These are not your typical neighbourhood restaurants. These are places worth taking a journey for, even if that journey involves a long, arduous trek, a boat ride or a seaplane. These places, which are found down remote, wiggling roads, atop steep hills and clinging to mountainsides, are the world’s most remote restaurants – and they're all worthy of a food pilgrimage.
Click or scroll through our gallery to explore the most remote restaurants in the furthest corners of the globe, counting down to the most far-flung on all.
We've based our ranking on how remote and difficult to access each restaurant is, as well as on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.
A haven for leaf peepers in the autumn, when the maple trees are resplendent in red and gold, and for skiers in the snow-blanketed winter, Stowe is a destination with much to offer lovers of the great outdoors. And there's no better place to fuel up for a day of adventuring than Cliff House, a rustic American restaurant snuggled into the side of Mount Mansfield at an elevation of 3,625 feet (1,100m). Unless you have a ski pass, you'll need to ride a gondola to get here – but with views like these, who could possibly complain?
Located in one of the more remote parts of the UK – but not so remote it can’t be accessed by train – The Cabin Restaurant appears unassuming at first. People flock to this summer restaurant for one main reason: the lobster. It doesn’t come cheap but, cooked in garlic butter, herbs and white wine, it’s widely regarded as the freshest and tastiest around. You can access the port village via a train journey complete with stunning views, coming from Glasgow, Oban or Fort William.
At 1,732 feet (528m) above sea level, the Tan Hill Inn is Britain’s highest pub, waiting on its lonely hill for people to travel up by car, on foot or by huff-puffing up the hillsides on a bicycle. The setting is just glorious, with the 17th-century inn and its outdoor seating and bubble domes looking out over the Yorkshire Dales. Despite its isolation, plenty of people are willing to make the journey for a warm welcome and proper pub grub.
A spectacular glass structure perched 10,000 feet (3,058m) above sea level in one of the Austrian Alps' most captivating ski resorts – and accessible via a sky-scraping gondola ride – ice Q is a restaurant so roguishly dapper that it's even appeared on the silver screen as a Bond film shooting location. Recognised for its sophisticated menu of 'haute' cuisine (in every sense of the word), this upscale eatery has received not one, but two toque awards from the prestigious Gault & Millau restaurant guide.
Once a stagecoach stop, mountainside saloon Cold Spring Tavern is still a haven for weary travellers today. If you happen to be winding your way along the San Marcos Pass through the Santa Ynez Mountains at an elevation of 2,218 feet (676m), it’s the perfect place to pause for a bite to eat and a revitalising drink. Grab one of the spot's famous tri-tip sandwiches, which come with flavoursome house-made sauces (including barbecue, apple horseradish and salsa), or explore the menu of barbecue, burgers and chilli before you get back on the road.
Tucked off a dusty highway in one of America's most remote towns, Hell’s Backbone has been serving organic, local and seasonal produce in the middle of nowhere for more than two decades. Chefs and co-owners Jen Castle and Blake Spalding run the restaurant according to Buddhist principles, using fruits and vegetables grown in the kitchen gardens and attached six-acre farm. They don’t take reservations except for larger groups, so anyone wanting to dine here will have to make the journey and take their chances.
Surrounded by the wild, wonderful landscapes of northern Sweden, the restaurant at Treehotel is a destination in itself. With a menu focused on traditional Swedish cuisine, created with foraged ingredients and sustainably sourced game, each plate encapsulates the spectacular surroundings. As the name of the hotel suggests, the restaurant and suites are suspended in the trees, deep in a forest.
Tucked way off the main drag in the tiny village of Giornico (and reached via a rudimentary and very rocky road), Grotto Rodai is the type of restaurant that people find by chance – and then really don’t want to tell others about. This is because its remoteness and hidden-gem status is all part of the charm; you can sit inside the cosy dining room or outside on stone benches, shaded by centuries-old trees and arbours woven with grapevines. The menu focuses on regional cuisine, including risottos and polenta dishes.
This mountainside hostel and restaurant soars at around 7,240 feet (2,207m) above sea level – so it would be easy for hikers, light-headed from the altitude and tired from hiking the Chamonix needles, to suspect they’re imagining things. But, no, this really is a dream place to rest and refuel with traditional Savoyard cuisine, most of it (very deliciously) involving cheese and potatoes. Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille is at the foot of the Aiguille du Midi, with views across to Mont Blanc.
Guests might experience a close encounter of the third kind when visiting this restaurant, shop and small inn – but everything else is far, far away. This is because Little A’Le’Inn in Rachel, which has a population of fewer than 100, is in the middle of the Nevada desert off the 'Extraterrestrial Highway', en route to Area 51. The restaurant serves up Alien Burgers, fries, stories about alien sightings and advice on the best spots for watching the skies.
