Over the past year, there's been a flurry of exciting restaurant openings across the globe. From eateries where spectacular views match the food, to celebrated chefs spreading their wings further afield and hot new establishments that have diners clamouring to get a table, here’s a selection of some of the destination restaurants blazing a trail this year.

The Zaha Hadid-designed Morpheus is a futuristic-looking luxury hotel in Macau, where legendary French chef Alain Ducasse serves contemporary Gallic cuisine alongside some of the signature dishes that made the great man’s name.

Expect exquisite, elegant dishes crafted with high-end ingredients like gold caviar, foie gras and blue lobster, as well as European produce such as Pyrénées lamb and spelt from Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The coffee and chocolate dessert (pictured) is made with fine ingredients from Paris.

Amara at Paraiso, which opened in January and is headed up by James Beard award-winning chef Michael Schwartz, has swiftly become one of Miami’s must-try restaurants. It's unsurprising given the stunning waterfront location on Biscayne Bay and the heady promise of vibrant Latin American-inspired coastal food.

The menu celebrates Amara’s open kitchen wood grill and Josper charcoal oven – highlights include sweetbreads with chimichurri, crispy octopus with braised yuca, pork belly feijoada and short rib empanadas. There's also a raw bar with fresh shellfish and ceviche.

Not many establishments have a whale skeleton (albeit a fake one) hanging from their ceilings but Glass Mar does. Headed up by the much-admired ‘chef of the sea’ Ángel León, whose Cádiz eateries have earned him four Michelin stars, it’s a stylish yet informal seafood restaurant in the heart of Madrid’s art triangle.

Glass Mar is all about the seafood. Dishes include cuttlefish croquettes, clam velouté with sea essence, salt-roasted tuna belly, and tortilla with crystal shrimps and Basque chilli peppers (pictured). And that's not all – there's an intriguing chocoplankton dessert, too.

A collaboration between Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele and three Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura, the Gucci Osteria makes up part of the new Gucci Garden complex which also includes a museum and boutique. Fashionistas will adore the striking décor and the menu is more reasonable than your typical designer prices.

Although Italian cuisine lies at the heart of Gucci Osteria’s menu, there’s also a nod to South American flavours thanks to Mexican head chef Ana Karime Lopez. Expect elegant fare such as purple corn tostadas, tortellini with Parmigiano Reggiano cream and white truffle, and the wonderfully named pasta dish 'Even Angels Eat Beans' with pasta, beans, mussels and bottarga.

This minimalist tasting menu-only restaurant from the team behind Atoboy opened in May and is about as cool as it gets. Atomix is all about attention to detail – $600 plates painstakingly sourced from Asia, a memento booklet for every diner – but it’s never flashy. The muted colour scheme is chic and the communal 14-seater chef’s counter gives this fine dining Korean spot a warm, intimate vibe.

The 10-course tasting menu, which offers Korean dishes that are both innovative and recognisable, is a labour of love for husband and wife team Ellia and Junghyun Park. The focus is on seafood such as white sweet shrimp (pictured) and fried langoustine with nasturtium. There's not one but two desserts to conclude the experience.

Tom Kerridge is a much-loved British chef and the first to be awarded two Michelin stars for a pub, The Hand & Flowers. So it was only a matter of time before Kerridge put his name to a restaurant in one of the country’s finest hotels, Kerridge's Bar & Grill at the Corinthia Hotel London.

Kerridge is known for his refined take on British classic dishes so the menu is brimming with old favourites executed with a modern, charming touch: crispy pig's head with mustard mayonnaise and pickles (pictured); saddle of Cotswold lamb with shepherd’s pie, black cabbage and pickled lemon; and deep-fried brill and chips with pease pudding, tartare and Matson spiced sauce.

The beachside lighthouse on Desroches island in the Seychelles has been turned into a restaurant and bar with 180° views of the Indian Ocean. The aptly named The Lighthouse also has a terrace where guests can sit out with sushi and a cocktail or two.

There's plenty of choice on the menu here. Guests can choose from the raw bar with ceviche and carpaccio on offer or from the sushi counter with crispy tuna nigiri and catch of the day sashimi. Alternatively, opt for hot dishes such as sake-flamed black cod, duck breast with spiced and candied kumquat, and a selection of dry-aged steaks.

Acclaimed chef and restaurateur David Chang strikes gold again, this time with his first LA restaurant, majordōmo, which opened in January. On offer is a regularly changing menu that pays homage to Chang’s Korean heritage and other Asian influences while incorporating the culinary sensibilities of California. The space is large, industrial and lively.

Creative dishes that don't play by the rules are on the menu. Think appetisers such as mussels with jalapeño dashi and oysters with kimchi. Bigger plates include roasted duck crispy rice with foie gras and boiled whole chicken with black truffle. Noodles are a must-order: try tapioca lo mein or mafaldine with xo and clams.

