the climate, the soil or the sea, while preparation and service, steeped in tradition, can speak volumes about the local culture.

Destination restaurants show us the world, not just through flavours, but through pine-scented forest or sand under-our-toes settings. We can feel close to the land and culture of which we are guests, and get to know our hosts and the communities where they source their ingredients.

Read on for the most spectacular dining experiences in the world to try for yourself…

EAT ON THE OCEAN FLOOR

Canada

Everything about Nova Scotia’s Dining on the Ocean Floor (foodfantastique. ca) is geared towards showcasing the wild landscape where the food is sourced. The six-hour experience begins with a guided foraging expedition, where you can find and taste wild

edibles in the Bay of Fundy. Next comes an ultra-fresh seafood lunch on the striking red clifftops, which you walk off on a guided tour of the Burntcoat Head Park. Then, finally, it’s time to pull up a chair right there on the ocean floor for a three-course meal as you watch the tremendous tide roll in. A beach campfire is a fittingly sociable end to the occasion.

The Bay of Fundy is home to the highest tides in the world, so make the most of a visit to this natural wonder at the Shangri-La Cottages (001 90236

92050; shangri-lacottages.com), cottages from £175

DINE WHILE FLOATING ON A RIVER

Zambia

There is no need for dinnertime theatrics at Tongabezi Lodge, as the simple, magnificent beauty of the Zambezi

River takes centre stage. A candlelit dinner is served on a private floating river sampan, right out on the water, under a sunset sky streaked with purple, pink and orange. In a place so utterly quiet and private, you will only be disturbed throughout the meal by the gentle sound of a canoe approaching as your next course arrives. The sampan dinner is on offer year-round, except between March and June when the river is at its highest.

Stay at the award-winning Tongabezi eco-lodge (00 260 9793 12766; tongabezi.com), cottages from £599 per night

HAVE A FIERY MEAL IN A PRIVATE VINEYARD

Argentina

Meaning “seven fires”, Siete Fuegos in Uco Valley wine country references the restaurant’s multiple wood-fired grills, preparing slow-grilled rib eye to castiron baked salmon encrusted with salt.

The restaurant is set on a private vineyard, so pairing with local, smallbatch wines is a major part of the fun – guests staying at the resort can even try their hand at winemaking.

Dining outdoors means sweeping vistas over the vines and Andean mountains beyond, plus a front row seat to the fireshow, as ingredients are smothered in ash, slung into pits of hot stones or suspended over open flames as they cook to perfection.

Siete Fuegos is part of the Vines Resort and Spa (00 54 26146 13900; vinesresortandspa.com), so staying here is the obvious choice. Garden view villas from £637

DINE INSIDE A LIMESTONE CAVE

Italy

Only the views from Grotta Palazzese could tear you away from a six-course Puglian tasting menu, at one of the most romantic restaurants in the world. Tucked inside a limestone cave that juts out over the Adriatic Sea, the setting is every bit as dramatic as it sounds, a natural open terrace cocooned inside the rock, with soft lamplight illuminating the ancient stone and the shimmering water below.

This is a restaurant with history, too – dating back to the 1700s, the nobility used to host lavish banquets and parties here, as well as theatrical performances because of the excellent cave acoustics. The adjoining hotel has blissful sea views (00 39 08042 40677; grottapalazzese.it), premium rooms from £597

CONSUME A MEAL BELOW SEA LEVEL

Maldives

Obviously the Southern Asian archipelago isn’t short of glamorous restaurants with knock-out views, but the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant takes things to a whole new level. Part of the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, the glass restaurant is accessed via a spiral staircase at the end of a jetty, where guests descend 16ft below the surface of the water to find their seat. Ithaa only accommodates 14 people so a table down here, in the midst of sea life, surrounded by coral gardens, reef sharks and manta rays, is trippy.

