What's better than food? Delicious food! Even better than that is getting to eat said food at a truly stunning place. The restaurants on this list are in the most popular cities in the world, offering wonderful aesthetics that extend even to the meals on the menu.
Looking for a meal and a view? Check out any of these 20 beautiful restaurants all over the world on Backdrop:
1. Carbón, Paris, France
Picture this: You're the star of a fantasy movie or show where antiques meet technology. In this life, Carbón is designed much like the perfect hangout spot for you and your friends. The lighting is perfect, getting even more magical as night starts to creep in.. The restaurant’s rustic aesthetic is well defined by the textures and colour scheme of the furnishing, but the natural theme is also found in the cooking techniques and menu.
2. Charmaine’s, San Francisco, USA
Charmaine’s manages to be comfortable as well as klutz-proof, with all its legroom.The rooftop restaurant has modern decor, with the furniture as the major aesthetic factor. There's also a homey feel to the aesthetic, so it’s like that really big house with lots of comfortable furniture. The outdoor dining area involves beautiful greens, the open sky, and a great view of the city.
3. Sketch, Mayfair, London
Mayfair is filled with beautiful restaurants, and Sketch is one of the most popular, on and off the Backdrop app. The restaurant’s aesthetic basically revolves around enjoying colours, whether it's in little squares, running paint blotches, whole paintings or covering an entire section of the restaurant. The structures (furniture or just part of the design) are just as quirky as the colouring at Sketch. Word on the street is that their afternoon tea is exquisite.
4. La Colombe, Cape Town, South Africa
This contemporary restaurant in South Africa is mostly minimalist, but it maintains elegance worthy of the French-Asian cuisine served. At La Colombé, you're surrounded by the view of the greenery outside. Inside, the palette is a maximum of 5 colours, including the greens. Since there's so much beauty outside to appreciate, the simple interior setting is excellent. The most elaborate part of it, to me, is the wall art of what looks like a surreal forest.
5. Bakeri, Brooklyn, New York
Bakeri has two Brooklyn locations, both similar in design. The walls of the older location (Williamsburg) are social media stars, as the wallpaper is a go-to backdrop for people taking pictures for social media. It’s no surprise the newer location has the same aesthetic. Both pastry shops complement the wonderful aroma of their menu with floral wallpaper and lovely wooden furniture.
6. The London Project, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The London Project looks a lot like an evening in paradise. Conveniently, the restaurant stays open till midnight. The touch of art pieces is one bit of the decor to be appreciated, but the blend of the urban jungle aesthetic and neon lights/colours is what nurtures the evening-in-paradise aura.
7. Tree by Naked, Tokyo, Japan
Tree by Naked is the brainchild of Muramatsu, a globally recognised artist from Japan, so my Japanophile friend helped place this restaurant on my must-visit list a little while back. I still have no idea how I’ll afford the $3000 cost of the imaginative design, but I’ll figure it out for the sake of its ancestral-yet-futuristic fairytale aura. Colourful 2D and 3D effects help define the surreal feel of the atmosphere, and there's something on the menu for both vegan and non-vegan eaters.
8. Yamashiro, Los Angeles
At this Asian inspired restaurant, there’s beauty all around you. One minute, you're enjoying the view of the incredible garden and antiquities housed by the historic building. Next thing, you're taking in even more beauty through its 180-degree view of Hollywood's lights. Yamashiro has the structure of a pagoda (Asian towers with many tiers, mostly used as temples). Therefore, it's undeniably magnificent, yet it manages to be quite cosy.
9. Beluga Restaurant, Dakar, Senegal
The best part of the setting at Beluga Restaurant is definitely the incredible lighting. The colour scheme is mostly dark, but with the polished furniture and bottles of alcohol, the restaurant’s glow is intense as the light bounces off of any surface it can. The intensity, however, doesn't imply too much brightness, maintaining the evening aesthetic.
10. The Green Spot, Barcelona, Spain
The Green Spot’s aesthetic is highly befitting of the beach ready crowd it regularly gets. My favourite part of the midcentury modern scenery is its exhibition of all the incredible shades of brown that wood is. Given its name, I was expecting a lot more foliage, but I guess the number of plants used in the set is satisfying enough.
