Favorite restaurants from our Travels

I'm always asked for restaurant recommendations so I will name our favorites here. My criteria for a good restaurant is great food with great wine but sometimes I'll make an exception. I've also added lunch spots and coffee shops. Some of my recommendations in past posts are closed now or I've downgraded.  We usually bring our own wines to US restaurants, which have insane markups.

Updated 5/20/2026
* Been there many times

California
Valette   Healdsburg *
BL Brassiere Paso Robles *
Halter Ranch Vineyard  Paso Robles  (lunch)
Jackson’s  Santa Rosa
Augie’s French Restaurant  Santa Rosa *
Roka Akor, San Francisco
Industrial Eats, Buellton *
In Bloom, Paso Robles

Washington State
Spinasse  Seattle
MKT  Seattle *
Le Pichet  Seattle *
Hattaway's Walla Walla

Oregon

Bistro Maison McMinnville *

North/South Carolina
Chez Nous  Charleston, SC *

Counter  Charlotte, NC
Malagon Charleston, SC *
Chubby Fish  Charleston, SC
Goat Sheep Cow  Charleston, SC  (sandwich shop)
Webb Custom Kitchen Gastonia, NC *

Massachusetts
Troquet on South Boston 

Tennessee
Jeff Ruby’s  Nashville *

Pennsylvania
Kabinet Easton

New York

Villa da Como Albany

United Kingdom

Brett Glasgow, Scotland

Utah

Table Twenty Five

Spain
AQ Tarragona
Bistro Guggenheim  Bilboa
Bodega Oliva  Barcelona
El Chigrel 1769  Barcelona
Ubarrenhena San Sebastian
Victor Montes Bilbao
Casa Lac Zaragoza *
Vinology  Madrid
Quispe, Madrid

Portugal
Tapisco  Lisbon, Portugal
Ponto Final  Almada (Lisbon)
Adega São Nicolau  Porto
A Gina  Lisbon *
Rio’s Tapas and Bar  Porto (no website, just google)
Rossio Gastro Bar  Lisbon *

Seen Sky Bar Lisbon *
Sult Cascais *

France
Bistrot Vin Sobre  Paris
Au Bistro  Bordeaux *
 Le Merciere Lyon
Bouchon Comptoir Brunet  Lyon

Other Countries
Fuoco Matto  Florence, Italy
El Preferido De Palermo Buenos Aires, Argentina *
Azafran Mendoza, Argentina (Michelin) *
Opus Restaurant  Lucerne, Switzerland

 Favorite Ramen

Butao Ramen Hong Kong
Suttree's High Gravity Knoxville, TN
Ramen Nagi Palo Alto, CA

Misc
Gus's world famous fried chicken Knoxville, TN
Hattie B’s Chicken Nashville, TN
Dune Blanche  Bordeaux, France (pastries)
Vinoteca Vides  Madrid, Spain  (wine bar)
Prova Porto, Portugal (wine bar)
Bocanariz Wine bar Santiago, Chile 
Arabay Coffee  Madrid, Spain *
Chori  Buenos Aires, Argentina (lunch spot) *