Bennelong is nestled within the Sydney Opera House, allowing diners to gaze out upon Sydney Harbour through the building’s stunning glass exterior. The restaurant is named after an Aboriginal interlocutor who foster communication between his native Eora people and British colonists.

The golden arches are known worldwide as the symbol of McDonald's restaurants — unless you're in Sedona, Arizona, where the local franchise has turquoise arches instead. The city council has rules in place to make sure buildings don’t spoil the natural red rock landscape. When a McDonald's was built there in 1993, the bright golden arches were thought to clash with the rocks, so they were swapped out for a softer turquoise.

Located in the tiny municipality of Ilimanaq, Greenland, KOKS is the world’s northernmost Michelin-starred restaurant. Chef Poul Andrias Ziska moved the establishment to Greenland from the Faroe Islands. The restaurant can only accommodate 20 people each service and serves unique local dishes containing ingredients such as whale meat and seaweed.

Located in the quiet hamlet of Earlton, New York, Damon Baehrel restaurant is so exclusive that, in 2016, the waiting list for reservations exceeded 10 years. The restaurant has since taken a six-year hiatus from accepting new reservations due to the backlog. The 20-course experience features dishes crafted from ingredients grown on the property, which are crafted into culinary showstoppers like pine-needle-cured goose breast.

Part of a once-bustling but now-abandoned ski resort, the Bolivian mountain Chacaltaya still houses a shelter where travelers can get a hot meal. At 17,519 feet above sea level, it is recognized as the world’s highest restaurant by Guinness World Records. Despite Chacaltaya being largely a ghost town, brothers Adolfo and Samuel Mendoza still look after the resort and provide food to passersby.

Both Per Se in New York City and the French Laundry in Napa, California, hold three Michelin stars — making Keller the only American chef with two restaurants that simultaneously hold that distinction. Though Keller retired from cooking in 2012, he still manages both establishments. The French Laundry gets its name because it was built on the site of an old French steam laundry.

Built in New York City in 1719, Fraunces Tavern served as an unofficial headquarters for George Washington. On December 4, 1783, days after the final British troops departed American soil, Washington gathered officers from his Continental Army to bid them farewell. The restaurant has been in continuous business for over 300 years, and also has an accompanying museum.

When it first opened, the Eiffel Tower featured four 500-seat wooden pavilions on the first floor catering to hungry diners. In 1983, construction on a new restaurant named after novelist Jules Verne was finally completed. Though it’s located on the Eiffel Tower’s second floor, it sits a whopping 400 feet above the ground below, offering spectacular views of Paris.

A&W began as a root beer stand on June 20, 1919, before eventually adding burgers and hot dogs to their menu, thus making it the oldest operating fast food restaurant in the world. Some argue that White Castle should hold the title, however, as they’ve been serving their trademark square-shaped burgers since they first opened in 1921.

Located 1,825 feet above ground in the Shanghai Tower, China’s Heavenly Jin restaurant holds the Guinness World Record for world’s highest restaurant contained within a building. The building is the third-tallest in the world, and the restaurant sits on its 120th floor. It took the title from Dubai’s At.mosphere restaurant in the Burj Khalifa.

Lombardi’s in lower Manhattan began as a grocery store that sold tomato pies to workers at lunchtime. In 1905, founder Gennaro Lombardi converted the establishment to a pizzeria, though it would be a few decades before the food gained widespread popularity. In 1984, the business was moved a block down the street, but Lombardi’s remains open for business today.

Located on Phra Nang Beach in Krabi, Thailand, the Grotto restaurant offers a unique dining experience within a limestone cave. The establishment features waterside tables with a more open-air feel as well as tables nestled deeper within the looming cliffs with large stalactites hanging overhead. The restaurant is located at the Rayavadee Resort.

SubliMotion is located at the Hard Rock Hotel in Ibiza and is open seasonally from June 1 to September 30. Customers can expect to pay $1,740 USD for an elaborate 20-course tasting menu with wine and Champagne. The restaurant can only fit 12 individuals at a time, and diners are also given virtual-reality goggles for a completely immersive dining experience.

Noma, a Michelin three-star establishment under the leadership of chef René Redzepi, was named best restaurant in the world at the 2021 World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards. Geranium, a restaurant also in Copenhagen, finished second in the rankings. Noma utilized local ingredients like cloudberries and reindeer blood as part of its “New Nordic” style of cooking. Sadly, the restaurant announced it would be closing its doors at the end of 2024.

In 1982, Wolfgang Puck opened Spago in Los Angeles and soon redefined the fine dining scene. Spago pioneered the concept of an open kitchen, allowing diners to look into the room where their meals were being prepared. The restaurant grew immensely popular and became an instant hotspot among Hollywood’s elite. The original Spago later relocated to Beverly Hills in 1997.

After opening the original Le Bernardin in Paris, siblings Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze debuted a New York City outpost in 1986. Today, acclaimed chef Eric Riper helms the seafood-focused eatery. The restaurant has amassed more James Beard Awards than any other place in New York City, and is the only four-star restaurant in the city to maintain that status for over three decades.

Since opening its doors in 2011, Franklin Barbecue has grown into a beloved institution among Austin residents and visitors alike. The restaurant opens at 11:00 am each day, though lines begin forming two to three hours before that on weekdays and up to five hours earlier on weekends. In a city famous for its barbecue, the restaurant is considered among Austin’s best establishments.

David Gelb’s 2011 documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” put Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten on the map. The exclusive 10-seat omakase bar in Ginza, Japan, is run by 96-year-old Jiro Ono and his son Yoshikazu. It was previously a Michelin three-star eatery but lost its rating because bookings were too exclusive. President Obama dined there in 2014 with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

If you want to “have what she’s having,” you’ll need to head down to Manhattan’s Lower East Side and visit Katz's Delicatessen. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan share a memorable meal at the 100-year-old institution in the 1989 romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally." This iconic spot is known for serving up pastrami sandwiches and other Jewish staples.

Located at St. Peter’s Abbey in Salzburg, Austria, the Stiftskeller St. Peter is said to have served both Mozart and Christopher Columbus since its opening in 803 CE. However, a restaurant in Madrid, Spain, called Sobrino de Botín holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest continually operating restaurant, despite opening centuries later in 1725.