Exclusivity is one of the things that people who want to be famous look for. There are places, stages, or spaces that just anyone can’t access, and that’s precisely what makes these restaurants almost sacred. With waiting lists of at least a year, these restaurants are the most exclusive in the world. Rao’s, probably the most exclusive of all, with just 10 tables and no reservations. It works by invitation only, and there’s no guarantee that anyone will be able to go more than once.
If one of the people at the table decides to invite someone, they can do so while this doesn’t mean you can repeat
To start with one of the most exclusive, as we mentioned before, there’s Rao’s in New York. In fact, there are two restaurants in this city on this list. Rao’s was founded in 1896 in East Harlem and only has 10 tables. These tables are not open to the public, meaning they can’t be reserved, either online or by phone. It’s actually a private club, similar to an Italian trattoria, where you can only go if you’re invited. Tables are inherited, and from what we know, they belong to gastronomic titles that have been passed down from generation to generation, almost like the monarchy in Europe. Therefore, if one of the people at that table decides to invite someone, they can do so. While this doesn’t mean that that person can go or repeat, it’s a decision that has to be approved. Basically, not just anyone can go.
On the list, the second exclusive restaurant in New York City is Damon Baehrel’s Restaurant. Here, seating is limited, but the rules aren’t the same. To dine at this restaurant, located two hours outside of New York, you have to wait a year. Some people who have attended say it’s more like a secret ritual than a dinner party. The dishes are made exclusively with ingredients grown by the chef on his own 12 acres. These are certainly unique dishes, as most of the food is grown privately on those lands.
Disfrutar: the dishes stand out for the technique and creativity with which they reflect their expertise in Mediterranean cuisine
Leaving the city of exclusivity par excellence, we have Disfrutar, which was named the best restaurant in the world in 2024. A restaurant located in Barcelona run by Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro, and Eduard Xatruch. Getting a table at this restaurant isn’t easy either. In this case, the dishes stand out for the technique and creativity with which they reflect their expertise in Mediterranean cuisine connected with modern technology.
The waiting list at El Celler de Can Roca (Girona) is a year long
Without leaving Catalonia, another of the most exclusive and renowned restaurants in the world is El Celler de Can Roca (Girona), where you’ll also need to be patient, as the waiting list is also a year long. People book ahead of time to enjoy the cuisine that respects the origins of their ancestors, adapts to the surrounding landscape, and is one of Spain’s most iconic places when it comes to gastronomy.
Another restaurant on this list is Noma (Copenhagen), where a meal can cost up to over $1,300. Ranked as the best restaurant in the world in 2021, it boasts some of the most coveted tables on the planet. This exclusive restaurant is helmed by chef René Redzepi, who ensures the quality of everything cooked in his kitchen. It’s known that over 90% of the ingredients are selected from the land within a 60-mile radius of the restaurant, making its exclusivity undeniable. Finally, reservations at Noma are only accepted on the 6th of each month.
Rounding out this list are The Lost Kitchen in Freedon, US; House of Prime Rib in San Francisco, US; The Bank Tavern in Bristol, England; Pujol in Mexico City, Mexico; and La Mercerice in Marseille, France. Ultimately, this list could be much longer, because haute cuisine continues to update, innovate, and advance to discover new flavors that surprise the palates of the world’s richest people.
