The insider hack to eating at the world's most coveted restaurants.
When you're struggling to get a seat at one of the world's most in-demand tables – or simply can't stretch to the standard tasting menu price tag – there's a hack. Many of the planet's finest restaurants offer experiences at an onsite or nearby bar, typically easier to get into and frequently more affordable. Add these spots to your culinary bucket lists, pull up a stool and dig in.
Clemente Bar, NYC
The "Endive Goddess" salad features pink and yellow endive with a green goddess aioli (Image: Evan Sung)
As one of the world's most sought-after bookings, the tables at Daniel Humm's Eleven Madison Park – one of only a handful of Best of the Best venues named by The World's 50 Best Restaurants – are like gold dust. But just upstairs from the dining room pilgrimage spot, Clemente Bar puts a similarly elite spin on cocktails and snacks. Named for Italian painter and bar co-founder Francesco Clemente, Clemente's custom paintings fill the wood-panelled interior with plush low seats and chic marble tables. The intimate lounge-like space serves up concoctions such as a Koji Café – aged rum, raspberry eau de vie, coffee and koji cream – with EMP-quality bites such as thrice-fried potato with rosemary and lemon. Order a smattering of a la carte dishes, or head to The Studio section, where a nine-seat chef's counter with the latest residency awaits.
Septime La Cave, Paris 
At Septime La Cave, take a high seat by the counter or perch al fresco by the storefront
You'll have to book well ahead to get your hands on a table at Septime – No.40 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list – but a one-minute walk around the corner, this casual wine bar is a far more accessible prospect. Extended business hours stretch the window of opportunity from 4pm to 11pm, no reservations are taken and prices are wallet friendly. Sip on a Jean Claude Lapalu Beaujolais while nibbling simple plates of perfection such as beef ham, bay oil and grilled almonds. You'll get a taste of the modern produce-first vibe of Septime and save a bundle while you're at it.
Atomix Bar, New York
Atomix's upstairs bar seats 15 around its tasting counter
It's no secret that Atomix, ranked No.12 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, nails culinary innovation with Korean heritage, where the counter experience serves up the likes of monkfish liver with squid and tangerine. When you can't secure a spot at one of the icon's two daily seatings, make for the lesser-known upstairs cocktail bar. Here, a shorter, yet no less unique nine-course tasting menu awaits, priced $100 less than downstairs at $285, including an array of drinks. You can also use that saved cash to dip into the standalone cocktail list, featuring innovations such as a White Kimchi Gibson.
Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo
Asador Extebarri is surrounded by the greenery of the Basque region, against the backdrop of Mount Anboto
Squirrelled away in picturesque mountain scenery in remote Axpe-Martzaa, ranked No.2 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list is the ultimate destination restaurant. Tables in the upstairs dining room where chef Victor Arguinzoniz turns out his refined Basque grilled cuisine – all cooked over open fire – are extremely tricky to come by, but if you're lucky on Sundays you can get a look in, without reservations. Downstairs, a casual tapas bar cluttered with locals serves simple but bang-on pintoxs with wines and beers; think tortilla, grilled octopus or gildas (skewered olives, pickled peppers and anchovies). The spend? A mere few euros per pintxo, rather than the €300-plus for the tasting menu up above.
Pujol, Mexico City 
The taco omakase at Pujol includes a choice between mixed cocktails, craft beer, wine, mezcal or non-alcoholic beverages
Sometimes eating at the bar isn't about getting a cheaper or more readily available experience but an entirely different one. At chef Enrique Olvera's iconic Mexico City eatery – ranked No.33 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024 – the bar serves up an omakase parade which brings a new culinary style and beat. Sink your teeth into pickled snail tostada with jicama and lime kosho; grilled octopus taco with chile guero; fish taco on white recado. It's fresh, fun and a completely stand-alone taco-driven meal that contrasts the main restaurant line-up.
Burnt Ends, Singapore
Almost every dish on the Burnt Ends menu is prepared with the brick kiln designed by Chef-Owner Dave Pynthe
Ranked No.93 on The World's Best Restaurants 2025 list, this Australian-style BBQ joint from chef Dave Pynt has a moody, intimate atmosphere and dishes like buttermilk fried drumlets; no wonder tables get booked up quickly. Whether you want to dine extra early or late (seatings are available from 5pm and as late as 11pm) or you just want a pared back experience, the cocktail bar is a great alternative option. Serving a bar food menu as well as a classic set menu option – plus cocktails, of course – it's the place to try dishes such as Jamaican chicken and lime crema, or beef marmalade and house pickles.
Header image credit: Jason Varney
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