Although social media platforms can be used as virtual galleries where chefs can display their creations in food, some restaurants are under the same umbrella as galleries in real life – the ones of art and cultural institutions that are world-renowned.
Julien Royer opened his restaurant Odette in The National Gallery Singapore in November 2015. Within four years, the restaurant was awarded three Michelin stars and was at the top of Asia’s 50 Top Restaurants list for the years 2019, 2019 and 2020.
It is surrounded by galleries that house the collection that spans more than two hundred years of Southeast Asian art, with artworks by artists like Georgette Chen as well as Chen Chong.
“Having a restaurant within a museum is meaningful and special for us,” Royer states. “We are constantly surrounded by art in various styles, like sculptures and paintings, within the building itself, which is a real gem. It certainly excites and stimulates.”
The chef Julien Royer prepares a dish at Odette.
A lot of the work Royer, as well as his crew offer could be considered art gallery, including amuse-bouches like”the “modern version of a gouge” (a complex geometrically constructed rectangular shell stuffed with aged 24 months Comte cheese) as well as the dazzling Crispy tartelette with Cevennes onion and licorice and the taco made of smoking saba fish topped with the tangy citrus flavor. The sudachi.
There’s also one of Odette’s most popular dishes, Le Pigeon Fabien deneour En 3 Services, where dramatic presentation and plating celebrate the entire bird, particularly the stunning breast crusted with the Kampot pepper of Cambodia.
Le Pigeon Fabien Deneour En 3 Services at Odette.
Within Tel Aviv, Israel, Chef Gal Ben-Moshe’s Restaurant Pastel is situated inside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art with a view of the sculpture garden.
Ben-Moshe’s global profile is increasing. He’s twice cooked at the Test Kitchen in Hong Kong, the culinary pop-up; he owns and operates the restaurant with one Michelin star Prism in Berlin, as well as runs his restaurant in Dubai.
Just a few steps away from galleries that are brimming with masterpieces by the likes of Rubens, van Dyck, and Canaletto, as well as the work of the Jewish-Polish painter Maurycy Gottlieb. Pastel is regarded as among Israel’s top and most stunning restaurants and has been awarded numerous prizes.
Tartar of yellowtail accompanied by cucumber, apple, and Rice puff from Pastel.
“For me, a restaurant in a museum is connected to my deep passion for the arts and my belief that food is an artistic medium,” Ben-Moshe said.
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“In Pastel we are very much inspired by the museum’s collection to design our dishes, but especially how they curate local art in the same way that I try to emphasise local ingredients.”
Locally caught fish, wild herbs, and lamb, as well as Middle Eastern spices, all feature in dishes influenced by Levantine cuisine. Levantine dishes of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Chef Gal Ben-Moshe at Pastel.
A skewer of octopus has the texture of cucumber and potato and flavors like tzatziki, as well as Zhug hot sauce from Yemen that is made from parsley and coriander.
The most exquisite seafood is a beautiful tartar of yellowtail containing cucumber, apple, and rice puff. Also, tuna with crispy bulgar wheat cit,rus and ponzu, and fragrant leaves.
Main courses include oxtail Agnolotti with tangy and fragrant Hamusta and a soup that is a mix of Jewish and Kurdish or a gorgeous Ben-Moshe special dish consisting of leek, grouper, unripe grapes, and the XO shrimp, which was inspired by his travels in Hong Kong.
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Of course, Hong Kong itself has many dining options inside museums. There are a variety of restaurants with awards in Tai Kwun, the Center for arts and Heritage, located in Hong Kong’s Central business district. The menus range in price from British classical dishes served in exquisite settings at the Magistracy The Dining Room to sophisticated genuine Cantonese dining at Madame Fu.
The harbor is located over the M+ museum in West Kowloon. It is Mosu, The first international outpost of the original three-Michelin-star in Seoul that reinvents Korean cuisine using innovative design, techniques, and ingredients.
Amuse bouches come with a sculpted fungus on top of a tart that won’t appear out of place in the best collections of Asian contemporary art just a few feet away. The dessert is accompanied by an exquisite mixture of sea urchins, tofu, and Ajo Blanco, which is a refreshing almond-based Spanish soup that accentuates the fact that certain dishes look almost too gorgeous to consume.
Within London, Irish chef-restaurateur Richard Corrigan’s The Portrait Restaurant sits inside the recently restored National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
“For as long as I’ve been in London restaurants, this iconic building has stood there proudly offering access to world-class portraits for free,” Corrigan states.
“As an avid fan of the arts, I’ve loved visiting the venue. It’s a source of great satisfaction that I am able to bring my love of cooking, utilizing the finest available British and Irish ingredients, into the national institution.”
Conchigliette pasta with snails and rosemary taken from Dorset from The Portrait Restaurant.
The view is stunning with a stunning aerial view of Trafalgar Square, with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament behind and Nelson’s Column in front. Dining guests can enjoy the 70-seat dining area, with an open kitchen, as well as stylish design themes taken from the museum throughout the gallery.
Corrigan and his chef, Simon Merrick, take guests on a world-class culinary adventure through the menu at the restaurant.
A special appetizer of skate wing, which was made perfectly crispy and served on top of a som tum-style Thai salad. Afterward, the gorgeous whole artichoke is served with Cock crabs Kombu as well as seaweed. A bowl filled with conchigliette pasta with snails and rosemary from Dorset was a masterpiece.
Skate Wing and “som tam”-style Thai salad at The Portrait Restaurant.
Lamb chops topped with labneh, aubergine, and harissa from The Portrait Restaurant.
The main courses comprised English grouse lentils, and halibut served in an encased lobster bone broth. But lamb chops made with aubergine and labneh, as well as harissa, took the top spot and displayed the true skill of touch on the char as well as the subtle balance of flavors.
The connection between food and art goes far back.
Epic Roman meals were the epitome of decadence. They were immortalized in frescoes on the villa walls in Pompeii.