The resort’s Muraka residence is set over two levels – the master bedroom, bathroom and a viewing tunnel are all 16ft below the sea (00 96066 80629; conradmaldives.com). Rooms from £484

EAT ORGANIC FOOD ON A NYC SKYSCRAPER

United States

It takes something out-of-the-ordinary to impress a jaded NYC dining crowd, but Brooklyn Grange’s (brooklyngrangefarm.com) rooftop feasts are it. This place is all about sustainable urban living, growing 99lbs of produce each year on New York rooftops. Each Sunday they invite a different guest chef to create a brunch and supper menu using seasonal ingredients, most of which come from the adjacent farms. Guests dine on top of the high-rise Sunset Park venue, steps away from where the food is grown (it doesn’t get fresher than that), with views of the iconic Manhattan skyline and the East River stretching out on the horizon. This is feel-good dining in every sense – after eating, there’s time to soak up the sunshine, roam the farm and learn about the community-based food justice work Brooklyn Grange is involved with.

The ever-hip Hoxton Williamsburg (001 71821 57100; thehoxton.com) is a 20-minute drive away. Rooms from £238

TRY A CANDLE-LIT LOBSTER DINNER

Thailand

Hidden deep in the jungle, this gourmet meal by a tumbling waterfall is lit by hundreds of candles in Khao Lak Lam Ru National Park. Here, flying lemurs, macaques and tropical birds might keep you company as you sip champagne and feast on Asianinspired cuisine from grilled lobsters to Thai curry.

If you’re not keen to rush back to civilisation after eating, you can take a late-night, star-lit swim in the secluded pool below the Sai Rung waterfall, before catching a lift back to your hotel with the folk from the Sarojin.

Sarojin’s luxury boutique (00 66 7642 7900; sarojin.com) has spacious rooms, all with access to the resort’s private white sand beach. Rooms from £149

SEARCH FOR INGREDIENTS IN A MAGICAL FOREST

Sweden

Deep in the woods outside Liehittaja, the Huuva family has been tending reindeer for more than a century. Now they’re offering an introduction to Sami food culture and the Arctic lifestyle, using their old reindeer corral as a base for foodie get-togethers.

Visitors to the Huuva Hideaway take a guided walk in the woods to forage for seasonal ingredients, which are brought back to the outdoor kitchen and prepared together – forest greens to grind up for pesto, berries and willowherb might all be among the haul. Come dinnertime, everyone takes a seat at the Edible Country table where the meal is shared, as hosts tell stories and discuss forest life and explain Sami and Tornedalian food culture.

Huuva Hideaway’s (00 46 7067 11105; huuvahideaway.com) Ajtta Lodge is a cosily refurbished log house, complete with birchwood fire, overnight stays with a gourmet dining experience from start from £270 per person

DEVOUR CALIFORNIAN DISHES ON A WINE TRAIN

United States

Napa Valley Wine Trains (winetrain. com) have become something of an institution: vintage Pullman rail cars speed through lush wine country as passengers are served fresh Californian-style dishes with locally-produced cab savs, pinot noirs and sauvignon blancs. The Legacy Tour includes three one-hour stops for tours and samplings at historic locations, including the valley’s oldest winery. Alternatively, you can book a ride just to eat, drink and view the Napa sun sink behind the vines during a long warm evening – the Vista Dome car’s floor-to-ceiling windows offer dizzying panoramas.

Stay at the country-style Candlelight Inn (001 70725 73717; candlelightinn.com) B&B, rooms from £158

ENJOY YOUR MEAL ON A ROCK IN THE SEA

Zanzibar

The Rock (therockrestaurantzanzibar. com) was once a humble outpost for local fishermen. Now, this small restaurant, perched on a lump of gravel stranded in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, is one of the prettiest places to dine out. The menu is based around local catches – seafood from nearby reefs and fish caught locally – while the vegetables and spices are grown on island farms and gardens.

Views are ravishing, with calm seas and fishing boats all the way to the horizon in one direction, and a palm-lined beach in the other. Depending on the tide, you can wade out to the restaurant, or take a little boat across the water. Baladin Zanzibar (00 255 6249 79737; baladin.it/en/) has two-storey bungalows with traditional makuti palmed roofs, rooms from £396

TUCK INTO A MOUNTAINSIDE MEAL

Switzerland

Chez Vrony (chezvrony.ch) sits on a Findeln cliff, 7,000ft above Zermatt, which over the past few years has firmly established itself as the high-end foodies’ ski resort of choice. The sun terrace is the place to sit, on the sheepskins, with uninterrupted views of the Matterhorn, while tucking into a traditional alpine cheese fondue. If you aren’t skiing, you can still reach the restaurant from Sunnegga Station in 20 minutes, by following the hiking path.

