France’s 29 Best Restaurants – According To Michelin
Ahead of an anticipated summer sojourn – see which made the little red guide’s hallowed list.
Michelin has almost become as emblematic of French fine-dining landscape as the cuisine itself. While today we may think of the guidebook as a comprehensive tastemaker, the Michelin Guide’s goal in 1900 when it launched was much simpler: to drive local tourism.
At a time when there were fewer than 3,000 automobiles in all of France, the Michelin Guide was designed to highlight hotels and restaurants in such a way that would encourage motorists to make the trek—presumably wearing out their tires in the process. In 1926 the guidebook began awarding stars, and by 1936, Michelin had adopted its criteria for the tiered ratings. One star indicates a “very good restaurant in its category,” two stars translate to”excellent cooking, worth a detour,” while the coveted three stars mean a restaurant offers “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey. Those ratings have been inextricably linked to Gallic gastronomy.
Prior to the pandemic, the hallowed guide experienced upheaval to the old order. In 2019, Auberge de L’ill lost its third star after holding it for 51 years. And last year Paul Bocuse’s L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges was demoted two years after his death, sending shockwaves through the French culinary community. That continues this year as legendary chef Guy Savoy’s two-decade run with Michelin’s highest honour came to an end as his Parisian restaurant was demoted to two. It wasn’t all bad news as La Marine joined the ranks of Michelin three-star restaurants. Chef Alexandre Couillon can now be mentioned in the same breath as culinary legends from Anne-Sophie Pic to Alain Ducasse to Alain Passard. Here are France’s 29 Michelin three-star restaurants for 2023.
Alléno Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris, 8th Arrondissement
Pavillon Ledoyen’s deep Parisian roots date back to 1842, when the restaurant was first erected in the Champs-Elysées’ gardens. While you can catch a glimpse of the original painted mouldings and ceiling in the upstairs dining room, chef Yannick Alléno, who took over in 2014, brings a modern sensibility to the historic site, which earned the spot a third Michelin star just seven months after he started. Alléno’s pet technique for making sauces are “extractions.” This entails first extracting liquids from ingredients and then reducing them using a technique called cryoconcentration, which involves a combination of sub-zero temperatures and centrifugal force. Diners can enjoy the fruits of this methods in dishes like a dessert that features a coffee-flavoured fir-tree extraction jelly.
Am par Alexandre Mazzia, Marseille
Chef Alexandre Mazzia’s eponymous restaurant draws inspiration not just from the produce and seafood available in France’s Cote d’Azur, this 24-seat restaurant boasts influences from beyond its Marseille home. Mazzia spent his first 14 years living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and before his culinary career, the chef was professional basketball player. His restaurant opened in 2014, earning its first star soon after. He’s become known for unique, globally inspired compositions that have made him beloved in the chefs world, like his scorched mackerel satay with tapioca, wasabi sorbet, red métis; or his marinated egg yolk with lemon panais, combawa mais granité and tarragon.
Arpège, Paris, 7th Arrondissement
Today, there are few chefs quite as influential as Alain Passard, but back in 1986 he was simply trying to fill his mentor Alain Senderens’ big shoes. That’s the year Passard took over Senderens’ restaurant Archestrate. Passard renamed his new venture, Arpège, the French word for arpeggio, a name that like the establishment’s original name (which means orchestra en francais) pays tribute to his second love: music. Before arriving at Arpège, Passard cut his teeth at the Duc d’Enghien at the Casino of Enghien and the Carlton in Brussels, where he was awarded his first Michelin stars. Arpège earned its third in 1996 and has held onto them ever since—even after adopting a plant-centric menu in 2001. Guests can sample the signature dishes that put Passard on the map, such as his famous l’arpège egg—the hot-cold, hard-soft boiled amuse bouche you’ll now find tributes to at fine-dining restaurants around the globe.
Assiette Champenoise, Tinqueux
Chef Arnaud Lallement’s fate as a chef seemed predestined. As a child, he watched his father Jean-Pierre, who ran the family restaurant starting in 1975. Then, after studying under culinary legends, like Roger Vergé and Michel Guérard, Lallement took over at the helm in 1998. There, he won L’Assiete its second Michelin star in 2005 and its third in 2014. The menu boasts classic dishes (such as grated foie gras served over fois gras toast), as well as unique novel ones (milk-fed veal sweetbreads), but always with a focus on bringing out the pure flavours of the ingredients with just the right balance of acidity (Lallement’s mantra is “mangez vrais,” which translates to, “eat true”). And, as you’d expect from the region, there are more than a thousand champagnes in the cellar for you to sip with your meal.
Auberge du Vieux Puits, Fontjoncouse
Chef Gilles Goujon rise to Michelin stardom is the stuff of heartwarming movies. In 1990, he bought L’Auberge de Vieux Puits in the small village of Fontjoncouse for 34,000 euro, after its previous three owners had failed to turn a profit. For five years he struggled to attract diners. But his fortune turned in 1996 when he won the “Best Worker of France,” a prestigious award given out every four years to artisans in different categories. Shortly after, he snagged his first Michelin star in 1997. He won his second star in 2001 and his third in 2010.
Epicure, Paris, 8th Arrondissement
While many Michelin-star-winning chefs could be considered culinary royalty, Epicure’s chef Eric Frechon bears an additional, extra-official-sounding honourarium. He was decorated as a Knight of the Order of the “Légion d’Honneur” by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008—just a year before he was first awarded three Michelin stars. The self-described “control freak” prides himself on his ability to elevate simple—even cheap—ingredients into Michelin-star-worthy fare. Though, there’s no shortage of decadence on his menu. You’ll find classic French cuisine, such as whole roast chicken cooked in a pig’s bladder (a signature dish) and black truffle, artichoke, and foie-gras stuffed macaroni.