11. Ron Gastrobar, Amsterdam, Netherlands
This modern tropical dream of a restaurant is great for brunch. I recommend going with someone who lights up your day as well as Ron Gastrobar’s skylights do. I particularly appreciate that the cultural wall art is at the bar because what better way to enjoy art than with a glass of alcohol in hand?
12. Lokanta 1741, Istanbul, Turkey
This restaurant is the perfect mix of modern and rustic that somehow doesn't overwhelm you, despite how lavish it is. Perhaps it's the glasshouse effect? But then, the restaurant is open till 1 am, when the skylights provide you with a view of the stars instead of letting light in. In this case, the lighting maintains the sophistication of the restaurant. Lokanta 1741 is quite the spectacle, whether you're dining indoors or outdoor.
13. The Pier Restaurant and Lounge, Abuja, Nigeria
The Pier Restaurant and Lounge is a garden-like haven with incredible structures, most of them made of wood. My favourite structure here is the atrium which has a perfect glasshouse feel, complementing the vegetation of the outdoor scenery. The restaurant’s decor appropriately alludes to its name, except for the fact that the only water you get here comes in bottles and cups instead of a proper body like the sea.
14. Taboo Cancun, Cancun, Mexico
This Mediterranean style restaurant attains the perfect boho vibe through its furniture and the aesthetics of the lighting. The incredible view of the outside complements the charming candlelit inside quite well. The food is just as aesthetically pleasing as the non-edible parts of the restaurant. The impressive furniture is even more impressive when you consider how much legroom you have because of the arrangement.
15. Numa Pompilio Restaurante, Madrid, Spain
This restaurant looks like the perfect setting for a classic fairy tale. In this story, Numa Pompilio is a magical garden with a door that leads you to a feast by the second king of Rome — whom the restaurant is named after. I dream about leaving a slipper in the gardens as I rush out of there at midnight. (The restaurant actually stays open for another hour, but I don't get to be dramatic all the time.) Also, I only want that half of the fairytale experience. I'm not exactly keen on being found by a man because he has my slipper, especially in a city I’m visiting. A little creepy.
16. BiXi Beer, Chicago
This brewery + restaurant combo serves amazing alcohol and mainly Asian cuisine from Wednesdays to Thursdays. The juxtaposition of different shades of the same hues (green and white) is constant in BiXi Beer’s aesthetic, and the furniture exhibits the refinement of stained wood. The place is named after a fairytale dragon-turtle hybrid, so the magical artistic touch in this suitably minimalist location is a little obliged.
17. Primerose Las Vegas, USA
Given my potential rich aunty status, I look forward to brunch with the girls at this restaurant. Primerose Las Vegas gives some cottagecore vibes with its rattan furniture, greens of every shade and white flowers. It also attains a sort of contemporary magnificence through its glimmering white and (some) neon lights.
18. The Ivy Spinningfields, Manchester,
The Ivy Spinningfields uses colourful floral patterns to achieve a tropical aesthetic. The inclusion of skylights then provides a befitting glasshouse effect. Even birds are part of the art, so with the flowers, the whole place reminds me of the animated movie Rio. There’s a modern touch to the decor through the furniture and evening lighting.
19. Terrasse De La Fontaine, Marrakech, Morocco
The vintage bathtub filled with flowers is one of the highlights of this restaurant, but Terrasse De Las Fontaine offers beauty in other aspects. The standard white walls all over the restaurant are wonderfully minimalist, the modern furniture and arrangement creating a perfect setting. Vintage meets modern, ornate meets simple.
20. Mandolin Aegean Bistro, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
This restaurant is my definition of ‘we’re outside’ vibes because it’s like there's a little bit of outside, even in the indoor dining area of the restaurant. Mandolin Aegean Bistro has a simple palette, but the many flowering plants sprinkle a few other colours here and there, perfectly complementing the white walls and majorly wooden furniture. The sky blue colour of the doors and windows is a nice touch to the scenery, completing the Greek-inspired aesthetic.
