The Hideaway Report has made its name with honest hotel evaluations, but my team and I relish reviewing restaurants just as much. In fact, I’m proud to say that we sometimes get to places ahead of the big guys. We endorsed California’s now-famous SingleThread Farms in 2017, a year and a half before it earned any Michelin stars (it now has three). Our recommendation of Essential by Christophe in New York was published in May 2023, six months before it received a star. In a place like Paris, we usually seek out what’s new and newsworthy, whether that’s a chic bistro that opened with a splash or a renovated gourmet bastion like La Tour d’Argent. Whereas in Oaxaca, a city that we’ve never covered in the Hideaway Report, we simply looked for the best.

I know that food is just as important to many Andrew Harper members as it is to us on the editorial team. That’s why we treat restaurants the same way we treat hotels. We research the options exhaustively before we travel, and when possible, we request advice from local friends and acquaintances. Only the most memorable meals make it into our lists of recommendations, which we revise annually. And of course, wherever we dine, we dine undercover and pay the full price.