Flocons de Sel, Megève
Nestled in the French Alps, Flocons de Sel offers a taste of the mountains. Chef Emmanuel Renaut scours the hillsides for herbs and mushrooms to adds to his dishes. He also takes a twice-yearly sojourn with award-winning cheesemaker Jacques Dubouloz through local farms and pastures in pursuit of the very best cheese. Just don’t expect to see fussily prepared cheese dishes at Folcons de Sel: When it comes to le fromage, Renaut is a purist. You’ll find all 20 of the menu’s hand-selected cheeses in their natural state. “I don’t like to cook with cheeses. I think it’s a waste,” he once remarked.
Georges Blanc, Vonnas
Going on 38 straight years of three Michelin stars, Georges Blanc—both the chef and the restaurant—is a French culinary fixture. While Blanc sharpened his technique in restaurants in France and abroad (as well as during a stint as a military cook) it’s hard not to think that some of his talent might be hereditary. Three generations of cooks preceded him, including his grandmother, who was once named the “best cook in the world,” by a food writer. Blanc took the reins from his mother in 1968, before turning the family business into a luxury hotel in the ‘70s.
Kei, Paris, 1st Arrondissement
The newest Michelin three-star recipient in the City of Lights is also the first ever Japanese chef to nab the honour in France. Kei Kobayashi was born in Nagano before moving to France to cook. He’s serving dishes like foie gras with green apple jelly; potato gnocchi with truffle, parmesan emulsion and Iberian ham; and salmon with a bitter sorrel cream with raw and cooked vegetables. While his menu has an influence from his Japanese roots, he’s quite taken with modern French cuisine.
La Marine, Ile de Noirmoutier
When La Marine joined the ranks of three-star restaurants in 2023, Michelin’s inspectors said that chef Alexandre Couillon’s ocean-focused cuisine, which spotlights seafood and edible coastal plants, asserted La Marine as one of the very best restaurants in all of France. The guide called his style of cooking both striking and bold, calling out his “braised artisanally fished mackerel, beetroot and parsley foam” and the “crispy buckwheat dessert, caramel mousse, candied citrus fruit and sea lettuce sorbet.”
L’Ambroisie, Paris, 4th Arrondissement
Abandoned by his parents and placed in an orphanage at 13, chef Bernard Pacaud found salvation in the kitchen of Eugénie Braizer’s Col de la Luère. The three-star-winning Lyonnais chef took Pacaud under her wing, providing him with both a roof over his head and a place to learn the craft. First nabbing his own third star in 1988, Pacaud has been holding onto the stellar Michelin rating for longer than any of Paris’s other three-star restaurants. L’Ambroisie lives up to its name which means “food of the gods” with its lavish, stunningly plated dishes like sea bass and artichoke served atop caviar. And even if the gods don’t literally dine there, some pretty powerful mortals do: In 2015 presidents Barack Obama and Francois Hollande enjoyed a working dinner at L’Ambroisie.
L’Oustau de Baumanière, Baux-de-Provence
When the Michelin Guide bestowed its third star on the restaurant at L’Oustau de Baumanière, it said of chef Glenn Viel that “organic vegetables from the garden of Baumanière, along with lamb, chicken and pork, each ingredient of the rich local produce finds its meaning and its true flavours in the hands of the chef.” Viel is merging local ingredients and traditional technique with modern flourishes like serving frog’s leg with puffed rice.
La Vague d’Or, Saint-Tropez
Arnaud Doncklele’s impressive resume includes apprenticeships in the kitchens of Alain Ducasse and Michel Guérard, so it’s hardly a surprise that the young chef achieved three Michelin Stars by the time he turned 35. La Vague D’Or offers three tasting menus, including the seven-course “Balade Epicurienne” for adventurous diners and a five course vegetarian option. There’s also two à la carte menus: one inspired by land and one inspired by the sea—which happens to be within view of restaurant’s umbrella-lined terrace, by the way.
La Villa Madie, Cassis
Joining the ranks of the three-stars in 2022, La Villa Madie has focused on Mediterranean fare under the leadership of Dimitri and Marielle Droisneau since 2013. Tucked in the south of France, overlooking the pristine blue waters, the local seafood and flora take centre stage. When it comes to Dimitri’s cooking, the guide is effusive: “From one dish to another, it makes its presence felt—light, subtle, tasty, fresh and aromatic, punchy when necessary, and always surprising and original.”
Le 1947 at Cheval Blanc, Courchevel
Yannick Alléno has performed the chef’s equivalent of a hat trick, having earned three triple-star Michelin restaurants over the course of his career. Ten years after his three-star win at Le Meurice, and three years after earning three stars at Pavillon Ledoyen, Michelin awarded him stars for Le 1947 at Cheval Blanc in 2017. The Alpine outpost’s sleek, modern surroundings—which include a perforated sphere through which diners can watch the chefs work—set the tone for the nine-course menu that puts a creative spin on French cuisine. Le 1947 is named for Château Cheval Blanc’s most renowned vintage and aims to provide guests with an experience just as covetable.
