Settling the score: What makes a best restaurant?

Chef, Linamnam MNL

I think being the best restaurant isn’t anymore all about serving the most eye-catching delicious food or even having impeccable buttoned-up service. For me it’s all about three things: the unique dining experience of being in the restaurant, the message that your food brings, and what you can make your customers feel after leaving the restaurant. At the end of the day, anyone can create delicious food but what makes the difference is when you can make your customers feel something new with your food, and the stories that come with it.

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Executive chef, M Dining + Bar

I feel that good food (presentation, flavour, and sensibility), service (knowledgeable, thoughtful, and attentive), cleanliness (bathrooms, especially), and value (bang for the buck) constitute my idea of a great dining experience–where all senses are triggered. But at the end of the day, it is the company you keep that completes the experience, everything else is very subjective.

Chef/co-owner, Gallery by Chele, Asador Alfonso, and Deli by Chele González; Chef, Enye by Chele Gonzalez and Samira by Chele Gonzalez

It doesn’t matter if it’s casual or fine dining, what makes a restaurant special is the whole ecosystem, from service, ambience, food to the beverage program. A restaurant should also have a clear identity. As a chef and restaurateur, I have learned over the years that to create an unforgettable experience, all of these elements have to be perfect. Attention to detail and genuine hospitality are key. The food, in whatever you are doing,
has to be passionate; you need to cook with the heart, be precise and refined (even if it is just a simple pasta). The establishments that achieve all of these are exceptional restaurants.

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Founder and creative director, The Moment Group

Of my top meals of all time, less than half have had precious glassware and stars. The rest were much less fussy and known. But all of them were revelatory and powerful in their portrayal of what they stood for. Remarkably honest and brilliant in their flavours, offering you the chance to discover a brand new flavour profile. I do think that some of the best restaurants and meals in the world are able to do that–bring you to a place you have never been before.

It also is a meal whose high notes never drop to lows, where each bite trumps each dish’s beauty, which is no mean feat. A great dining experience
is also when there is nary a misstep in service, and when superb execution
never feels stoic. Championing top-shelf produce should not mean just lording it over the plate where some ingredients feel like they’ve met on that plate for the very first time. Lastly, it is a meal where when you look up from your plate and lunch mate, hours (usually) later, you’ve not felt a minute go by.

Chef/owner, Toyo Eatery

In my opinion, the best dining experience is when both the diner and the restaurant are able to connect with each other. Speaking as someone who runs a restaurant, we have an idea of what we want our guests to experience, from the food, service, and ambiance. We try to deliver on that as best we can, but not all guests are the same so there’s always room to adjust and connect with guests without sacrificing standards.

Speaking as a diner as well, there are things expected when you go to a restaurant. One of those is that you keep your mind open, which allows
you to experience things outside of what you were looking for, or expecting. That middle ground where both parties are on the same wavelength is where magic happens.

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Food influencer

Top-quality ingredients with excellent, flawless execution: flavours that take you by surprise, matched with bespoke service, great ambience, comfortable seats, beautiful dinnerware and stemware, plus knowledgeable servers who know what you need even before you ask. It is all about the details, like when restaurants research about diners and prepare personal touches to their meals. Also, I cannot stress enough the importance of a good toilet!

Chef/owner, Sensei, La Chinesca

When ambience, service, and food are all reflective of each other, then it’s guaranteed that the dining experience will be amazing. I feel what makes it best is when you have an experience that’s unique only to that very restaurant and nowhere else.

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Food editor and journalist

A great dining experience is obviously when the food is great, but aside from that, great service and hospitality is what truly sets you apart. When you have a team that can anticipate your needs, and subtly tend to a table, that elegance in hospitality is something that stands out. For example, I prefer it when servers are not too intrusive with guests, and leave ample room for diners enjoy their meal–not hovering, and knowing when to interject or check-in on the table is quite important.

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