This Scottish Highlands pub, close to Ben Nevis, was named the most remote pub in mainland Britain by Guinness World Records. The Old Forge can only be reached via an 18-mile (29km) hike or via a sea crossing to the village of Inverie on the Knoydart Peninsula. It opens seasonally, so those who fancy dining on locally caught, sustainable seafood in the middle of nowhere should check before starting the journey.
A morning cup of coffee is invigorating in itself – but it's even more invigorating when sipped in a silver-clad, bean-shaped building set 11,300 feet (3.440m) up a mountain in the Austrian Alps. Café 3440 is Austria's highest coffeehouse, offering regional delicacies alongside a range of speciality brews. Accessible by cable car, it's an architectural marvel complete with a viewing platform offering views of glaciers so unparalleled that it almost feels as if you can reach out and touch them.
The Eagle’s Nest, or Kehlsteinhaus, was originally a gift for Hitler and, although he didn’t spend much time here, it became a symbol of Nazi rule. It’s now a restaurant serving traditional Bavarian cuisine – and while the website says reservations aren’t required, the sheer effort of the journey means it’s worth calling ahead. Teetering on the edge of Mount Kehlstein in the Bavarian Alps, this engineering marvel is accessed via a wiggly (and at times terrifying) road carved into the mountains, with a brass elevator whisking diners to the restaurant.
The only sailboat pizzeria in the world, Pizza Pi brings its floating pizza to boaters every day. You can reach it in a raft or dinghy (a shuttle is available) or you can choose to swim up if you feel like a dip in the turquoise waters. Pizza Pi is usually moored in Christmas Cove off the coast of Saint Thomas – if you’re not sailing in, you’ll have to fly, which takes around three and a half hours from New York or 10 hours from San Francisco.
Mountainside Beano’s Cabin has a lofty position in Beaver Creek resort in Avon, surrounded by forest. Rather than be disadvantaged by its remote location, though, the restaurant makes the most of it by including the journey in the experience. There’s no easy way to get here, but there’s no ugly way, either. In winter, diners are whisked up via a 4x4 or shuttle that gets them safely to the restaurant in time for dinner. Hearty seasonal dishes include citrus-brined rabbit confit and bison tartare.
It’s not just the location of The Lost Kitchen that makes it hard to get to, tucked in a renovated 19th-century grist mill reached via a bridge spanning a babbling brook. It’s also the way tables are allocated, via a postcard lottery. People send requests in the mail and hope to be picked. The lucky few get to dine in the beautiful, wood-accented home of chef and founder Erin French, whose all-female team create an ever-changing tasting menu based on locally sourced produce.
This restaurant clings to a rock on Michamvi Pingwe beach on Unguja, part of the Zanzibar archipelago. It’s at high tide that it becomes truly remote – an island of its own, in fact, that’s reachable only via boat. The Rock sits on what was once a fisherman’s post and now has just a dozen tables beneath a palm tree roof, where diners feast on seafood while surrounded by Indian Ocean views.
Reaching Seven Glaciers restaurant, which sits prettily on a mountaintop around 2,300 feet (701m) above sea level, requires quite the journey. An aerial tram glides above the tree canopies, with dizzying views of seven (on a clear day) hanging glaciers and Turnagain Arm, part of the remote Cook Inlet. Diners are then ushered into an elevator and guided along a golden carpet before finally being seated for their meal, with signature dishes like scallop bisque served by huge picture windows.
The restaurant at Arctic Bath is not only in the middle of nowhere, but in the middle of a river in the middle of nowhere. The floating hotel, whose unique, nest-like main building houses the restaurant, glides on the Lule River in summer and is frozen in place when the ice sets in, accessed via a pontoon. The ingredients that go into the ever-changing set menu at the Swedish Lapland retreat, including oil, honey, herbs, berries and reindeer meat, are sourced from the region.
There could be a deadline for dining at Ithaa. This underwater restaurant, located 16 feet (5m) below sea level, was predicted to last just 20 years after its 2004 installation – though fortunately, it's still going strong today. If you want to see this submarine wonder while you still can, you’ll need to transfer to Rangali Island by seaplane from the Maldives' main airport, Velana. Once you arrive, panoramic views of coral gardens (not to mention a tantalising fusion menu) will make the journey well worth it.
Pebble Beach is one of two restaurants at Qualia, a remote resort at the northern tip of Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays, surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef. It’s far from everything except some of the world’s most famously beautiful scenery. The fine dining restaurant, usually open for lunch and dinner, serves zingy seafood and dishes made with regional produce. Tables line the edge of a wooden deck for uninterrupted views of the ocean and islands with sparkling white beaches.
Dining at Fogo Island Inn, whose picture windows look out onto the deep, navy ocean and the occasional breaching whale, feels like dining at the edge of the world. The sleek hotel, in a remote fishing village on Fogo’s northern coast, stands alone (and on stilts). The dining room, described as 'the noble prow of the ship', is considered one of the best in Canada, with ingredients fished or foraged nearby.
