Owner-chef Shin Harakawa’s (pictured) small bistro represents the best of Tokyo’s farm-to-table restaurants; he has worked in France and California and produces extraordinary yet unfussy meals. In recent months he has let Swedish-born Samuel Envall Utbult assume a leading role. An alumnus of Copenhagen’s Restaurant Relae, Envall Utbult turns out dishes that combine, say, sliced courgette with egg tartare, shiso and sansho (Japanese prickly ash). The arrangement is only temporary, with Harakawa expecting to close Beard to focus on a new Tokyo restaurant that he plans to open in winter. We’ll be sad to see last year’s winner go but keen to see the star chef’s next move.

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Marylebone’s quieter western reaches revealed a sumptuous secret to the world when this Japanese joint moved into an unassuming Edwardian townhouse in 2006. The restaurant is set over two floors, with a raw bar upstairs and moody 28-cover dining area below. Expect perfectly judged Japanese dishes made from fresh produce, including Cornish crab and Welsh Wagyu beef.

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PA&Co made a name for itself as a celebrity haunt in the 1990s but unlike most other places of that era, this Swedish-French bistro has remained a firm favourite ever since. The small marble-top tables and dark wood decor guarantee an intimate atmosphere. Regulars come for classics such as the potato rosti topped with Kalix caviar, dill, sour cream and red onion.

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Gregor Wenter is the director of Bad Schörgau, a gourmet hotel in the Sarntal Valley of South Tyrol. The chalet-style sanctuary is home to two outstanding restaurants run by chef Egon Heiss and Wenter. The brasserie-style Veranda offers idyllic views of the valley and serves mouthwatering dishes such as entrecôte topped with parmesan, asparagus and summer truffles.

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Restaurants able to survive Sydney’s faddy food scene deserve credit and Apollo’s divine Greek food is the key to its immortal status. It opened in 2012 but feels like it’s been here longer. Curvy Thonet chairs come courtesy of designer George Livissianis but take it all in while you order; you’ll lose focus as soon as the roasted lamb with greek yoghurt and lemon arrives.

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Kameel (its local nickname; the full name translates as “the black camel”) has served Viennese diners for about 400 years – as good as unheard of in the restaurant industry. Affable owner Peter Friese has been here since 1977 and these days Kameel is most famous for its wine bar. In the adjacent dining room, Austrian classics are served in a more formal art nouveau setting.

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Tawlet sits at the end of a dusty road in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael neighbourhood and everything here has an enviable Lebanese panache. The restaurant is run by Kamal Mouzawak, the pioneer behind Souk el Tayeb, a farmers’ market that also acts as a venue to unite food producers from across the nation. Tawlet has a similar vibe: each day different producers take over the kitchen and cook their specialities with their own produce.

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Much has been written about this Zürich institution and much written in it: James Joyce penned a portion 
of Ulysses at a corner table. The food is earthy and focused on classics such as rosti pancakes and veal with morel mushrooms. Jacketed waiters serve the food while carts bearing domed dishes arrive table-side to lend your visit the gravitas it deserves.

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