conde nast traveller restaurant

This Phoenix restaurant was named among the best new hotel dining options in the world

Conde Nast Traveler released its list of The Best New Hotel Restaurants in the World on June 4, and a Phoenix restaurant made the cut.

As a companion piece to their list of best hotels in 2024, Conde Nast editors decided to focus on the hotel restaurants, stating that "we rarely spotlight the spaces  within  the hotel that make the property shine."

Thea, the rooftop restaurant at restauranteur Sam Fox's The Global Ambassador was listed shoulder to shoulder with restaurants in hotels in Paris, London, New York and Mallorca. The hotel, which also made it to the Hot List of the best new hotels of 2024 , opened in December 2023 and is is Fox's first foray into hotel business.

Thea's Mediterranean menu reflects a collection of favorite dishes from Fox's travels to Europe, with a focus on lighter fare like Burrata di Bufala ($18) served with pesto, milled tomato, pistachio dukkah and arugula. Or a collection of dips ($13 each) like whipped ricotta with stone fruit and urfa honey and hummus topped with olive oil, za’atar and green zhoug. Mains include sushi ($18-24), flatbreads ($17-24), pasta ($26-38) and grilled meats like steak, lamb chops and salmon ($38-87).

The dish that wowed Conde Nast's editors was the Spring Tabbouleh Salad ($18), made with ancient grains, stone fruit, pomegranate seeds, snap peas, cucumber, mint and a preserved lemon vinaigrette. They called it "fresh and flavorful."

Details : 4360 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. 480-800-2211,  globalambassadorhotel.com .

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Reach the reporter at   [email protected] . Follow @banooshahr on   X, formerly Twitter .

This Dubai restaurant has just been crowned the best place to eat in the Middle East

By Sophie Prideaux

It’s impossible to talk about the best restaurants in Dubai without mentioning Tresind Studio. But it is now officially up there with the best restaurants in the world, after ranking at number 13 in the 2024 list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Tresind Studio was officially named the best restaurant in the Middle East in the 2024 list, which was unveiled on Wednesday evening at a ceremony in Las Vegas, attended by world-famous chefs and well-respected restaurateurs from all corners of the globe.

The Palm Jumeirah restaurant is helmed by chef Himanshu Saini , who cut his teeth working under chef Manish Mehrotra at Indian Accent in Dehli, one of the first modern Indian fine-dining restaurants. “I was happy that I was working under the best chef in India and whatever I learned during those five years is clearly reflected in how I’m cooking now,” Saini previously told Condé Nast Traveller Middle Eas t. “Back in the day, Indian chefs were very shy to come out and meet the guests but I’d see him, from day one, spending equal time in the kitchen and on the floor.”

Modern Indian tasting-menu concept Trèsind Studio is helmed by Himanshu Saini

It’s this personal approach to hospitality that has made Tresind Studio such a success. At the 20-seat restaurant, a 20-course tasting menu pays tribute to the rich culinary culture and vast landscapes of India . Each creation takes guests on a journey through four parts of the continent: Thar desert, Deccan plateau, coastal palms and the northern plains and Himalayan mountains, highlighting the cooking methods, ingredients and flavour profiles that are specific to the region the dish is dedicated to. “I think our strength is to break all the stereotypes associated with Indian food,” said Saini.

Orfali Bros Bistro, which formerly took the top spot on the Mena 50 Best list announced in February, was ranked number 64 on the global list. The list is decided by a panel of experts, and there are a few rules: those on the panel can’t vote for any restaurant they have an economic interest in and they must have eaten at restaurants that won their votes in the previous 19 months.

The highest-ranking restaurants in each continent were given a special mention. The best restaurant in Africa is La Colombe. Atomix is the highest-ranking restaurant in North America, and the highest-ranking restaurant in Asia is Gaggan. The best restaurant in South America for 2024 is Maido. And the best restaurant in Europe, and the winner of The World’s Best Restaurant in 2024, is Disfrutar in Barcelona.

See the full list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 .

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‘Someday, when I return to Sri Lanka, this is what I will do...’

