The Prix Versailles has unveiled the World’s Most Beautiful Restaurants List for 2025.
This list highlights sixteen recently opened dining spaces around the world that embodies both global aesthetic and cultural trends.
These restaurants are not just places to eat, they serve as social hubs, culinary landmarks, and artistic expressions of architecture. The selection underscores the evolving role of design in creating immersive dining experiences, where ambiance, spatial storytelling, and sensory engagement come together to elevate the act of dining into an unforgettable moment.
According to Jérôme Gouadain, Secretary General of the Prix Versailles, restaurant architecture plays a subtle yet vital role in shaping guest experiences. He describes it as a maternal presence, embracing diners while seamlessly disappearing into the background to let the meal take centre stage.
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This year’s selection features sixteen restaurants, each demonstrating a thoughtful, human-centred approach to design: "When we have a meal, we remember the taste of the dishes, the scent of a venue, the soundtrack of a meeting, and perhaps the recollection of an object. But who could really describe it all? What's certain is that a lived experience is, first and foremost, a human, inner experience that is shared and unique."
In December, three of these restaurants will receive World Titles in categories such as Prix Versailles, Interior, or Exterior, further cementing their status among the best. The next Prix Versailles World Selections will continue throughout the year, with announcements for World's Most Beautiful Airports on June 30, Passenger Stations on November 3, and Sports Venues on November 10.
The World's Most Beautiful Restaurants for 2025
Among the 16 restaurants featured on the list collated by Prix Versailles, three restaurants from the Middle East were recognised, highlighting the region’s presence in the global rankings. Two Dubai-based restaurants, Emirati restaurant Gerbou and Chef Dani García's latest masterpiece, the smoke and grill-centred Smoked Room top the list in first and second place, respectively.
But, it is Saudi's Kimyona that is turning heads.
Hidden behind a secret entrance, Kimyona blends culinary artistry with photography-inspired aesthetics, creating a unique and immersive atmosphere. Designed by Azaz Architects, the space takes inspiration from analogue black-and-white photography, creating a seamless transition between light and shadow. A modern Asian restaurant, located in Olaya close to the Al Faisaliah Tower, Kimyona offers diners an indulgent speakeasy-style dining experience, and opens out into a dining room reminiscent of a photographer’s darkroom—an intimate setting with dim interiors, muted lighting, and subtle hints of red.
Modern and dimly lit, Kimyona is both luxurious and textural whilst being semi-industrial at the same time, enhanced by a striking metal-sheeted ceiling, blend together to create a striking balance of warmth, coolness, and neutrality.
- Gerbou, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Smoked Room, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Blackswan, Beijing, China
- Ōrtensia, Shanghai, China
- Lobster Club, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
- Bouchon Carême, Helsinki, Finland
- Ladurée Rue Royale, Paris, France
- Ducasse Baccarat, Paris, France
- Julie's, London, United Kingdom
- Shell, Nusa Penida, Indonesia
- Coro, Orvieto, Italy
- Seven Island, Busan, Republic of Korea
- Kimyona, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Another Smith, Tha Sai Luat, Thailand
- Beefbar, New York, United States
- Japón, Miami Beach, United States