Le Cinq, Paris, 8th Arrondissement
From within the Four Seasons Hotel George V, chef Christian le Squer combines nostalgic French flavours with ambitious new techniques. “My cooking is like a Chanel suit worn over a pair of jeans,” he once said. You can taste this amalgam in dishes like his Parisian-style gratinated onions or line-fished sea bass served with caviar and buttermilk (a nod to growing up near the Morbihan sea in Brittany). “His signature is all over the superb dishes, mastered to perfection and demonstrating exceptional skills and a deep knowledge of the very best produce,” the former director of the Guide, Michael Ellis, said when the 2016 Michelin Guide was released. “Each of Christian Le Squer’s dishes is a true work of art, a shining example of the best of French gastronomy.” Prior to racking up stars at Le Cinq in 2016, Le Squer enjoyed 12 consecutive years of three-star glory at Pavilion Ledoyen.
Le Clos des Sens, Annecy-le-Vieux
Perched near Lake Annecy in the French Alps not far from the Swiss border, Le Clos des Sens is a manor built back in 1866. Laurent Petit leads the Michelin three-star restaurant inside the inn and he draws heavily on the region around him. His food features the crayfish, arctic char and other seafood from the surrounding lakes, including Annecy. As well as ingredients from the garden he’s built at the manor. His culinary education began early, as Petit grew up the son of a butcher and as a young chef cooked for the legendary Michel Guérard, a founder of nouvelle cuisine.
Le Louis XV—Alain Ducasse à l’Hôtel de Paris, Monte Carlo
The first hotel restaurant to secure three Michelin stars, Alain Ducasse’s Le Louis XV has become as much a fixture in Monte Carlo as any casino. But the Riviera mainstay has undergone changes in recent years. In 2007 Franck Cerutti assumed the role of executive chef and was joined by Ducasse’s protege, Dominique Lory, in 2011. Then, the space underwent a more physical transformation in 2015, trading its opulent, 19th-century-inspired wall hangings and sculptures for a more modern vision of luxury. Along with it, the menu got a little facelift, moving to even lighter, more nuanced fare. “Creating a menu is like writing good music,” Ducasse told The New York Times. “Loud and strong contrasts with soft and gentle. In a world where people zap away from anything they don’t instantly love or understand, gastronomic luxury happens when a dish is so well conceived it wins the time to seduce with subtlety.”
Le Petit Nice, Marseille
Chef Gérald Passédat says he inherited his taste for beauty and appreciation for things well done from his family of artists and chefs, while he honed his technique in the kitchens of the Troisgros brothers and Michel Guérard. It all came together in 2008 when Le Petit Nice first ascended to three stars. Passédat’s cuisine leans heavily on the abundance of fish in the sea the restaurant overlooks. In a year, he estimates at least 65 different Mediterranean species make their way onto his plates. An updated take on classic bouillabaisse, anemone fritters, seafood carpaccio, and a delicately prepared sea bass named for the chef’s opera star grandmother are a few of the signature dishes that grace Passédat’s menu.
Le Pré Catelan, Paris, 16th Arrondissement
In one respect Frédéric Anton, one of France’s most admired chefs, is an utter failure: As a child he aspired to become a cabinetmaker. Alas, his cabinet-making dreams were put on hold when he began his career as a chef in 1983, and further left in the dust when he proceeded to cook under some of fine-dining’s biggest names—including serving as Joël Robuchon’s chef de cuisine. Anton’s impressive pedigree eventually landed him at Le Pré Catelan in 1997, where he earned two Michelin stars by 1999 and was elevated to a third in 2007.
Les Prés d’Eugénie—Michel Guérard, Eugénie des Bains
If one were to erect a Mount Rushmore of French gastronomy, Michel Guérard’s inclusion would be a foregone conclusion. One of the so-called founding fathers of French nouvelle cuisine, Guérard got his first taste of Michelin stardom at Pot-au-Feu, which won its second star in 1971. He opened Le Prés d’Eugénie in 1974, and his cuisine was awarded its first star almost immediately, with a second star arriving in 1975 and a third following in 1977. Today, he’s focused on balancing the hedonistic delights of food with healthy eating.
Maison Lameloise, Chagny
This Burgundian restaurant has been a gastronomic institution since Michelin’s inception. It appeared in Michelin’s very first guide in 1900 and earned its first star in 1926. Maison Lameloise enjoyed its first three-star streak between 1979 and 2004, which picked back up again in 2007. Many of the restaurant’s most successful years occurred under Jacques Lameloise, who took over for his father in 1979. In 2008, Lameloise passed the torch to then up-and-comer Eric Pras, who has kept its three-star rating going strong ever since. Pras has made his mark on the mainstay’s menu with technically precise dishes that put a fresh spin on Burgundian cuisine.
Mirazur, Menton
It was a career-defining year for chef Mauro Colagreco in 2019. Mirazur finally ascended to three stars and five months later it World’s 50 Best crowned it the top restaurant in its annual rankings. The chef has cooked at Mirazur in the South of France since 2006 after working with titans Alain Passard and Alain Ducasse. He incorporates ingredients around the French Riviera and merges them with inspiration from his Argentinian-Italian heritage for dishes like squid with artichokes and bagna cauda.
Pic, Valence
Pic’s Michelin-star-studded history dates back to the early 20th century. Andre Pic opened in Valence in 1935 and earned three Michelin stars by 1939. Later years proved to be rockier, with the restaurant dropping to two stars in 1946 and to one in 1950. Under the leadership Andre’s son Jacques, Pic ascended again to two stars in 1959 and three in 1973, before falling back to two in 1995, just a few years after Jacques’ death. Then, Jacques’s daughter, Anne-Sophie, took over the illustrious dining spot in 1998 with no formal training. Less than a decade later, chef Pic, the only woman in France with three Michelin stars (and just the fourth women ever to receive the honour), restored Pic to three-star glory in 2007. She describes her cuisine as simple, sophisticated and pointedly feminine, which you’ll see reflected in the menu, as well in the decor. “All my emotions are feminine, so I have this feminine way in my cooking. I think some men are able to make very feminine cuisine, but they are perhaps more focused on technique, less on developing the emotional part,” she told CNN in 2012.
Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, 8th Arrondissement
Credited with pioneering the French fusion movement, Pierre Gagnaire’s philosophy in the kitchen is, “tourné vers demain mais soucieux d’hier”—or “facing tomorrow, but respectful of yesterday.” His own culinary past is a mix of formal training and familial connections. Pierre Gagnaire learned the ropes from his Michelin-star-winning chef father, as well as in the kitchens of the highest calibre French chefs of the era, including Paul Bocuse. Gaugnaire took these lessons and started his own restaurant in his hometown of Saint Etienne in 1980, which received three Michelin stars in 1993, but struggled financially. Then, in 1996, Gagnaire opened his eponymous establishment. By 1998 he had his three Michelin stars again.
Plénitude—Cheval Blanc, Paris, 1 Arrondissement
Well, chef Arnauld Donckele wasted no time. For many chefs, bringing their restaurant to the Michelin three-star level can be a career-spanning effort. In Plénitude’s first year of eligibility, the restaurant rocketed to the top of Michelin’s rankings, earning tres etoiles right out of the gate in 2022. Of course, as the chef of three-star La Vague d’Or in Saint-Tropez, Donckele and the guide are quite familiar with each other. Located inside a an LVMH hotel in the heart of Paris, the 26-seat Plénitude connects cuisine from across French regions, drawing inspiration from Normandy, the south of France and Paris. When awarding Plenitude its third star, Michelin called Donckele an “ingenious master creator of sauces,” which is about as high of praise you can give a French toque.
Régis et Jacques Marcon, Saint Bonnet le Froid
Named for the father-son team that runs the restaurant, Régis et Jacques Marcon offers a seasonal taste of the Haute-Loire region—with a special reverence for the local mushrooms (Régis has even written a book on his beloved champignons). Régis took over his family’s inn in 1979, eventually moulding it into the restaurant it is today. He earned his first Michelin star in 1990, his second in 1997, and his third in 2005, just a year after his son, Jacques, joined him in the kitchen.
René et Maxime Meilleur, Saint Martin, Saint Martin de Belleville
René and Maxime Meilleur, the self-taught, father-son chef duo behind their eponymous restaurant, have been cooking together since 1996. The pair’s cuisine pays tribute to the surrounding Savoie region, with ingredients like crozet pasta, raclette, and Saint Martin goat’s milk, and first earned its third star in 2015. “The dishes are precise, generous and remarkably creative. “La bouitte” may mean small house in the local dialect, but the fare offered by René, Maxime and their spouses is of the highest calibre,” Ellis said when awarding La Bouitte its third star.
Troisgros—Le Bois sans Feuilles, Ouches
Holding onto its three-star rating for half a century, La Maison Troisgros—and the family dynasty behind it—has long been a driving force in French cuisine. In 1930 Jean-Baptiste Troisgros opened the restaurant near Lyon. Later, his sons Jean and Pierre took the reins, shaping it into the triple-starred establishment it is today with their nouvelle cuisine. Now Pierre’s son Michel runs the empire, alongside his wife Marie-Pierre and son César. César credits the restaurant’s continued success to his mother’s intuition (she’s pioneered much of Troisgros’s growth) and his father’s culinary sensibilities, which César describes as “tangy, vibrant, fresh, and measured.” Meanwhile, as the youngest Troisgros, César brings youthful perspective, flavours inspired by his travels through Spain and California (he also worked at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry), and “a thing for hot peppers.” The dish he says most encapsulates the restaurant’s ethos today is the cosa croquante: a salad made with shaved carrots that have been lightly fried and seasoned with herbs from the family garden.
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Mauve on Up
Brisbane boutique stay Miss Midgley’s offers a viscerally human experience—especially if you dig pink.
On a sun-bleached corner of Brisbane’s New Farm, where the scent of frangipani mingles with the clink of coffee cups, stands a building that has lived more lives than most people. Once a premier’s residence, an orphanage, a hospital and a private school, the 160-year-old stone structure now finds itself reborn as Miss Midgley’s—a boutique stay that teaches a masterclass in how to make heritage feel modern.
Designed and run by architect-mother-daughter duo Lisa and Isabella White, Miss Midgley’s captures the cultural confidence of a city in bloom. Nowhere is that new confidence more visible than along James Street—the leafy, slow-burn heart of the city’s fashion and dining scene—where Miss Midgley’s sits quietly at the edge, its shell-pink façade glowing in the subtropical light.
Built of Brisbane’s rare volcanic tuff, the building’s soft mauves and pinks are more than aesthetic; they are its identity. Locals still remember its 1950s incarnation as the Pink Flats, and the Whites have honoured that legacy with a contemporary blush-toned exterior, chosen to harmonise with the stone’s peachy undertones. Inside, those hues continue in dusty terracottas, russets and the faint shimmer of brass tapware. “Design can’t afford to be for the sake of fashion,” Isabella White has said. “It has to respond to what’s in front of you.”
That sentiment is tangible in every corner. Five apartments, each with their own idiosyncratic floor plan, occupy the building. Ceilings bloom with heritage plasterwork, 19th-century wallpaper fragments have been preserved in the kitchens, and tiny hand-painted notes left by the architects point out original quirks: a misaligned beam here, a hidden archway there. It’s a kind of adult treasure hunt for design lovers, where discovery feels personal and unforced.
