We know you’re gluten-free. And of course, you eat your greens and lots of lean protein. But sometimes, you just want to carb-load – and not “just anything” will do. There’s nothing like the smell of fresh bread, and these bread baskets take it to the next level.
The Restaurant: Muse
The Location: London, UK
The Bread
From a seasonal 10-course dinner tasting to a shorter (one-hour) lunch tasting, this is not the restaurant to go to if you’re in a rush; it’s all about savoring at Michelin-starred Muse by Tom Aikens, and the experience starts with your bread tray. To start, they make the sourdough with four different organic flours from Shipton Mill and Robin Stout Beer from Barsham Brewery. Then there are the butters: cultured, burnt leek, and chicken butter (trust us).
They make the cultured butter with a raw double cream that’s left alone for five days, for the mildly sour notes to shine through. The chef pipes the burnt leek butter like delicate icing on the center of a stone. Then, they top the chicken butter with puffed barley, crisp chicken skin, and some chicken salt, displayed in a darling wooden egg, cradled in a small nest. In an age with additive-filled meals and limited knowledge of what’s entering your system, knowing where your food is coming from is a luxury.
The Restaurant: The Grill
The Location: NYC
The Bread
The Grill is a refurbished vision of the 1950s power lunch. If you close a big business deal in the early hours of the day, The Grill is where you go to reward yourself with a juicy steak and old-school table-side service. The mid-century New York chophouse takes you back to the glamor and sophistication of the time, and happens to have an abundant selection of bread. When you’re promised exceptional table-side service, the precursor is the bread basket, and The Grill doesn’t disappoint. They’re known for their pretzel bread—from sticks to rolls; the salted in-house treat is worth every carb. You can also expect to find focaccia, sourdough, and potato bread in the mix, served with herby butter.
The Restaurant: SanBrite
The Location: Cortina, Italy
The Bread
SanBrite in Cortina is a Michelin-starred restaurant that gives you that made-from-scratch quality every time. The restaurant prides itself on the generational farming that goes into each dish. When you can feel the love in a fresh handmade loaf of sourdough, and the whipped butter is like a cloud that falls onto your plate, saving space for other courses is challenging. It tastes fresh because it is; they churn the butter from the milk supplied by the family restaurant’s own dairy cows. Imagine fresh mountain air, cascading bouquets of dried flowers hanging from the ceiling, and a thick slab of sourdough in a candlelit cottage-core restaurant—is there a more perfect picture?
The Restaurant: Le Bernardin
The Location: NYC
The Bread
There’s no question that Chef Eric Ripert knows seafood; he’s published multiple books on the subject and owns Le Bernardin— a three Michelin-starred French seafood restaurant. Accolades aside, you’re here for the bread, and the bread basket display lives up to its entrée rivals. A waiter will come to your table throughout your meal to replenish your bread plate, so the bread acts more as an accoutrement than a one-and-done starter. Some of the housemade breads you can expect include Turmeric + Tomato Rolls, Sesame + Basilic Rolls, Pretzel Rolls, Baguettes, Rosemary + Olive Focaccia, Multigrain Poppy Seed Rolls, Quinoa + Flaxseed Rolls, Pumpernickel Bread; the list continues. If bread is your comfort food and you want more than just the basket, Le Bernardin also has lobster rolls and challah for fondue.
The Restaurant: Mirazur
The Location: Menton, France
The Bread
Staying true to the fine dining theme, Mirazur is a Mediterranean-style restaurant with three Michelin stars. The restaurant dedicates its food identity to the surrounding nature. Between the mountain and sea, everything is illuminated in the dishes and the panoramic view from the windows. The philosophy even makes it into the bread. They make the brioche from an ancient local wheat, farmed organically. It’s first worked by the Mitron Bakery and finished at Mirazur in a wood-fired oven. The restaurant serves it with the olive oil of the day from Huilerie Saint Michel, or handmade baratte butter from the milk of the “Froment du Léon” — a breed almost abandoned to extinction. The waitstaff then shape the butter and serve it as a milk dough.
FAQs
Q: When did Muse open?
A: Muse officially opened its doors in January 2020, so it’s relatively new.
Q: What is the reservation process at Le Bernardin?
A: Reservations become available on the first of the month for the entirety of the month. Note that reservations cannot be made for the Lounge. You can either reserve through RESY or by phone.
Q: Is SanBrite vegetarian-friendly?
A: SanBrite has vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options (though if you’re here for the bread, this doesn’t apply).
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