It’s been another big year of travelling – and eating! From Scottish seafood to traditional Italian pastas and filled Omani flatbread.
Then there’s dining in Bangkok with David Thompson, outstanding duck in Paris, and a reason to love Milan. Here’s my pick of the best dishes from around the world in 2025. I hope some inspire your next food, wine and travel adventures.
Tasting Menu Aksorn (Bangkok, Thailand)
David Thompson’s Michelin-starred Bangkok diner is inspired by traditional recipes. The interplay of soup, salad, relish, stir-fry, and curry together (pictured top) makes for a memorable meal. It’s impossible to single out one dish, though grilled whelks, red curry of eggs, and smoked fish soup with cassia leaves and grilled salted beef, are memorable highlights. Mangosteens in iced ‘silken syrup’ is definitely my new favourite Thai dessert.
Langoustines w/ Tarragon Mayo The Pierhouse (Port Appin, Scotland)
The simplest things are often the best, especially with seafood. Michael Leathley has built an impressive eco-system of suppliers around this 19th century pier master’s cottage on Loch Linnhe in Scotland’s West Highlands. The langoustine boats arrive daily, sometimes during service. Michael boils the crayfish until they’re just set, then chills and serves them with his vivid tarragon mayo, charred lemon wedges and finger bowls!
Oyster w/ Whisky Dressing Monachyle Mhor (Balquhidder, Scotland)
I like my oysters unadorned, except for this freshly shucked beauty dressed with cherry vinegar and 10 year old Glengoyne whisky at Monachyle Mhor. This beautiful estate in a peaceful Perthshire glen is the project of chef Tom Lewis. From his degustation menus here to superb toasties at casual Mhor84 and excellent pies at nearby Mhor Bread, Tom and his team champion local food, much of it grown, foraged or hunted on the estate.
Skate w/ Kumquat Kosho Margo (Glasgow, Scotland)
Margo – a large, buzzing eatery in the historic heart of Glasgow’s East End – is one of the city’s most talked about recent openings. It lives up to the hype with great food and service and surprisingly reasonable prices. The star dish for me was pan-fried skate wings sauced with a piquant cumquat kosho (fermented chilli and citrus paste) softened with beurre blanc and enlivened with pops of trout roe and green peppercorns.
Rye Risotto Inver Restaurant (Cairndow, Scotland)
Inver is a very special restaurant reminiscent of Wales’ Ynyshir. It’s tucked down the end of a single-track road on the shore of Loch Fyne, famous for its seafood. A meal here is an experience with everything perfectly thought through, from drinks pairing to vinyl playlist. It’s hard to single out one dish but this risotto of rye with apricot, chanterelles, crowdie (Scottish cheese), woodruff and puffed barley, is the one I can’t stop thinking about.
Fregola Risotto w/ Smoked Mushrooms The Taybank (Dunkeld, Scotland)
I love mushrooms, smokey flavours and soupy risotto – so this deliciously unusual dish at a Perthshire pub overlooking the River Tay pushed all my buttons. The flecks of zucchini contrasted beautifully with the chewy pasta and the smokey Assam tea broth echoed the smoked chestnut and oyster mushrooms. Shout out to the Parisian custard tart with red wine poached pears too.
Tagliolini w/ Portulaca Ristorante Lazaroun (Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy)
Santarcangelo di Romagna, just inland from Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic Coast, is a haven for local food-lovers, with folk from surrounding towns frequenting its historic centre for the great collection of restaurants and bars. One of my favourites is family-run Lazaroun with its tufa caves used to age cheese and salami. Mamma Tina’s fresh pasta is superb and her pesto of wild purslane (portulaca) is so good I went back for seconds this year!
Tortellini in Brodo Caminetto d’Oro (Bologna, Italy)
Tortellini are a signature pasta of Bologna and Modena. They’re filled with minced pork, prosciutto and that most Bolognese of salumi, mortadella, plus a little Parmigiano and egg. At this casual restaurant a few minutes from Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore, Paolo Carati serves his family’s recipe in an addictive crystal clear, flavour-packed beef and capon broth.
Omani Flatbread w/ Egg, Cheese & Chips Nizwa Fort (Nizwa, Oman)
On a 39°C day in the shade of the ancient mud fort at Nizwa, a lady sat making traditional flatbread on a hot iron skillet. She cracked an egg onto it, added a dollop of white cheese and smeared it all around. Then she crumbled a handful of potato crisps on top, deftly folded and cut it, and handed it to me wrapped in a piece of paper. It was quite simply one of the best things I’ve eaten this year!
Insalata Valeriana con Bruciatini Ristorante Nuova Roma (Sasso Marconi, Italy)
This casual restaurant in the Bolognese Apennines is the perfect place to escape the city for a weekend lunch. I love that the first five pages of the wine list showcase the Bologna region, before even getting to the rest of Emilia-Romagna! Traditional pastas and desserts are especially good, but the most memorable dish was a simple salad of mâche (valeriana locally) with crisp pancetta and balsamic vinegar, a riff on the classic radicchio e bruciatini.
Roast Chicken w/ Morels La Maison du Prieur (Romainmôtier, Switzerland)
The welcome dinner of my Swiss food & wine tour is held in the grand hall of a 13th century priory in the medieval village of Romainmôtier. The meal centres around this spit-roasted chicken with creamy morel sauce and rösti. Chef Ulrich hails from Canton Bern where they use raw rather than cooked potatoes for the rösti, which gives the crispest, tastiest rösti ever. A superb combo.
Whole Challans Duckling in 2 Courses La Rôtisserie d’Argent (Paris, France)
I prefer the relaxed vibe (and better prices) of Parisian bistros to Michelin stars. In the Latin Quarter, opposite big sister La Tour d’Argent, is the much more approachable rotisserie, serving the same legendary Canard Challandais. Here a whole duck is roasted and served in two courses: the breast rare and crisp-skinned with a puree of artichokes and hazelnut, the legs slow-cooked then flash-fried to crisp deliciousness with a creamy mustard sauce.
Battuta di Manzo I Conoscenti (Bologna, Italy)
Battuta is the Italian version of steak tartare and, when done right, the meat is hand-chopped so it retains plenty of texture. The version at this elegant Bologna bar is simply dressed with whole-grain mustard, capers and a generous handful of fresh herbs. Best of all it comes in two sizes, as a bar snack or a starter, and is perfect with the cicchetti of vegetable chips served at the bar with drinks.
Brönnti Crème Auberge de la Croix Blanche (Villarepos, Switzerland)
Michelin-starred chef Arno Abächerli and his wife Christa serve innovative Swiss fare in their fine dining restaurant above Lake Murten. In the adjoining bistro the menu is more traditional including this superb version of a classic Emmental burnt cream. Arno garnishes the creamy caramel pudding with crumbled meringue and more bitter caramel to take this farmhouse favourite to the next level.
Lunch Ristorante Ratanà (Milan, Italy)
I’ve often felt that Milan is great for fashion, less so for food. That changed recently at Ratanà where Cesare Battisti serves the most delicious, inspired food I’ve had in Italy. I can’t single out one dish as each was a revelation: deep-fried zucchini with pecorino and burnt lemon basil mayo; risotto Milanese with gremolata and roast juices; the best vitello tonnato; and creamed goat cheese with sbrisolona crumble and foxy grape sauce.
Published 20 Oct 2025