Even the picket fence, a heritage requirement, has been reimagined in corten steel—a sly nod to regulation turned into sculpture. It’s this blend of reverence and rebellion that gives Miss Midgley’s its edge: heritage without starch, nostalgia without sentimentality.
True to Brisbane’s easy elegance, luxury here is measured not in marble or minibar but in proportion, privacy, and personality. Each apartment—from the Drawing Room and the Assembly Hall to the Principal’s Office—is a self-contained sanctuary with its own kitchen, large bathroom and outdoor space. The ground-floor units open onto leafy courtyards and welcome small dogs; upstairs, the larger suites spill onto verandahs shaded by jacarandas.
At the heart of the property lies a solar-heated pool hemmed with tropical greenery and fringed umbrellas—more mid-century Palm Springs than colonial Brisbane. Around it, guests share a petite laundry, a communal library and that rarest of urban luxuries: a car park per apartment. The atmosphere is quietly collegiate—a handful of travellers who might nod to each other on the stairs but otherwise inhabit their own creative bubbles.
The hotel’s namesake, Annie Midgley, lends the project both its name and its spirit. An ambidextrous artist and teacher, she famously instructed two students at once, writing with both hands simultaneously—a fitting metaphor for the dual vision the Whites bring to the building: one hand rooted in history, the other sketching toward the future. “Not famous, yet known,” goes the property’s understated tagline—and indeed, Miss Midgley’s has quietly become that most desirable of addresses: the one whispered about by people who know.
Sustainability isn’t an accessory here; it’s structural. The adaptive reuse of the heritage building is its boldest environmental act. Solar panels power the property; an electric heat pump warms the pool; recycled decking and tiles frame the courtyard. The metre-thick tuff walls regulate temperature naturally, and the amenities follow suit—refillable bath products, biodegradable pods, Seljak blankets spun from textile off-cuts, and compendiums wrapped in Australian-made kangaroo leather. It’s slow luxury in the truest sense.
In a world of carbon-copy hotels, Miss Midgley’s feels deeply human—a place where history isn’t curated behind glass but lives in the warmth of stone and the flicker of afternoon light. The lesson it offers is simple and resonant: that the most elegant modernity often comes not from reinvention, but from listening to what’s already there.
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My Brisbane…Monique Kawecki
The Queensland capital is carving its own distinctive take on Australian culture. Here, a clued-up local aesthete takes us around town.
It’s almost a given that all globally minded creatives will, at some juncture in their careers, choose a path that leads directly to one of the planet’s vital cultural hubs—metropolises with the cosmopolitan thrum of New York, the lofty elegance of Paris, the futuristic edge of Tokyo.
True to form, Monique Kawecki’s work odyssey transported her to the buzz of London for over a decade, but the editor and creative consultant now admits to “finding a balance” in Brisbane, using the Queensland capital as a base for generating international content. Together with her husband, industrial designer Alexander Lotersztain, she’s proud to call the fast-blooming city her home.
Driven by curiosity, Monique joins the dots between creative communities and helps bring visionary projects to life through her studio Champ Creative, a space she runs with her twin sister in Tokyo. Her work as co-founder and editorial director of Ala Champ Magazine, a print-turned-digital-media platform rooted in design, architecture and creative culture, allies thinkers and makers who are shaping the future.
EAT
Central
Step underground and you’ll find more than just a Hong Kong-inspired eatery. This vibrant enclave in the CBD is the vision of chef Benny Lam and young restaurateur David Flynn, combining an avant-garde space—designed by up-and-coming J.AR Office—with inventive Asian-fusion plates and a curated Chinese and Australian wine list. Every detail, from the menu to the disco-era soundscape, combines for a memorable experience.
Gerards
A restaurant that has long held its place among Brisbane’s primo venues, and its makeover by J.AR Office has confirmed it is a mainstay in the city. Rich, rammed-earth textures and sleek steel set the stage for the Levantine-inflected fare, where Queensland produce meets Middle Eastern tradition—all served on textured Sally Kerkin tableware that casts the eclectic dishes in an even more visually pleasing light.
DRINK
+81 Aizome Bar
Inspired by the hidden cocktail bars in Tokyo’s Ginza district, an intimate, indigo-hued 10-seater designed by Alexander Lotersztain. The dimly lit space presents drinks served over hand-cut Japanese ice and expertly crafted “neo cocktails” courtesy of mixologist Tony Huang. Champ Creative curated and sourced the artisan-made tableware and glassware from Japan, making sure the experience is as authentic as possible.
Bar Miette
Overlooking the Brisbane River, Australian chef Andrew McConnell has enlisted executive chef Jason Barratt to direct two of his standout dining ventures—this venue and Supernormal—on the waterfront at 443 Queen Street. Both offer stellar dining—the milk bun with mortadella and smoked maple syrup is simple yet sublime—but this is the spot to visit for a glass of wine accompanied by water vistas.
ART & CULTURE
QAGOMA
Together, the Queensland Art Gallery (QA) and Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) form Australia’s largest modern and contemporary art gallery. Roosting on Brisbane’s South Bank, the establishment showcases exemplary art from Australia, Asia and the Pacific, and, as such, has become a firm favourite among both locals and tourists. By day, world-class exhibitions such as Danish artist Olafur Eliasson’s Presence—beginning December 6th—take centre stage; after dark, expect illuminated theatrics as GOMA permanently projects an intense, multi-hued James Turrell artwork onto its facade.
