If you love trying new foods and exploring different cuisines, you know that there’s nothing quite like giving a new restaurant a try. The culinary discovery paired with the social enjoyment is unlike anything else and can help you develop a new appreciation for other culinary spaces and their traditions. The atmosphere plays a large part as you share the space with others, so you get to discuss the food, the processes that created it, and the heritage behind the recipes, as well as support local businesses.

Finding a new great restaurant has become part of a social media-driven FOMO for some, though, somewhat overshadowing the core of the experience, which focuses on eating something new and enjoying a hidden gem of a location for its charm and good services instead of because it looks good in pictures. However, there are many for whom simply finding a great new place remains the most prominent motivator.

With that in mind, here are a few of the places you should have on your bucket list in 2026.

Mamó

Located in Harbour House, Dublin, Mamó is open every day save for Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On any other day of the week, this friendly bistro located on the Howth seafront is open to customers, ready to offer dishes created with traditionally Irish ingredients such as Boyne Valley cheese, seafood straight from the nearby harbour, and Winetavern Farm pork (sourced from just over the road). If you have any food allergies or sensitivities, you should add them to your reservation or even email the requirements to the restaurant directly.

Dealing with a medical incident and getting compensation for it in the aftermath is possible with the right medical and legal professionals, but you could be held liable if you could add this additional information yourself but elected not to, therefore putting yourself in harm’s way. The menu changes according to seasonality and availability, but you can look forward to hearty classics like seed crackers, roast artichokes with hazelnut cream, poached eggs, grilled leeks, prawn toast, and beef tartare with leek oil and shallots.

The Woolpack Inn

If you’re a fan of a rustic atmosphere and environment that still offers full amenities, then drop by The Woolpack Inn. Food is seasonal here as well, and the dishes are actually crafted in order to reflect the best things that each season has to offer. Breakfast is served at 7:30 during the week and at 8 on weekends, while lunch and dinner include lighter options if you want to try something different from the standard menu. Naturally, there’s a classic Sunday roast that you can join too, as well as the afternoon tea that takes place every day between 2 and 5 pm (for which booking is essential).

L’Arret by The Grey

L’Arret at 36 Rue de l’Université, Paris, is the best place for those who want to slow down and savour a cuisine that is the perfect blend between a tiny French bistro tucked in a delightful Parisian street and an American port city. Inspired by The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, which is known for its Southern and African influences, the restaurant has classics like croissants, pain au chocolat, omelettes, bacon, and toast on the menu.

Deviled eggs with anchovies and mayo, Cajun roasted chicken, grilled lamb chops, beets and mole, mac n cheese, roasted veggies, crispy pork belly, cockles, braised greens, cornbread, mashed sweet potatoes, and pulled pork sandwiches are just a few of the dishes you can expect in this restaurant, whose menu is inspired by The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, which is known for its Southern and African influences.

Kaia

Boston is well-known for its fresh seafood, with lobster rolls and oysters being some of the most popular dishes, as well as a strong Italian heritage in the North End, stemming from a community that has been thriving since the late 1860s. Kaia, located on the South End, is a haute Greek restaurant whose dishes are inspired by carefree alfresco dinners and the natural beauty of a coastal setting. Crudo (described by some chefs as “Italian sashimi”), including crab and oysters, is a very popular and fairly affordable dish. Melitzanosalata, a famous Greek sauce made out of roasted eggplants mixed with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and fresh parsley, is included on the menu too.

You can sample scallops in horseradish broth with a caramelized citrus gel, kritamo and pistachios; roasted lobster with Metaxa sauce (a Greek alcoholic drink made of a blend of spirits and Muscat wine that has been aged in oak barrels) served with sea beans and pasta; or sea bass with orange blossom honey and ladolemono.

Belon

Hong Kong is home to many amazing local dishes, with the region’s cuisine enjoying a plethora of influences, including Cantonese, European, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian, and Chinese elements. Its history as an international port has helped tremendously in that regard, with Hong Kong being known as a gourmet paradise by some. Salted duck eggs, gai lan, hoisin sauce, Chinese sausages, dried shrimps and scallops, jujube, and lotus seeds are some of the most common ingredients and if you wanted to sample the local cuisine you’ve definitely tried hot pot, tofu skin rolls, cart noodles, ha gow, crispy fried chicken, Hong Kong-style French toast, and macaroni with fried egg and sausage.

Belon is not like that at all because its cuisine is contemporary French. The menu includes recipes such as king crab with pomelo, foie gras with Eiswein and plum, lobster with Hokkaido squash, millefeuille with honey and mikan, and dulcey crémeux with pistachio and raspberry.

There are so many beautiful and interesting places where you can dine, depending on your personal taste and the types of food that you’re interested in. Make sure to complete your reservations as quickly as possible after you’ve decided where you want to go, since many of the most popular destinations tend to get occupied really fast. You don’t want to miss out on an amazing culinary experience because of something like a technicality.