Some people prefer to have full control over their order when dining out, but surrendering to a chef’s set menu can be highly rewarding. These 10 restaurants across the United States include tasting-menu destinations as well as spots that fall somewhere in between, offering prix-fixe formats where guests can choose from a selection of dishes for each course. All are accompanied by Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning wine programs and many feature carefully selected beverage pairings, creating a truly well-rounded dining experience.
To check out more wine-and-food destinations around the world, see Wine Spectator’s more than 2,900 Restaurant Award–winning picks, including the 97 Grand Award recipients worldwide that hold our highest honor.
Do you have a favorite you’d like to see on this list? Send your recommendations to restaurantawards@mshanken.com. We want to hear from you!
Note: Opening hours and menus are subject to change as the industry continues to adjust to evolving regulations.
Café Monarch
6939 E. First Ave., Scottsdale, Ariz.
Telephone (480) 970-7682
Website www.cafemonarch.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Café Monarch is a beacon of fine dining in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, Ariz., earning a Best of Award of Excellence since 2019. Wine director John Germain highlights wineries from California, France and Italy on the 2,250-label list, which opens with substantial by-the-glass and Champagne selections. Guests can pick from a wide range of Pinot Noirs from Burgundy and Oregon, as well as many Brunellos (including a Casanova di Neri vertical), Napa Cabernets, Spanish reds and more. These wines join chef Gustavo Lewkowicz’s American prix-fixe menu, which ranges between $100 and $185 (a vegetarian menu is also available). Diners can enjoy dishes like glazed pork belly, corn panna cotta, coffee-crusted venison, duck breast and a range of caviars, or an eight-course tasting menu for $265.
Californios
355 11th St., San Francisco, Calif.
Telephone (415) 757-0994
Website www.californiossf.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Californian and Mexican cuisines mingle at San Francisco Best of Award of Excellence winner Californios. Wine director and co-owner Charlotte Randolph plays off these flavors with a 540-label wine program focused mainly on California and France. Guests can explore these regions’ diverse styles and grapes, as well as ones from farther abroad, matching them with chef Val Cantu’s $223 prix-fixe menu. Celebrating Bay Area ingredients, dinner offers dishes like ceviche, migas, carne asada, enchiladas with peanut mole, pistachio semifreddo and brightly colored chocolate bonbons. These are served in Californios’ dining room as well as in its enclosed garden space.
The Fearrington House Restaurant
The Fearrington House Inn, 2000 Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro, N.C.
Telephone (919) 542-2121
Website www.fearrington.com/house
Best of Award of Excellence
For nearly four decades, the Fearrington House Inn has been a hospitality hub in Fearrington Village, a countryside community not far from Chapel Hill, N.C. The Fearrington House Restaurant is a vital part of this legacy, featuring a regional, prix-fixe menu and a 1,450-label wine list. Wine director Paula De Pano has selected bottles from throughout California, Italy, Burgundy, the Rhône and Germany. The restaurant also hosts classes on wine and spirits to help visitors further their beverage exploration. Alongside the 5,000-bottle wine inventory, chef Colin Bedford creates seasonal menus of dishes like Silver Queen corn soup with Sauternes, house-cured bacon with lobster and peach, seared halibut and oven-roasted eggplant with tomato. Guests can pick three courses for $99 or four courses for $120, and wine pairings are available. The tasting menu, with an alternative vegetarian option for each course, starts at $135 per person.
March
1624 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas
Telephone (832) 380-2481
Website www.marchrestaurant.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Houston restaurant March isn’t named for its opening month (it premiered March 2021 following the debut of the lounge portion a few months before). Rather, it’s titled after the borderland frontiers that dot regions around Europe. The cuisine at this Best of Award of Excellence winner is even more specific, focusing on Mediterranean flavors. The restaurant was closed for summer break, but on Sept. 16, the team will invite guests back to enjoy two new tasting menus from chef-partner Felipe Riccio. The new dishes are inspired by the cuisines of Spain's Andalusia and Mercia regions, and will be served alongside French, Italian and Californian wines from wine director Mark Sayre’s 1,400-label list. Bottles from Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux, Piedmont and Tuscany form the core, featuring noted estates like Krug, Ramey and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Guests can also expect wines from Spain, Portugal, Australia, Lebanon and farther abroad.
