The world's most expensive restaurants!

If wagyu beef, abalone, foie gras and truffle shavings mean something to you, check out the eateries you should be dining in.

Food is big business these days. Whether you’re the sort that can barely heat up soup or someone who reads cookery books at bedtime, we all have one thing in common – we like to eat!

But where are the best places to dine? If you had a bank balance to match your dreams, and a private jet to take you there, where should you whisk your partner for a fancy night out?

Well, sadly, I can’t tell you which restaurants are best from experience (the editorial budget wouldn’t stretch quite that far!) but I can tell you which ones will charge you the most. And you would hope cost equates to quality. Take a look at some of the most expensive restaurants in the world.

7. Queue de Cheval Steak House, Montreal

If you’re a resolute carnivore, Queue de Cheval is the place for you. Famous for its amazing steaks made from corn-fed beef, dry-aged on the premises for 35-45 days, the plates are big and hearty. You can even chat to the restaurant’s butcher and take a couple of steaks home. And the seafood’s pretty good, too.

What should you order? Freshly shucked oysters, the 28oz porterhouse steak and Death by chocolate for dessert – not for the faint-hearted!

Cost: £59 ($90) per person

6 Alberto Ciarla, Rome

Its 70’s decor may be dated, but Ciarla’s in Rome is a seafood lover’s paradise.

After being greeted with a lavish display of shellfish on ice, you can choose between three tasting menus (one featuring lobsters and oysters, one with prawn salads and seafood pastas and the last loaded with marinated raw fish and shellfish).

What should you order? Gilthead bream with orange sauce; savoury spaghetti with clams or sea bass with almonds.

Cost: £74 ($113) per person

5. Sushi Kaji, Toronto

Surprisingly, the most expensive sushi restaurant isn’t to be found in Japan, but Canada. But while the restaurant may be in Toronto, Chef Mitsuhiro Kaji insists his ingredients are authentically sourced from the East.

Fish is flown in from Tokyo bay within 24-hours of being caught, it’s served the same day and seafood is never kept overnight. Kaji even makes his own soy sauce.

What should you order? The Takumi tasting menu: dishes vary according to season but highlights include lobster tail sashimi, fatty tuna salad, raw tiger shrimp and abalone.

Cost: £76 ($116) per person

4. Acquarello, Munich

Nestling in the heart of Bavaria is our most expensive Italian eatery. Originally an interpreter, chef Mario Gamba opened Acquarello in 1994, specialising in Mediterranean cuisine. The career change obviously paid off – Acquarello won a Michelin star in 2000, and is regularly hailed as one of the best Italian restaurants outside Italy.

What should you order? Fassone beef carpaccio with wild mushrooms; lobster soup; spinach and ricotta ravioli with walnuts or John Dory with a leek crust. An

d for dessert, try chocolate ravioli with mint ice-cream and orange sauce.

Cost: £82 ($125) per person

3. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay - London

Unsurprisingly, for one of the most expensive cities in the world, London has an entry.

If you can actually book one of the tables in Mr Ramsay’s three Michelin-starred, flagship restaurant, prepare to be dazzled with delicious but simple French cuisine.  But don’t get your hopes up that the foul-mouthed one may actually cook your meal – cynics say you’re more likely to see him on the telly than in a kitchen these days.

What should you order? The seven-course “Menu Prestige”: Pressed foie gras with Madeira jelly; lobster and langoustine ravioli and strawberry, champagne and elderflower soup top the bill.

Cost: £120 ($183) per person

2. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee – Paris

French chef Alain Ducasse serves exquisite French dishes and delectable desserts in his signature restaurant situated in Paris’ Plaza Athenee hotel. Specializing in “rare and precious ingredients” you’ll find the menu filled with truffles, caviar, lobster, and crayfish – which may help explain the hefty prices.

What should you order? Creamy pasta with truffles; smoked, tea-glazed pigeon or line-caught sea bass with green asparagus. The wine list is apparently superb. And don’t forget the sublime desserts, reputedly the finest in all of Paris.

Cost: £217 ($330) per person

1.     Aragawa, Tokyo

And finally, (fanfare please) the title of most expensive restaurant in the world goes to Aragawa in Tokyo (incidentally, did you know Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than Paris?).

Related blog post

• Serena Cowdy writes:

  Frugal Food - 9 July 2010

  This week we bring you new and extended restaurant deals from Brasserie Gerard, All Bar One, Prezzo, Loch Fyne, Pizza Express and Ego. We also have an M&S wine sale, a Kit Kat Chunky bumper pack for £1, 2 4 1 on Muller Fruit Corner six-packs, a jar of Nescafe for £1.50, half price Pringles, a free breakfast at Giraffe, an ongoing Morrisons voucher deal, a new Sainsbury’s discount code, and the chance to bag a free food guide!

  Read this post

The restaurant may surprise – its sombre, basement floor location in what looks like an office building often leaves diners wondering if they’re in the right place. But the menu may prove more astonishing. You won’t find sushi, tempura or other Japanese delicacies gracing its pages. Nope, Aragawa, unbelievably serves just one thing. And that’s...steak.

But we’re not talking 18-ounce ribeyes with chips. Aragawa’s steaks are made from the infamous Kobe beef - an unbelievably tender, marbleized meat that comes from Japanese Wagyu cows. Yep – these are the bovines that are hand-fed, given sake to drink and massaged every day to produce the most tender, juicy beef in the world. It may melt-in-your-mouth – but it’ll certainly leave a burning hole in your pocket!

Cost: £242 ($368) per person

So there you have it, some of the most expensive restaurants in the world. And remember, most of these prices have not factored in wine/drinks or service – so if you ever dine in one, do remember to bring something to catch your jaw in when the bill arrives.

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