Upscale hotel restaurants for the holiday season

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José Andrés brings the Levant to Collins Avenue

Because guerrilla superchef and philanthropist José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen have done so much for so many people in need, any restaurant he opens deserves your celebration dollars. New Yorkers and DC politicians alike enjoy his take on Eastern Mediterranean dishes shared at Zaytinya since 2022.

Miamians now have their own outpost at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, just off Collins Avenue. Andrés’ menu features Greek, Turkish and Lebanese flags; opt for a shakshuka or menemen breakfast, or reserve a large table for dinner and order one of everything: from shish taouk to smoked beet salata, grilled octopus to lamb taharat, and all the usual mezze .. There are great wines from the Peloponnese, Macedonia and the Bekaa Valley.

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Fine east-west cuisine in a former nightclub

Crispy salmon sushi. Egg toast with caviar. Burrata citrus salad with lime and basil. Since Jean-Georges Vongerichten burst onto the New York scene in the 1990s and set it ablaze with his instantly successful bistros, JoJo and Vong, he has forged a global restaurant empire by innovating fusions of west-east flavors. (Credit to the combination of an Alsatian education and an early career spent in some of the finest hotel kitchens in Bangkok and Hong Kong.) More recently, he set up shop in Leinster, a stylish newcomer of 55 keys on the site of a former nightclub in central Georgian Dublin.

Leinster’s Jean-Georges commands the hotel’s rooftop spaces – an airy glass space made soft with a wooden coffered ceiling, banquette seating and generous views. The salmon for the crispy sushi here is of course Irish; the Irish fillet is accompanied by a pistachio-tarragon aioli. The burrata is more continental, tempered with figs and balsamic vinegar, and a divine parmesan-crusted chicken that is a regular on his other menus is also present here. But there are plenty of Asian inflections, from yuzu-y tuna tartare to maitake mushrooms with black tahini and scallions. On the first floor, the discotheque spirit continues in the form of the Collins Club, a clandestine style bar-brasserie. The hotel’s design is bold and saturated in color and features nearly 300 original works by Irish artists.

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A Southeast Asian solution in North Africa’s 24/7 capital

Cairo is a lot of extraordinary things. The “Bastion of Multi-Cult Dining Options” is unfortunately not one of them. Fortunately, Tianma, the Singaporean restaurant at the St Regis Cairo, opened three years ago in an elegant tower on the banks of the Nile, satisfies some cravings. The sexy-lit dining rooms – accessible via a walkway lined with life-size terracotta horses – have the feel of a Peranakan tea house: pretty baskets, painted boxes, mysterious chests of drawers. But the food is the thing and, as a former Lion City resident, I can attest to that. Singapore’s tastiest blend of Chinese, Malay and South Indian flavors is here.

There’s super rich Hainanese chicken rice, fruit rojak and excellent roast duck, skin crackling with spices, carved tableside and served with parchment-thin pancakes. The hotel? One of the best in town – still brand new, with a host of cheerful staff, rooms with views, state-of-the-art bathrooms and a hearty breakfast that starts at 6 a.m., for tours of the pyramids at sunrise.

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The best seafood in Tuscany… can be found inland

The Four Seasons Hotel Firenze is one of the biggest, best and finest hotels. The largest private garden with swimming pool in the city. The most beautiful frescoes (the restoration of the 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca, which houses some of the iconic grand suites, reportedly cost more than $50 million). The largest and most indulgent spa. It now has a new starred restaurant. Boldly billing itself as Florence’s premier seafood destination, Onde is overseen by Paolo Lavezzini, the Italian chef who took over the hotel’s gastronomic offerings, including its gastronomic temple Il Palagio, in 2021.

The rooms have a casual note, with bright hues and indoor and outdoor seating, but Lavezzini is serious about the kitchen, and the quality and presentation of his food is exceptional. Starting with the crudi: Delicate shards of scallop carpaccio emerge from a divine spicy yogurt sauce sprinkled with lime and sea salt flakes. Tyrrhenian bluefin tuna is seasoned with lemon, shallot mayonnaise and breadcrumbs. The sea bass tartare is served with beetroot, walnut oil and generous mustard seeds. The Florentines – little known for their obvious demonstrations of approval, nor for their support for the New – are already all in turmoil. Book well in advance.