Quince
470 Pacific Ave., San Francisco, Calif.
Telephone (415) 775-8500
Website www.quincerestaurant.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Italian cuisine may be a significant influence for San Francisco restaurant Quince, but local and seasonal ingredients are at the heart of this Best of Award of Excellence winner. The restaurant changes its tasting menus nightly, and sources produce via a close collaboration with Fresh Run Farm in Bolinas, Calif. The multicourse experience starts at $360. This forms the base for chef and co-owner Michael Tusk’s dishes, like asparagus with mustard and pumpernickel or a ricotta tart with gooseberry and fennel. Wine director Matt Cirne accompanies Tusk’s menu with a 1,200-label wine list that is strongest in selections from California, Piedmont, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne and the Rhône. This includes verticals and older vintages from noted wineries like Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Agrapart and Dominus Estate, as well as a robust showing of Barolos, Barbarescos and other Italian reds.
Vetri Cucina
1312 Spruce St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Telephone (215) 732-3478
Website www.vetricucina.com
Best of Award of Excellence
One of Philadelphia's most prominent chefs, Marc Vetri, is behind this intimate spot near Center City. It now has a sibling in Las Vegas, but the original Vetri Cucina in Philly seats just 32 guests and serves a signature "quattro piatti" prix-fixe menu for $135 per person. The Italian cuisine is influenced by the team's travels around the world, with dishes such as fried quail with stone fruits, roasted lamb with romesco and a well-rounded pasta selection. The Best of Award of Excellence–winning wine program excels in Italy (especially Piedmont and Tuscany) and a handful of French regions. Choose from the list of 300 labels or go for the set pairings curated by wine director Bobby Domenick for an additional $85.
Wheatleigh
Wheatleigh Hotel, W. Hawthorne Road, Lenox, Mass.
Telephone (413) 637-0610
Website www.wheatleigh.com
Best of Award of Excellence
The original founder of Wheatleigh, Henry H. Cook, purchased the Berkshires property in 1893 and built an extravagant mansion inspired by his ancestral home in England's Wheatley village. The enduring boutique hotel has housed a Restaurant Award–winning dining room since 1989, which now holds a Best of Award of Excellence for its 850 selections. Wine director Stephanie Steed runs the program with a focus on California, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Italy. Chef Jeffrey Thompson presents American-French cuisine through prix-fixe menus of three or four courses as well as a six-course tasting menu, and starting prices range from $95 to $158.
Gabriel Kreuther
41 W. 42nd St., New York, N.Y.
Telephone (212) 257-5826
Website www.gknyc.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Gabriel Kreuther is a prestigious fine-dining chef with a New York destination of the same name. The Best of Award of Excellence winner in Midtown Manhattan features an extensive wine list managed by wine director and general manager Paul Lee, boasting highlights in French regions such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhône and Alsace. California and Italy are strong points too. Some à-la-carte options are available in the lounge and patio area, but the dining room is prix-fixe only. Guests can choose from three courses for $120 or four courses for $145. There's also a $285 tasting-menu experience available for up to six guests in a semi-private dining space, and only one of these reservations is available each night. Across the menus, you'll find signature dishes from the French chef such as bacon tarte flambée and roasted Alsatian country sausage.
Indian Accent
123 W. 56 St., New York, N.Y.
Telephone (212) 842-8070
Website www.indianaccent.com
Best of Award of Excellence
At New York's Indian Accent, chef Manish Mehrotra brings modern creativity to comforting Indian flavors on a prix-fixe menu. Three courses are available for $80, while four courses cost $95. Options range from appetizers like pork dumplings with broth and crispy black rice to plates like tofu masala and pepper chicken with vegetable stew. The side dishes are just as enticing, like wild-mushroom kulcha with truffle butter and a three-chile potato. The cuisine makes for dynamic pairings to discover on the Best of Award of Excellence–winning wine list of 440 labels. The diverse program covers the globe with strong points in France, Italy, Germany, Austria, California and more.
é by José Andrés
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, Nev.
Telephone (702) 698-7950
Website www.ebyjoseandres.com
Award of Excellence
Las Vegas' Cosmopolitan resort is home to a location of chef José Andrés' Restaurant Award–winning Jaleo, but there's another wine destination from the famed Spanish chef tucked in an adjacent space. Called é by José Andrés, the intimate space serves a dramatically presented tasting menu fusing Spanish and avant-garde influences. There are only nine seats at the chef’s counter and two seatings each night. The specific dishes vary, with the experience starting at $290 per person. The wine program holds an Award of Excellence, featuring more than 200 selections by wine director Andy Myers emphasizing Spain.
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