The Omnia (00 41 2796 671 71; theomnia.com/en/hotel) is the place to stay, with a Michelin-starred restaurant to continue the foodie trail. Rooms from £288

PICNIC ON A BOAT AS SIX MEN ROW

India

Built over 200 years ago as the summer residence of the royal Mewar dynasty, the Taj Lake Palace, now a hotel, was known for its ceremonies, parties and moonlit picnics. These days, staff set up tables at any number of scenic hotspots within the grounds, from private pergolas overlooking Lake Picholo, to romantic corners of ornate marble courtyards, before delivering the full Maharaja experience with an aromatic Rajasthani banquet. They can also arrange a candlelit meal on Lake Picholo aboard the Royal Gangaur – a 150-year-old boat once used by Udaipur Mahranas on special occasions (and featured in the James Bond film Octopussy). The meal is prepared by a private chef as six men row the boat across the lake.

Rooms at the Taj Lake Palace (00 91 29424 28800; tajhotels.com) cost from £317 per night

ENJOY DINNER IN THE ARABIAN DESERT

Dubai

Deep into the Arabian Desert, dinner is served on the sands of the Dubai Conservation Reserve. Make no mistake, this is no average campsite barbecue – instead it’s pre-dinner cocktails and nibbles at an open-air bar perched on top of a dune as the sun sets, followed by Arabic-inspired fine dining at the elegant, fairy light-strewn restaurant and festivities including live music and fireshows. For deep desert silence and peaceful stargazing, book a Nara Private Escape and enjoy an intimate dinner in a nearby palm grove, potentially joined by local Arabian oryx, gazelles or camels throughout the evening. Nara (nara.ae) is set to launch ecofriendly “Nests” in September, luxury accommodation designed to disappear into the desertscape.

From £629 per night

FOR AN EPIC GROUP MEAL IN A FIELD

Worldwide

Outstanding in the Field is a seriously innovative way to eat out. At each event, a single long table is set in a beautiful location – think vineyards, beaches, meadows, fishing docks and farms – all with a connection to the origins of the food served. Guest chefs prepare the meal in the field kitchen which is then served family-style, with wine or beer pairings. Farmers, winemakers and other artisans involved in the meal’s preparation usually take a seat to mingle with guests. Past meals have been hosted at dramatic locations including Huntington Beach Pier, Big Sur and Mount Tamalpais, and this year’s OITF “tour” includes events right across the United States, with a handful of dates in Europe and Africa. This July, for the first time, there will be two OITF dates in the UK, one in Devon and one just outside London. Outstanding in the Field (outstandinginthefield.com) has added a glamping option in Big Sur, California, and the Colorado Rockies. Two seats at the table with glamping costs £1,755. If joining a meal in Devon, sleep at nearby Gages Mill, with rooms from £95 per night

EAT AMONG PANORAMIC VIEWS INCAN TERRACES

Peru

The dizzyingly high-concept tasting menu at Mil (milcentro.pe), in the Andes’ Sacred Valley, is composed of dishes created to represent ecosystems in the local region – you might be eating chaco clay, cabuya nectar, black quinoa or tree tomato. Mil is a 90-minute winding drive up from Cusco, so if you’re looking to make a day of it, the Immersion package offers a deeper dive into the local culture, with a farmlands visit, a tour of Mil’s onsite cacao and distillation labs, and a stop at the nearby Incan Moray ruins. You can also visit an exhibition of Mil’s collaborations with community producers and artisans.

Stay at Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba (00 511 610 0400; inkaterra.com), a contemporary hacienda-style hotel based between Cusco and Machu Picchu. Rooms from £392 per night

Perched on top of a dune as the sun sets, this is no average campsite barbecue

For full details of entry requirements and Covid rules for your favourite destinations, see telegraph.co.uk/ tt-travelrules. Refer to gov.uk/ foreign-travel-advice for further travel information

ih It’s not easy to impress a jaded NYC dining crowd, but Brooklyn Grange’s rooftop feasts seem to do the trick h Forest foraging: Huuva Hideaway in Swedish Lapland

i Tunnel vision: Ithaa restaurant in the Maldives takes dining to a whole new level

i You’ll fall for this: tuck into a candle-lit meal with a difference in Thailand

i Ocean colour scene: try local dishes at the Rock in Zanzibar