By Salil Deshpande

Someday, when I return to Sri Lanka , I know exactly what I will do. I will sit on the ramparts of Galle Fort and watch Sri Lanka play India (if not, Australia will do). There will be a hat on my head, a hot dog and a cold shake in my hand, while the boys will chug their beers (I also know who I am going with). I’d like the sun to be an easy 32 degrees. Turn on Days 4 and 5 is inevitable, but I’d like a stiff ocean breeze for some delicious swing. We’ll spend five days watching the game, going into the stadium when things get spicy, and out around the fort when they are not.

Both times I was in Galle last year, I stood on the ramparts and pictured this exact scene over and over again. There was no game on those dates, so I need to plan another trip to make it happen. Despite several visits, my list of to-dos in Sri Lanka is still pretty long, more than what my paid time off can accommodate. So maybe I will conspire an assignment, or three. Like a hike up the Pekoe trail, a surfing lesson on Ahangama, a spot of whale- watching in Trincomalee, an untold Geoffrey Bawa story (if there is such a thing), or a Jaffna piece (long overdue). Some of these ideas are on offer further down this book. As is a list of some terrific hotels , which frankly, are experiences by themselves. It will take very little for me to go back for a meal at Abode by the Beach at Ahangama, a drink at Smoke & Bitters—one of Asia’s best bars (but get there before sunset), or a stay at the fantastic Kayaam House at Tangalle. It helps that you are barely three hours away from blue skies, misty hills , or lashings of rain– whatever you prefer. I can’t think of too many places that let you switch seasons with such little effort. A year ago, I may have asked you to visit Sri Lanka to help the country recover. Now, you should go simply because it’s a damn good place to be.

Uncovering the Roots of Modern Finnish Design—Beyond Helsinki

T he views from my car window are a Nordic cliché: long stretches of farmland that give way to thick forests of birch and pine. Rustic farmhouses painted a deep, punctuating red. A freshly thawed stream shimmering in the sunlight. I leave Finland 's southern coast, fringed by islands and inlets, behind as I cut northwest through its lake-dotted interior. It's a beautiful landscape—though not one that traditionally draws the design lovers who flock to this country.

My interest in Finnish design began, as it does for many, with Alvar Aalto, the father of Finnish modernism, and grew as I studied legends like Yrjö Kukkapuro and Tapio Wirkkala and discovered the quirky genius of Marimekko . There's plenty to learn from Helsinki 's arresting architecture and tucked-away boutiques, but the country's design identity has rural roots, and I set out on a pilgrimage to uncover them.

Modernist marvel

A first glance at Ahlström Noormarkku , 160 miles west of Helsinki, reveals little of its place in Finnish history. Once one of the nation's most impressive ironworks, it is now a sprawling family-owned estate with guesthouses for the visitors who come to hike and hunt—and pay homage to an icon. Deep within the estate sits Villa Mairea, Aalto's 20th-century modernist gem. Aalto also developed his first product prototypes in Noormarkku—a foray that eventually grew into Artek , the renowned design company. The charming guest rooms, including mine, are peppered with his classics, like the webbed Model 45 chair, with its rattan woven arms, and the Tea Trolley 901, a Japanese-inspired birch cart.

After an astonishingly good dinner at the estate's restaurant, Peter Ahlström, the company's CEO, drives me past orchards and streams, worker cottages and handsome industrial buildings. As the fifth generation of his family to lead Noormarkku, he is the custodian of its history. Even with its business interests having shifted elsewhere, the extended Ahlström family continues to gather here. “The Finns are tied to where they grew up, to land and their ownership of it,” Ahlström explains. At the tipping edge of daylight, we spot a herd of roe deer and a single white-tailed one.

In the morning, fueled by a breakfast of savory Karelian pies, smoked salmon, and rye bread, I walk to Villa Mairea, designed in the 1930s by Aalto and his wife, Aino, for Maire Gullichsen, an art patron and the granddaughter of the ironworks' founder. It appears around a bend in a forested path bathed in silence. Its façade in wood and stone is modest but still manages to make my heart skip a beat. The free-flowing interiors offer more stunners, from the site-specific furniture to Gullichsen's trove of Picassos and Légers. I am particularly taken by the forest-inspired staircase and rattan-wrapped pillars, which make the home feel virtually inseparable from the surrounding woodland.

