7 Award-Winning Restaurants For A Special Occasion

Edited by Sheila O'Neill on  
30 March 2020

Your neighborhood favorites are usually enough to satisfy your cravings, but every once in a while it's nice to get all dressed up and head out for something fancy. Each of these award-winning institutions offers something unique, ensuring you and your loved ones will walk away with memories of incredible food and hospitality. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.

7 Restaurants to Visit for an Unforgettable Meal

Name Location
Oaxen Krog Stockholm, Sweden
The Kitchen Sacramento, CA
Flagstaff House Restaurant Boulder, CO
SingleThread Farm - Restaurant - Inn Healdsburg, CA
edison: food+drink lab Tampa, FL
Shikon by Yoshitake Hong Kong
Café Boulud New York, NY, Toronto, Ontario, & Palm Beach, FL

A Day In The Life Of SingleThread Farm - Restaurant - Inn

Gift Ideas For Wine Lovers

What Makes Edison: Food + Drink Lab One of Tampa's Best

Different Types of Cookbooks To Get You Inspired

Chef Magnus Ek of Oaxen Krog

In Depth

Everyone enjoys the indulgence of eating out at a restaurant from time to time, whether it's going through the drive through or sitting down for a fine dining experience. Usually the most memorable occasions are times spent eating out for a birthday, anniversary, or family gathering. In no particular order, here is a list of 7 restaurants to take your loved ones for those memorable moments.

Coming in at #1, we have Oaxen Krog, located in Stockholm, Sweden. It has been over 20 years since owners Agneta Green and Magnus Ek opened their establishment as a pub on the island of Oaxen in Stockholm's southern archipelago. Much water has passed under Stockholm's bridges since then, and even though they have left life on the island, the philosophy is the same now.

EK and Green follow the shades of the season and choose only unique raw materials that are available in Sweden and only buy European wines from small selected vineyards. Nature inspires and shapes their thoughts when they create their menu and when they choose their wines. They never stop exploring and are always in search of exciting new ingredients and flavors, all to create the most authentic overall experience possible.

Nature inspires and shapes their thoughts when they create their menu and when they choose their wines.

Next up at #2, we have The Kitchen Restaurant in Sacramento, California, founded by the husband and wife team of chefs Randall Selland and Nancy Zimmer, along with their children, Josh Nelson and Tamera Baker, in 1991. The family was among the first to emphasize farm to fork dining in the Sacramento region. They've been building relationships and supporting local farmers, growers, ranchers, and artisan producers since the inception of The Kitchen. The quality, commitment, and passion that the Selland family brings has resulted in a landmark restaurant that has sold out nightly for more than twenty years.

The Kitchen has earned every imaginable local and regional award, along with an impressive record of national accolades. Dinner service includes a five-course prix fixe menu, as well as an interactive intermission menu, water, coffee and tea service. Each evening's meal is based on a weekly seasonal framework and features the freshest daily ingredients and unique creative touches.

And at #3 we have the Flagstaff House in Boulder, Colorado. Located atop Flagstaff Mountain, it was originally built as a summer cabin in 1929 by Chicago school teacher Hattie Bilchert. Later, in 1954, the Buelkes family purchased the property, coined it The Flagstaff House, and re-established it as an elegant summer restaurant. The next time it became available for sale in 1971, Don Monette jumped at the opportunity. He had always wanted to own just one restaurant that was truly fine dining and to be able to concentrate on making it an incredible experience for guests.

Located atop Flagstaff Mountain, it was originally built as a summer cabin in 1929 by Chicago school teacher Hattie Bilchert.

The Monette family greatly expanded the property, weatherized it to be open year-round, and built several outdoor terraces which allow diners to enjoy the changing seasons atop the mountain. As of 2020, the Flagstaff House has earned its 42nd consecutive Forbes Travel Guide Four Star rating and 31st consecutive AAA Four Diamond status. The Flagstaff House offers breathtaking views, New American cuisine and a world-renowned wine list with impeccable service and the touches of a family owned restaurant.

Coming in at #4 is Single Thread Farms, located in Healdsburg, California. Single Thread is a source-focused, farm-driven restaurant and inn concept that offers its diners and guests time-honored preparations of seasonally inspired cuisine and a uniquely curated taste of Sonoma Wine Country. The concept was born out of Kyle and Katina Connaughton's Southern California upbringing, as well as their extensive international travels and experiences living and cooking abroad in both the UK and Japan. Their foundation is rooted in the Japanese concept of omotenashi, a heightened sense of hospitality and anticipation of a guest's every need.

Located seven miles away from the inn and restaurant is the Single Thread Farm. The property consists of a greenhouse, shade structures, loamy fields, chicken coops, an heirloom fruit orchard, olive trees, beehives, and a cattle paddock all surrounded by Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay vines. The farm supplies vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, honey, eggs, and olive oil to the restaurant kitchen, where guests can enjoy a customized eleven-course tasting menu. For Single Thread, the relationship between farmer and chef is the most important part of the creative process.

For Single Thread, the relationship between farmer and chef is the most important part of the creative process.

At #5 we have Edison Food and Drink Lab, found in Tampa, Florida. Chef Pierola, a local powerhouse and 5 time James Beard Semifinalist, leads Edison's crew as they explore flavors using the finest components, precise execution, and their collective creativity. The results are new interpretations of everyday classics expertly engineered into current, modern cuisine.

Named #1 Restaurant in Tampa Bay by Tampa Bay Times food critic Laura Reiley in 2014 and 2016, their kitchen's formula is product, technique, and creativity. Edison's menu changes daily to feature fresh ingredients, exciting flavor experiments, and newly interpreted key core items.

Next up at #6 is Shikon by Yoshitake. Awarded three Michelin stars each year since 2014, Shikon by Yoshitake is Hong Kong's quintessential Tokyo sushi experience. From the moment one enters the restaurant on the 7th floor of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, extraordinary lengths are taken to provide guests with not only world-class cuisine, but a complete cultural experience. Each day, the finest fresh ingredients are flown to Hong Kong from Tokyo's famed Toyosu market. Guests enjoy watching Japanese master chefs craft seasonal sushi delicacies from just across a beautiful, centuries-old, hinoki counter imported from Japan, while surrounded by refined Japanese art, antiques and serving ware.

Awarded three Michelin stars each year since 2014, Shikon by Yoshitake is Hong Kong's quintessential Tokyo sushi experience.

Shikon by Yoshitake is overseen by executive chef Yoshiharu Kakinuma. Chef Kakinuma's relationship with Chef Yoshitake goes back decades to when he served as his young apprentice, early in his career. Nominated to helm the restaurant in Hong Kong in 2013, Kakinuma and Yoshitake work together closely to ensure that the menu and guest experience are consistent with their exemplary standards.

Lastly at #7 is Cafe Boulud, with three locations in New York City, Palm Beach, and Toronto. They offer the finesse of traditional French cuisine with the warm hospitality of a neighborhood cafe. Named for the restaurant Daniel Boulud's family operated outside Lyon at the turn of the century, the modern-day Cafe Boulud opened its original Michelin-starred Upper East Side location in 1998.

Executive Chef Jerrod Zifchak strives to bring together the best of French tradition and American sensibility through fine cuisine and hospitality. Daniel Boulud's four culinary muses drive Zifchak's vibrant approach to cooking. La Tradition highlights elevated French classics. La Saison emphasizes seasonal and local produce. Le Potager offers vegetable-forward specialties. Le Voyage explores various world cuisines through French interpretations; from Senegal to Japan, they travel to all parts of the globe to draw from different cultures and showcase unique ingredients and flavor combinations.