Senior Travel Review

Restaurants

Tables I'll Never Forget

A great meal is as much a part of travel as any cathedral or coastline. These are the restaurants that stopped me mid-bite and made me put down my fork just to take it all in. No free meals, no sponsored tables. Just my honest verdict.

Trattoria Anna Maria, Bologna
Italy
Traditional££
June 2026

Trattoria Anna Maria, Bologna

"The best pasta I have eaten in forty years of going to Italy"

Bologna is the food capital of Italy — every Italian will tell you this — and Trattoria Anna Maria is the reason why. The tagliatelle al ragù is made fresh each morning by Anna Maria herself, who has been doing this since 1985. The tortellini in brodo will make you weep. The wine list is short, local, and perfectly chosen. Book weeks ahead.

Order this

  • —Tagliatelle al ragù made fresh daily
  • —Tortellini in brodo — the definitive version
  • —Lasagne verde that redefines the dish

Margaret's tip

Go for lunch. The atmosphere is more relaxed, the light through the windows is beautiful, and you can justify a second plate of pasta.

Read the full story
Kikunoi Honten, Kyoto
Japan
Fine Dining£££££
July 2026

Kikunoi Honten, Kyoto

"The most beautiful meal I have ever been served"

Kaiseki is the Japanese art of the seasonal tasting menu — twelve or more courses, each one a small masterpiece of flavour, texture, and presentation. Kikunoi has three Michelin stars and has been serving kaiseki since 1912. Every dish arrives like a piece of art. The dashi broth alone is worth the flight to Kyoto.

Order this

  • —Twelve-course seasonal kaiseki menu
  • —Dashi broth of extraordinary depth
  • —Private tatami dining room with garden view

Margaret's tip

Book at least two months ahead. Request the private tatami room if you can — eating on the floor with a garden view is part of the experience.

Read the full story
Nomad, Marrakech
Morocco
Rooftop£££
August 2026

Nomad, Marrakech

"Modern Moroccan cooking at its most confident"

Nomad sits above the spice souk in the medina, and the rooftop terrace has one of the great views in Marrakech. But it is the food that keeps me coming back — a modern take on Moroccan cooking that respects tradition without being enslaved to it. The lamb tagine with preserved lemon is the best I have had anywhere. The mint lemonade is extraordinary.

Order this

  • —Rooftop terrace over the spice souk
  • —Lamb tagine with preserved lemon and olives
  • —Modern Moroccan small plates to share

Margaret's tip

Go at sunset. The light over the medina rooftops is extraordinary, and the evening breeze makes the heat bearable. Book the terrace table.

Read the full story
DOP, Porto
Portugal
Fine Dining££££
March 2026

DOP, Porto

"Portuguese cooking finally getting the respect it deserves"

Chef Rui Paula's DOP is housed in a converted palace in the Ribeira district, and the cooking matches the setting. This is Portuguese cuisine at its most ambitious — bacalhau prepared seven ways, barnacles from the Atlantic coast, a suckling pig that had the whole table silent for a full minute. The wine list is a love letter to the Douro Valley.

Order this

  • —Bacalhau prepared seven different ways
  • —Atlantic barnacles with sea butter
  • —Douro Valley wine list of extraordinary depth

Margaret's tip

Order the tasting menu. It is the only way to understand what Chef Paula is doing. Allow three hours and do not make plans for the evening.

Read the full story
Selene, Santorini
Greece
Fine Dining££££
April 2026

Selene, Santorini

"Greek cuisine taken seriously — finally"

Santorini has no shortage of restaurants with caldera views and inflated prices. Selene is different. The cooking is rooted in the island's volcanic soil — the cherry tomatoes, the white aubergine, the fava from Santorini's own fields — and treated with the seriousness it deserves. The view is magnificent. The food is better.

Order this

  • —Santorini cherry tomato salad with local capers
  • —White aubergine with smoked roe
  • —Caldera view terrace at sunset

Margaret's tip

The lunch menu is better value and the light is more beautiful than at dinner. The local Assyrtiko wine is the perfect match for everything on the menu.

Read the full story
Bistrot Paul Bert, Paris
France
Bistro£££
May 2026

Bistrot Paul Bert, Paris

"The Platonic ideal of a Paris bistro"

There are hundreds of bistros in Paris claiming to be the real thing. Bistrot Paul Bert actually is. The zinc bar, the handwritten menu on a chalkboard, the steak frites that arrive still sizzling, the profiteroles that are the size of a small child — this is the Paris of your imagination, and it is exactly as good as you hope. I have been going for fifteen years. It never disappoints.

Order this

  • —Steak frites — the definitive Paris version
  • —Profiteroles of extraordinary size and quality
  • —Classic French onion soup in winter

Margaret's tip

Book for Tuesday or Wednesday lunch — the weekends are packed with tourists. Sit at the zinc bar if you are alone. The staff will look after you beautifully.

Browse all stories

More to explore

Need somewhere to sleep it off?

I review hotels with the same care I give restaurants. No sponsored stays, no press trips — just my honest verdict on where to lay your head.

Browse Hotels