SHOP
BrownHaus
The experience of entering the luxurious, travertine-clad space is as beautiful as the creations the jewellery studio constructs. The culmination of founder Drew Brown’s 25 years of refining his craft, fine jewels and elevated everyday pieces for both men and women captivate your gaze, each example formed with the utmost intention and care. Moreover, Brown is redefining traditional artisanship and service in a new, modern way, ensuring the flagship store is accessible and exciting in equal measure.
James Street Precinct
For shopping, dining or even just perfecting the time-honoured art of people-watching, James Street is a one-stop hub where fashion, cinema, design and dining converge in Fortitude Valley. Wandering through the streets, discovering fresh, and established, ventures is a cinch. Restaurants sAme sAme and Biànca (from the team behind Agnes and the new Idle bakery) are hard to pass up; next door, be prepared to queue for a cone at Gelato Messina. A recent arrival to the zone is Heidi Middleton’s Artclub atelier, while Australian tailoring brand P. Johnson recently launched its new store, designed by the renowned Tamsin Johnson, across from The Calile hotel.
WELLNESS
The Bathhouse Albion
In Brisbane is home to multiple wellness centres in which one can work out or unwind, such as the five-floor, $80 million TotalFusion Platinum Newstead. This facility, designed by architectural practice Hogg & Lamb, presents a more serene, temple-like experience in the once-industrial Albion Fine Trades district, delivering a communal yet luxe bathhouse with spa, cold plunge, sauna, float, and steam room. With a separate area for hydration spruiking organic TeaGood loose-leaf teas, an hour session ensures a restorative reset.
DAY TRIP
Lady Elliot Island
Visiting one of the most pristine sections of the Great Barrier Reef in one day from Brisbane? Yes, it is indeed possible—and in style, too. With an early start from Redcliffe, around 40 minutes’ drive from the city, take a 90-minute flight to the 45-hectare island and then indulge in a glass-bottom boat viewing, an island tour, and a guided snorkel where you will swoon over mesmerising coral and other-worldly marine life. Lunch is included.
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Tropical Storm
Brisbane’s design-led renaissance is gathering momentum and redefining the city as a destination of distinction.
When it comes to the question of which Australian city can claim to be the country’s epicentre of cool, it’s always been a two-horse race between you-know-who. But challengers to the municipal hegemony do periodically raise their heads above the cultural parapet: Hobart has the world-class MONA in its corner; Perth flexes its white-sand beaches and direct flights to London; plucky Canberra enduringly punches above its weight, wielding a Pollock masterpiece or two at the National Gallery. Now, Brisbane— for decades ironically nicknamed “BrisVegas” as a jibe at its lack of places to see and be seen—is ready to assert itself as a serious contender to break the Sydney-Melbourne monopoly.
The Queensland capital is booming, buzzing and bougier than ever. In the past twelve months alone, Brisbane has seen the addition of $80 million ultra-luxe members’ wellness club TotalFusion Platinum, and earned a place on Condé Nast Traveller’s Hot List for hosting the second outpost of Andrew McConnell’s renowned restaurant Supernormal—both designed by Sydney-based multidisciplinary studio ACME. Since the latter’s opening, the upscale dining scene in the CBD—once steeped in starched white-tablecloth tradition—has come into its own with high-concept, slick and scene-y establishments you’ve likely already seen on Instagram.
Among them is Central, named Australia’s best-designed space at this year’s Interior Design Awards. The subterranean late-night dumpling-bar-meets-disco, designed by one-to-watch local firm J.AR Office, is bathed in bright white light and features a DJ booth built into the open, epicentral kitchen. A 10-minute walk along the river towards the Botanic Gardens reveals Golden Avenue, a buzzy collaboration between J.AR Office and Anyday, the Brisbane hospitality group behind some of the city’s most beloved restaurants of the last decade (Biànca, hôntô, sAme sAme, and Agnes). A skylit oasis where palm fronds cast slivers of shade over tiled tables laden with bowls of baba ganoush and clay pots of blistered prawns, the Middle Eastern-inspired eatery feels like Queensland’s answer to Morocco’s walled courtyard gardens.
That design-forward premises anchor much of the buzz around Brisbane’s new pulse points should come as no surprise. After all, this is an urban centre whose perception and personality were transformed in the 2010s by the brutalist breeze-block facades of the then-burgeoning James Street Precinct. Financed by local developers the Malouf family, and designed by Brisbane’s architecture power couple Adrian Spence and Ingrid Richards, the zone has become a desirable, nationally recognised address for flashy flagships and big-name boutiques (just ask Artclub’s Heidi Middleton and The New Trend’s Vanessa Spencer, who each unveiled plush piled-carpet stores along the strip in October).
But it wasn’t until the 2018 opening of The Calile Hotel that Brisbane truly shed its “big country town” image, staking its claim on the international stage. The Palm Springs-inflected urban resort—which, by now, surely needs no introduction—landed 12th in 2023’s inaugural World’s 50 Best Hotels ranking, ahead of Claridge’s and Raffles.
“That was really quite massive for the optics of what Brisbane has to offer the rest of Australia,” says Ty Simon, a born-and-bred Brisbanite and one of the four visionaries behind the Anyday group, along with his details-driven Milanese wife Bianca, executive chef Ben Williamson, and financial backer Frank Li. From that point on, the use of elite architects and designers became de rigueur across the enclave, weaving a sense of permanence into the local fabric. “We believe in what’s happening here,” says Marie-Louise Theile, creative director of the James Street Initiative and PR executive behind many of the city’s primo spots. “And we’re digging in.”
