The world’s top 25 ‘hidden gem’ restaurants have been revealed – and it’s an eatery in Hawaii that tops the list.
The 12th Ave Grill in Honolulu has been awarded the crown based on diner reviews collected over a year.
In the runner-up spot is Alux Restaurant – housed inside a cavern in Cancun, Mexico – while third is Italian joint Battista’s Hole in the Wall in Las Vegas.
The 12th Ave Grill in Honolulu (pictured) has come top of a global ranking of ‘hidden gem’ restaurants
Battista’s Hole in the Wall, in Las Vegas, has come third in the ranking. Alux Restaurant in Mexico has come second in the ranking
A picture of a king crab dish that’s on the menu at Alux Restaurant
The ranking was put together by travel website Kayak and online table-booking service OpenTable.
They looked at positively reviewed restaurants – from reviews posted between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019 – in cities that featured in Kayak’s top 50 most popular destinations for travel between July 1 and December 31, 2019.
The highest scoring out of those that had been tagged by users as a ‘neighbourhood gem’ made the top 25.
Coming fourth on the list is Bistro Campagne, a French restaurant in Chicago, while fifth is Cafe Luxembourg, which also serves French cuisine, in New York City.
Highly regarded: Crust in Miami comes a very respectable sixth in the top 25 list
Here’s a sample of the pizza-ry delights served up by the chefs at Crust
In sixth place is Crust, a pizza restaurant in Miami, and in seventh is Frances, an eatery serving up Californian fare in San Francisco.
The rest of the top 10 is made up of Gilda by Belgious in Barcelona (eighth), Mamma Maria’s in Boston (ninth) and Musso & Frank Grill, Los Angeles (10th).
The top-ranked British hidden gem and the only one to make it on to the list is Westerns Laundry, a tapas-style restaurant in the Drayton Park area of North London in 23rd place.
The highest-ranked Australian eatery is Sydney’s newly-opened restaurant and wine bar Paddock & Vine in 14th place.
As part of the study, Kayak and OpenTable quizzed over 1,000 Britons about their eating-out experiences while travelling.
This survey found that eating out is a huge part of any holiday with almost half (49 per cent) of those taking part saying they spend most of their travel money on food – although 48 per cent still remain confused about the tipping culture abroad.
San Francisco’s Frances, nestled between Noe and Sanchez on 17th Street in the heart of the Castro, has come seventh in the ranking
In ninth place is Mamma Maria’s in Boston
The research found that travellers are also likely to spend more on their meals abroad than they would eating out at home. This peaks at 72 per cent more for 18 to 22-year-olds as the most generous age group for culinary spending, however nearly a third (27 per cent) of this age group find it stressful finding somewhere to eat.
UK diners prefer to immerse themselves in the local culture as much as possible, with 49 per cent of holidaymakers choosing to dine at restaurants that serve the local cuisine.
A mere 15 per cent opt for self-catering.
Meanwhile, for those heading out, inspiration for their choice of restaurant comes simply from walking around and seeing what’s nearby (48 per cent) followed by keeping a lookout for nice outdoor seating, reviews of local eateries and recommendations from hotels (28 per cent across all).
Adrian Valeriano, from OpenTable, said: ‘Travellers are becoming more interested in enjoying authentic dining experiences when on holiday, expanding their palates and being more adventurous with their food choices.
‘For many diners, selecting a place to eat can be overwhelming but especially for those travelling alone.
‘With the rise of solo travelling, there is a need for more concise recommendations than ever before.
‘The options are endless when it comes to eating abroad so we hope the guide will give holiday-makers a shortcut to some of the best places around the world to try with ease.’