Within months of opening his new venture, Ollie Dabbous, one of Britain’s most exciting chefs, won a Michelin star for Hide, a light and bright restaurant that showcases refined, stunning and inventive dishes. Amazing menus aside, if the picture windows overlooking Green Park don’t draw you in, it’s worth going just to see the handmade twisted oak staircase.

Menus vary depending on whether you’re dining ‘above’ or on the more informal ‘ground’ floor. Opt for the ‘above’ tasting menu and expect to sample Wagyu beef shavings, oscietra caviar and rye in a warm oxtail broth or the decadent-sounding ‘gold, frankincense and myrrh’ dessert. Downstairs, dishes are just as tempting with mackerel tartare, barbecued octopus, and maple leaf and pecan millefeuille on offer.

One of the latest additions to Melbourne’s notable stable of restaurants is Mjølner, the new spot from Sven Almenning of Eau de Vie and Boilermaker House. Dark and opulent, the décor is reminiscent of a Viking dining hall complete with axes and polished horns – and the prow of a longship. Understated it’s not, but it’s certainly different and pretty mesmerising.

As one would expect from Viking dining, this is a meat-heavy restaurant. A few things on the carnivorous menu include slow-braised short rib, enormous steaks such as the 900g (2lb) ribeye (pictured), roast porchetta and roast bone marrow with meat powder. While there are fish, birds and vegetables on the menu, the focus is on the kind of food that the Norsemen of yore would have approved of.

Manhatta is a sky-high dining experience from NYC hospitality darling Danny Meyer. It’s plush and sexy with a view to die for – guests wine and dine 60 floors up – and the cocktails are as impressive as the food.

The three-course prix fixe menus aren't cheap but then the dishes don't scrimp on high-end ingredients. There's lobster Louie with lettuce, kohlrabi and egg, Wagyu coulotte with potato aligot, and turbot with shiitake, bone marrow and scallions.

One of the world’s most iconic restaurants is back. After a year-long hiatus from Copenhagen and appearing as a pop-up in Mexico, Noma is in a new venue. The dining area remains relatively small – just 40 covers plus a private dining room – and the site has an urban farm and fermentation room. As expected it continues to wow diners with pioneering Nordic cuisine courtesy of René Redzepi and his talented team.

Redzepi arguably turned foraging into an art form, so expect more of all that nature offers, such as the dish pictured, which comprises of blueberry and walnuts with ants and wood sorrel. Noma's menu rotates around three seasons: Game & Forest (9-22 December); Seafood (8 January-1 June); and Vegetable (26 June-15 September). They're all as wonderful as each other, if you can bag a reservation.

The restaurant in the third NoMad Hotel (there are also hotels in New York and Los Angeles) is the most stunning of the chain’s eateries. Clad with almost 25,000 vintage books, with high ceilings and grand chandeliers, it’s a breathtaking space that’s unashamedly opulent. 

Since opening in October, the NoMad restaurant has regaled diners with foods befitting its luxurious style: fruits de mer, caviar, steak tartare, pata negra, lobster thermidor and foie gras grace the menu.

This year, Laurent Tourondel, who’s well-known in the US for his New York eateries L’Amico and The Vine, as well as restaurants in Miami and Charlotte, has brought his culinary skills and flair to London’s Café Royal in trendy Soho.

The grill and sushi bar offers diners the best of both worlds. Diners can choose a bento box or sushi, while guests after a heartier dish can opt for meat from the grill, including steaks from America and Japan.

According to Tatler HK, Popinjays, The Murray hotel’s new rooftop restaurant, bar and terrace, has swiftly become the place to be seen. Buzzy and stylish, it attracts Hong Kong’s fashionable crowd who come to enjoy the modern European-inspired menu and spectacular views.

King langoustine with Tasmania winter truffle, avocado, celeriac and winter truffle (pictured) is just one of the sumptuous dishes on Popinjay’s menu. If that doesn’t tempt you, there’s Australian Wagyu tomahawk with jalapeño and béarnaise sauce or poached wild sea bass with crushed potatoes, manjimup truffle and champagne sauce.

One of LA’s most exciting restaurant openings of the year generated quite a buzz and the opening party alone attracted a who’s who of Hollywood’s finest. James Beard award-winning chef and rising star Jessica Largely runs the show at Simone, producing plates that honour California’s incredible produce. As well as the restaurant, which is decorated in contrasting tones of warm wood, black brick and taupe seating, there’s a sleek bar, Duello.

The gorgeous menu is a beautifully balanced affair that includes burrata with persimmon confit, pomegranate, nigella and purslance; and beef tartare with sesame sourdough, Thai shallots, kaffir lime and radish. Further inventive combos include short rib with black barley porridge, broccolini and ginger lemon; and sturgeon with green garlic, sprouting cauliflower and yuzu. With dishes like these it’s no wonder Largely’s star is in the ascendant.