For in-demand Australian interior designer Tamsin Johnson, the mastermind behind some of James Street’s most carefully curated properties—including her husband Patrick Johnson’s P. Johnson Femme showroom, which opened in September—this momentum is “a wonderful thing”. Idle, Johnson’s August-launched first project with Anyday, is a prime example of what she calls a “contemporary sleekness” that feels intrinsic to the new mood taking hold in Brisbane. A modern-day answer to Milan’s 140-year-old gourmet emporium Peck, the site is a study in how mixed materials—glass, concrete, stainless steel and terrazzo—can create a sense of freshness with a 20th-century overtone.
It’s this dialogue between old and new, so intrinsic to Johnson’s work, that makes Brisbane such a compelling canvas for the Melbourne-born, Sydney-based creative. “I think Brisbane is striving hard for its own identity and voice in Australia, and it is clearly working,” she says. For Johnson, that evolution is also “a process of recognising what you have”, a nod to the strong bones the city has to work with and revisit. From the airy stilted Queenslanders to GOMA’s riverside glass pavilion and the subtropical modernism of Donovan Hill’s landmark C House, Brisbane’s design heritage is a quiet yet potent force, infused with what Johnson calls “the subtle memory of bucolic Australia”. Brisbane’s best contemporary architecture reflects what Richards and Spence described when designing The Calile as “a gentle brutalism”. It incorporates the style’s characteristic heaviness—concrete, rigid geometry and cavernous interiors—but, in response to the climate, does away with barriers between outside and in, and welcomes light, air and a feeling of weightlessness that creates spaces that feel open, relaxed and intimately connected to their surroundings.
Johnson will explore this language further in Anyday’s most ambitious venture yet: a four-level dining destination within the colonial-era Coal Board Building, just across from Golden Avenue. Its debut concept The French Exit—a wood-panelled brasserie with half-height curtains and a 2.00 am licence—is set to be unveiled by year’s end, ensuring the once-sleepy heart will beat well into the early hours.
Luring big names to lend the city their cool factor for one-off projects is one thing, but perhaps the most profound sign that Brisbane still bursts with promise is the fact that so many creative forces are choosing to stay, rather than take their talent elsewhere. “I never thought I’d still be in Brisbane,” laughs J.AR Office director Jared Webb, a local-for-life who started the firm in Fortitude Valley in 2022 after a decade spent working under Richards and Spence. “Trying to entice people to stay and see Brisbane as a city to live in, and to visit, is a big undertone of all our work on a much broader scale,” says Webb, whose designs rely heavily on steel, concrete and stone, both as a means to temper the tropical climate and evoke an aura of continuity he believes Brisbane’s built environment has lacked. (Once dubbed the demolition capital of Australia, the municipality lost more than 60 historic buildings during the ’70s and ’80s under former Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, whose two-decade rule was recently revisited in a dramatised documentary available to stream on Stan).
Translating Brisbane’s current buzz into something lasting seems to weigh on the minds of many of the city’s creatives. Vince Alafaci, who forms one half of ACME with his partner Caroline Choker, shares this sentiment when reflecting on their design for Supernormal. “It’s about creating spaces that evolve with time, not ones that date,” he says. “We wanted every element to feel timeless—grounded, honest and enduring.” That pursuit of longevity is something Tamsin Johnson recognises, too: “It’s the people pushing for it that excite me the most. They’re committed,” she says, reflecting on the city’s creative ambition. “I think our designers, the most committed ones, want to leave landmarks and character, bucking against the trend of mundane, short-term and artless developments that all our capitals have experienced. And perhaps Brisbane is leading this mentality.”
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Holiday Gift Guide
The supreme Christmas wish-list awaits—maximum impact guaranteed.
Consider this your definitive shortcut to Christmas morning triumph. From museum-grade jewellery to objects of quiet obsession, this is a wish-list calibrated for maximum impact and minimal guesswork. Each piece in this round-up earns its place not through novelty, but through craft, heritage and that elusive quality collectors recognise instantly: desire with staying power. There are icons reimagined (Piaget’s Andy Warhol watch, a masterclass in pop-era permanence), feats of mechanical bravado (Jacob & Co.’s globe-trotting tourbillon), and indulgences that turn ritual into theatre—whether that’s a Hibiki 21 poured just so, or a Rolls-Royce picnic staged like a state occasion. Fashion, design, fragrance and fine drinking are all represented, but united by a single premise: these are gifts that signal intention. The kind that linger on the mantelpiece, wrist or memory long after the wrapping paper is cleared. The stocking at robbreport.com.au, as ever, is generously—and ingeniously—stuffed.
[main image, top] Tiffany & Co. Blue Book Collection Shell Green Tourmaline Brooch, POA; tiffany.com
Top Tip
Montegrappa limited edition 007 Special Issue fountain pen, $2,850, at The Independent Collective; theindependentcollective.com
Clear Winner
Alchemica ‘Transparent’ glass decanter, $1,000; artemest.com
Holding Court
Celine Halfmoon Soft Triomphe lambskin bag, $5,500; celine.com
Beauty and the Feast
Rolls-Royce picnic hamper, $59,676; rolls-roycemotorcars.com
Minutes of Fame
Piaget limited-edition Andy Warhol Watch Collage with 18-carat yellow gold caseback, $128,000; piaget.com
Fancy That
Graff High Jewellery fancy intense yellow oval, white oval and round diamond necklace, POA; kennedy.com.au
Momentos in Time
Christopher Boots Thalamos Keepsake trinket box, $859; christopherboots.com
Strapper’s Delight
Roger Vivier La Rose Vivier sandals in satin, $2,620; rogervivier.com
Sun Kings
Rimowa x Mykita Visor MR005 Aviator Sunshield, $940; rimowa.com
Take Your Best Shot
Hibiki 21 Year Old blended whisky, $1,399; kentstreetcellars.com.au
Making Perfect Scents
Creed Aventus, $559; creedperfume.com.au
Earth Hour
Jacob & Co. The World is Yours Dual Time Zone Tourbillon, $464,750; inspire@jacobandco.com.au
Glass Acts
Fferrone May coupe, $445 (set of two); spacefurniture.com
Fferrone May flute, $375 (set of two); spacefurniture.com
Worth the Wait
Masterson 2018 Shiraz. $1,000; available to order from the Peter Lehmann Cellar Door by calling (08) 8565 9555.