Before leaving, I take a smoke sauna on the banks of the Noormarkunjoki River. Water laps rhythmically against the bulrush-lined shore. Birdsong fills the air. According to Ahlström, the family plans to make this the site of an ambitious design center and world-class arts pavilion. I have a hard time imagining a modern structure here, especially on a morning such as this, but it would be a fitting way to bring the family's design legacy into the future.

Sustainable sensibility

“There's a Finnish saying, punainen tupa ja perunamaa, meaning ‘a red house and a potato field,’” explains Kaari, the young driver taking me to the village of Fiskars, “indicating all you need to be content.” We're talking about those distinctive farmhouses that we whoosh past as we head 150 miles south. I'm making a quick stop at the Finnish Design Shop , the first showroom for the world's largest online Nordic design store, on the outskirts of Turku, the historic former capital.

A few years ago, says COO Reetta Noukka, the company picked this site abutting the Pomponrahka nature reserve to house its dream headquarters. In developing it, care was taken to preserve the natural forest undergrowth and excavated stones, allowing the warehouse, offices, showroom, and wild-food restaurant—helmed by award-winning forager-chef Sami Talberg—to blend seamlessly into their surroundings. The result is a unique prototype for a next-generation design hub. “Finnish design has always been inspired by nature,” Noukka says, “but sustainability will shape its future.”

Into the Woods

An hour later we pull into Fiskars. Almost immediately, I'm in love: with the forest cover, the rustic cottages, and the central artery of artist studios, bakeries, and shops. In the 1600s this was the birthplace of the Fiskars ironworks, which eventually became a world-renowned brand beloved for its garden tools and ubiquitous orange scissors. When the company outgrew its production facilities in the village, woodworkers, glassblowers, textile artists, and other artisans turned the disused foundries and mills into studios and homes.

In the '90s this Edenic landscape drew Karin Widnäs to Fiskars to build the KWUM Museum for international ceramists, as well as her home, a gray timber-framed modernist structure that blends into its sylvan setting. Here she produces award-winning ceramics that grace the tables of Finland's top restaurants. “The forest and the lake give me all the inspiration I need,” she tells me.

A stroll away, on the banks of the Borgbyträsket lake, sits the workshop of Nikari , a furniture studio that is known for its serene design language and has been operational since 1967. In the '90s, drawn to Fiskars’ abundance of native woods, the brand's founder, master cabinetmaker Kari Virtanen, set up shop in an old factory here. “With the former foundry that now produces hydroelectric power, the sawmill next door, and locals who sew the covers for some of our chairs, it’s completely circular,” says Johanna Vuorio, the company’s CEO.

“As a nation with a very strong connection with nature, it’s common for us to think about sustainability,” she continues, showing me pieces like the low-slung Centenniale table that are made from century-old oak or ash and designed to last centuries more. “To us, making something that lasts is a source of pride and joy," she says. Almost every Finnish family owns Wirkkala's glassware or Aalto's stackable stools, passed down from generation to generation.

I’m spending the night at Wärdshus , which, at 187 years, is the oldest running inn in Finland. The decor is old-fashioned and comforting, but the restaurant surprises me with its finesse. My companion over dinner is Petteri Masalin, Fiskars' chief design officer, who lives in the village with his family. Fiskars today owns a slew of legacy brands from Royal Copenhagen to Wedgwood, but is still best known for its scissors. I ask Masalin what it takes to stay relevant after all these years. “Delivering the perfect cut again and again,” he says. 

In 2019, the inaugural Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale brought new buzz to the town; visitors can now check in to a boutique hotel, The Torby , set in a former paper workshop. And the artisanry has grown more diverse: Deka Studio brings an Australian sensibility to Finnish woodworking; at Onoma , an artists' cooperative shop, I encounter everything from three-dimensional textile art to moss-covered ceramic sculpture.

Encouraged by summer's lingering light, I take a late walk. The birds are still animated, but the town has been enveloped in a gentle quiet. Tomorrow I'll return to Helsinki, where I'll check into the Design District's art-rich Hotel St. George and sniff out treasures at Artek 's pre-loved furniture outlet. But I'll look at every façade, café table, and museum textile a little differently. I might be far away from having a home filled with Aalto treasures, but I'm closer to understanding the forces that shape the Finnish design philosophy—and that near-reverential closeness to nature that defines it.

This article appeared in the September/October 2023 issue of  Condé Nast Traveler.  Subscribe to the magazine   here .

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