Under really does lie underwater, although that’s not the only factor that makes it remote. It’s also right off the craggy shoreline of isolated village Båly, in the south of Norway. It’s the world’s largest underwater restaurant and plunges to 18 feet (5.5m) below the water’s surface, looking rather like a sleek, minimalist capsized ship. It opened in 2019 and quickly gained a Michelin star for its tasting menu of local seafood, seabirds and wild meats.
Resting right on the banks by Endeavour Inlet and accessible only by foot, boat or helicopter, Furneaux is part of a resort of the same name. It's located on the popular Queen Charlotte Track, a long-distance trail on the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island – and those who make the effort are well rewarded. The menu is all about local produce, from green-lipped mussels to wild-caught game, served with Marlborough wines. The setting, surrounded by mountains and with views over the water, is unbeatable.
It’s a long and arduous hike or a meandering cable car journey (followed by a shorter hike) up to this 19th-century inn, which clings vertiginously to the side of the Ebenalp mountain in the Appenzell region of the Swiss Alps. Berggasthaus Aescher was built by farmers as a place to rest while their goats grazed. Now it’s a jaw-dropping destination restaurant and guesthouse with views across the valleys to Lake Constance. The food is typical hearty Alpine fare with lots of cheese, eggs and potatoes – much needed for the return journey.
Virgilio Martínez earned his reputation for innovative Peruvian cuisine at his restaurant Central in Lima, where each course of the tasting menu reflects a different altitude in the country, from the sea to the Andes. Mil takes things to a whole new level, both in terms of the menu – focused on roots, tubers, herbs and fruit grown by Andean communities at high altitude – and location. The restaurant is in Peru’s Sacred Valley, 11,706 feet (3,568m) above sea level and surrounded by farming villages.
Reaching this restaurant on Koh Kood, off Thailand’s southeast coast, starts with a 90-minute flight from Bangkok airport to a private island owned by Soneva Kiri resort, where these dining treepods are located. Even then, there’s still a speedboat ride to reach the resort itself –so naturally, most people sleep over. It’s well worth the trek, though: diners are nestled in their own bamboo pods, which hang amid the trees with bay views, while traditional Thai dishes are delivered via zipline.
Bolivia’s magnificent salt flats are a must-see for any keen traveller – and happily, there’s no need for a trade-off between incredible sights and incredible food. Located at the Palacio de Sal, a hotel made of local salt, Tika Palace serves gourmet cuisine loaded with Bolivian flavours. There are several ways to reach this unique landscape, including by plane (from La Paz), by train or by bus. If you want to drive, you’ll need a 4x4 and a careful plan for fuelling up before you pass the last petrol station.
It doesn't get more remote than the Gobi Desert; not only is Mongolia huge, but it has a low population density of just five people per square mile (two people per square kilometre). At Three Camel Lodge’s Bulagtai Restaurant, authentic Mongolian food is given a contemporary twist – but to enjoy it, you’ll first need to reach the resort. If you’re lucky enough to have a private plane or helicopter, you can land just 10 minutes away. Otherwise, it’s a domestic flight from Ulaanbaatar, the country’s capital, followed by an hour’s drive across the open desert.
Around 20 miles (33km) from the nearest city, Kyoto, and reached via a mountain trail, this traditional ryokan (inn) seems to melt into its landscape. Miyamasou, family-owned for four generations, was once a rest stop for pilgrims en route to the Bujō-ji Temple on the Daihizan mountain. Now it serves what some argue is among the best cuisine in Japan, made with local delicacies like ayu (freshwater fish) and freshly foraged ingredients that bring the connection of land and heritage to diners’ plates.
If you can brave the perilous path to get there, a very rewarding cup of tea is waiting for you at Huashan Temple. Perched on one of Mount Hua’s five peaks, the Buddhist and Daoist temple provides refreshments for those who make it to the top. But to get there, you first must walk a long path of stone steps, followed by a scramble along a thin wooden ledge attached to the mountainside. You're safely attached to the cliffside for this strictly single-file trek. Just don’t look down!
In case anyone fancies a pint of Guinness and a yak burger en route to climb Mount Everest, this is the place to go. Irish Pub is nestled in the small town of Namche and, at 11,319 feet (3,450m) above sea level, claims to be the highest Irish pub in the world. It must surely be the remotest, and perhaps the only one that specialises in yak meat (the steaks are good, too). There are no roads to the town, so visitors (and suppliers) have to trek for two days from Lukla airport to reach the spot.
The dining room at Hotel Everest View is among the highest in the world, which makes sense, since it’s inside what claims to be the highest-placed hotel in the world. Perched on a ridge in Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park and 13,000 feet (3,962m) above sea level, the restaurant serves regional Khumbu cuisine and has an ancient boulder in lieu of a back wall. Despite its remote location, the restaurant is open to passersby as well as hotel guests – although, by passersby, we do mean people trekking in the mountains or landing on the hotel’s helipad.
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Last updated by Jessica Morris.