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Radek Sali’s Wellspring of Youth
The wellness entrepreneur on why longevity isn’t a luxury—yet—and how the science of living well became Australia’s next great export.
Australian wellness pioneer Radek Sali is bringing his bold vision for longevity and human performance to the Gold Coast this weekend with Wanderlust Wellspring—a two-day summit running 25-26 October 2025 at the RACV Royal Pines Resort in Benowa. Sali, former CEO of Swisse and now co-founder of the event and investment firm Light Warrior, has long been at the intersection of wellness, business and conscious purpose.
Wellspring promises a packed agenda of global thought leaders in biohacking and longevity, including Sydney-born Harvard researcher David Sinclair, resilience pioneer Wim Hof, performance innovator Dave Asprey and muscle-health expert Gabrielle Lyon. From immersive workshops to diagnostics, tech showcases, and movement classes, Sali aims to make longevity less a niche pursuit for the elite and more an accessible cultural shift for all. Robb Report ANZ recently interviewed him for our Longevity feature. Here is an edited version of the conversation.
You’ve helped bring Wellspring to life at a moment when longevity seems to be dominating the cultural conversation. What drew you personally to this space?
I’ve always been passionate about wellness, and the language and refinement around how we achieve it are improving every day. Twenty years ago, when I was CEO of Swisse, a conference like this wouldn’t have had traction. Today, people’s interest in health and their thirst for knowledge continue to expand. What excites me is that wellness has moved into the realm of entertainment—people want to feel better, and that’s something I’ve always been happy to deliver.
There are wellness retreats, biohacking clinics, medical conferences everywhere. What makes Wellspring different?
Accessibility. A wellness retreat can be exclusive, but Wellspring democratises the experience. Tickets start at just $79, with options up to $1,800 for a platinum weekend pass. That means anyone can learn from the latest thought leaders. Too often in this space, barriers are put up that limit who can benefit from the science of biohacking. We want Wellspring to be for everyone.
You’re not just an organiser, but also an investor and participant in this field. How do you reconcile passion with commercial opportunity?
Any investment I make has to have purpose. Helping people optimise their health has driven me for two decades. It’s satisfying not just as an investor but as an operator—it builds wonderful culture within organisations and makes a real difference to people’s lives. That’s the natural fit for me, and something I want to keep refining.
What signals do you look for in longevity ventures to separate lasting impact from passing fads?
A lot of what we’re seeing now are actually old ideas resurfacing, supported by deeper scientific research. My father was one of the first in conventional medicine to talk about diet causing disease and meditation supporting mental health back in the 1970s. He was dismissed at first, but decades later, his work was validated. That experience taught me to look for evidence-based practices that endure. Today, we’re at a point where great scientists and doctors can headline events like Wellspring—that’s a huge cultural shift.
Longevity now carries a certain cultural cachet—its own insider language and status markers. How important is that to moving the field forward?
Health is our most precious asset, and people have always boasted about their routines—whether it’s going to the gym, doing a detox, or training for a marathon. What’s different now is that longevity practices are gaining mainstream recognition. I see it as something to be proud of, and I want to democratise access so everyone can ride the biohacking wave.
But some argue that for the ultra-wealthy, peak health has become a kind of luxury asset—like a private jet or a competitive edge.
That’s short-sighted. Yes, there are extremes, but most biohacking methods are accessible and inexpensive. Look at the blue zones—their lifestyle practices aren’t costly, yet they lead to long, healthy lives. That’s essential knowledge we should be sharing widely, and Wellspring is designed to do that in an engaging way.
Community is often cited as a key factor in healthspan. How does Wellspring foster that?
Community is at the heart of it. Just as Okinawa thrives on social connection, we want Wellspring to be a regular gathering place where people uplift each other. Ideally, it would become as busy as a Live Nation schedule—but for health and wellness.
Do you worry longevity could deepen class divides?
Class divides exist, and health isn’t immune. But in Australia, we’re fortunate—democracy and a strong equalisation process help maintain quality of life for most. Proactive healthcare, like supplementation and lifestyle changes, isn’t expensive. In fact, it’s cheaper than a daily coffee. That’s why we’re one of the top five longest-living nations. The opportunity is to keep improving by making proactive health accessible to everyone.
Some longevity ventures are described as “hedge-fund moonshots.” Others, like Wellspring, seem grounded in time-tested approaches. Where do you stand?
There’s value in both, but I’m more interested in sensible, sustainable practices. Things like exercise, meditation, and community-driven activities are proven to extend life and improve wellbeing. Technology can support this, but we can’t lose sight of the human elements—connection, balance, and purpose.
Finally, what role can Australia—and Wellspring—play in shaping the global longevity conversation?
The fact that we can put on an event like Wellspring, attract world-leading talent, and already have commitments for future years says a lot. Australia is far away, but that hasn’t stopped great scientists and thinkers from coming. We’ll be here every year, contributing to the global conversation and, hopefully, helping more people extend their healthspan.
