Always the best place to sleep outside one’s own home, Four Seasons is fast becoming the place to eat and drink too. With several hundred unique restaurants and bars in 37 countries – from Michelin-starred French and Chinese dining rooms to open air bistros, serious steakhouses, funky bars, locavore emporiums, regional Italian cucinas, interactive show kitchens and even a treetop restaurant specializing in jungle cuisine – an eclectic as the mix of locals and international travellers are coming back for more.

For gourmands, culinary voyeurs and people who simply enjoy a good meal and a great glass of wine, there’s good news. 2012 saw a record number of creative new dining and drinking establishments open at Four Seasons hotels and resorts around the world, and there’s more to come in 2013.

The Proof is in the Pudding: Top New Tables Around the World

In addition to new restaurants in seven new Four Seasons properties opened in the past year, fresh new dining concepts at existing hotels are creating buzz.

• Proof at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North – A fabulous new family-friendly American canteen features comfort food sourced exclusively in the 50 United States in a fun indoor-outdoor frontier-style space with at railroad track running through it..
• 8 at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza – Cairo’s best Cantonese is now served at lucky number 8, a “Hong Kong chic” style restaurant designed by SPIN offering an extensive dim sum selection as well as fresh-prepared Chinese specialties including BBQ Peking duck.
• Allium at Four Seasons Hotel Chicago – Home of the “homemade everything” hot dog and the innovative miso butterscotch milkshake, this restaurant-bar-lounge designed by Brayton Hughes is a local favourite, and a great ambassador for Chicago-style cuisine to travellers.
• Bahia at Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, Mexico – Restyled with a new menu by Richard Sandoval, this beachside, bare-feet-welcome open air restaurant focuses on regional ingredients, including seafood brought to the Resort’s beach by local fishermen.
• Bleu d’Orange at Four Seasons Resort Marrakech – Topped by a torchi-lit open air lounge with sweeping Atlas Mountain views, this Mediterranean restaurant brings together influences from southern Italian to Provence. Plus, a series of pop up restaurants with themes ranging from gourmet Indian to hot Cuban is creating excitement among both locals and return guests.
• Café Boulud at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto – The renowned chef’s first outpost in Canada’s capital and the hometown of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts combines the best of his iconic New York restaurants, with a distinctly Canadian twist in an art-filled loft above the high powered intersection of Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue. Chef de Cuisine Tyler Shedden was handpicked by Boulud to lead the kitchen team.
• Café Britt at Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo – When in Costa Rica, one wants a cup of the local brew. Now partnering with coffee purveyor Café Britt, the Resort is offering the country’s distinctive coffees, along with other Latin American specialties and light meals to go with.
• Cai Yi Yuan at Four Seasons Hotel Beijing – Located in the newest property in China, this restaurant features regional Chinese dishes in two high-style dining rooms and eight private dining rooms. Also at the property: regional Italian dining at Mio designed by SPIN, plus two lounges and the intimate Tea Garden with its striking wall of metal butterflies.
• Catch at Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou – With commanding 100th floor views, this modern seafood emporium by Steve Leung Designers is the highest restaurant in the city, and certainly the highest of any Four Seasons. Catch leads a selection of international dining and entertaining options that also includes the Cantonese Yu Yue Heen, Kumoi for Japanese specialties and the Italian Caffe Mondo, plus two lounges.
• CottoCrudo at Four Seasons Hotel Prague – A bold modern concept designed by EDG in one of Europe’s ancient cities showcases contemporary Italian dishes prepared with the freshest ingredients. An open crudo bar offer raw menu choices, while an adjacent bar has become a local hotspot thanks to regular DJ nights.
• Elena at Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires – Named for the original mistress of the Hotel’s La Mansion, this just-opened restaurant is designed by EDG in courtyard style, as a gathering place for friends, family and colleagues to enjoy Executive Chef Juan Gaffuri’s Argentinian cuisine in lively, two story skylit space. At its centre, a striking wine elevator and dramatic spiral staircase leading up to private dining areas on the balcony.
• The Handle Bar at Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole – Michael Mina’s successful partnership with Four Seasons continues with this new slope-side pub featuring the signature “all night” après ski happy hour in this popular year-round resort community. On the casual menu are wood-grilled burgers and sausages, game meats and fun bar snacks to go with a find selection of American and international beers, scotches and wines.
• Kaspia at Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Azerbaijan – An eclectic international menu shares the spotlight with a showstopping restaurant with its see-and-be seen catwalk and adjacent lounge to suit the Azeris’ love of late night dining and drinking in the city Lonely Planet counts as one of the top ten places to party in the world. The new Hotel also offers Zafferano for Mediterranean and local specialties, and the casual Lounge for tea and light fare, plus Executive Pastry Chef Ahmed Said’s handmade chocolates.
• Kula’s at Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Tanzania – Long-time guests of Four Seasons Resort Nevis are already planning to cross the ocean for Nevisian native Executive Chef Curtis Smithen’s take on African cuisine. The Lodge also offers Boma Grill as a second dining option, plus two bars.
• Nusantao: Sea Kitchens at Four Seasons Hotel Doha – With the Arabian Sea’s bounty right outside the door and fresh ingredients flown in weekly, this theatrical new dining experience designed by Blue Sky Hospitality is already popular with the local ex-pat community in Qatar, and another addition to the Hotel’s diverse dining options.
• PABU at Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore – Michael Mina partnered with Ken Tominaga to bring a true izakaya – think Japanese pub – to the recently opened Hotel in Harbor East. Sake expert Tiffany Soto presides over an extensive collection of sakes for all tastes and occasions, while an every changing menu makes this the city’s best destination for sushi, robata and sashimi.
• Rosso at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh – The best Italian restaurant in the Kingdom is the newest dining choice for business travellers, and locals who want to enjoy Chef Marco Terranova’s fine cuisine in a stylish setting.
• Shàng-xí at Four Seasons Hotel Pudong, Shanghai – This ultra-exclusive enclave designed by AB Concepts is in the exciting Pudong district of Shanghai, with just 22 open seats and five unique gemstone-themed private dining rooms serving Cantonese and regional Chinese cuisine. Also just opened at the city’s second Four Seasons: Camelia, an all-day dining hotspot designed by SPIN featuring a sushi counter, whiskey bar and wine lounge.
• Sundara at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay - Casual lunches transform into lazy afternoons by the pool, serious steak and seafood for dinner, and candlelit evenings on the beach at Bali's newest hotspot.
• Terra at Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe – This popular American restaurant’s menu got a makeover when the Resort was re-flagged as a Four Seasons earlier this year. Executive Chef Andrew Cooper serves up contemporary southwestern cuisines indoors and out.
• The Woods at Four Seasons Hotel Sydney – Renowned chef Hamish Ingman is obsessed with woods, choosing just the right one to prepare each of the many grilled and smoked dishes on the menu. Locals are already loving it, and visitors seeking true Down Under food won’t be disappointed as they peruse a menu that includes seasonal oysters, muntries, yabby, sand whiting and Australians meats.
• ‘ULU Ocean Grill & Sushi Lounge at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka’upulehu – Executive Chef James Babian has been championing the local food movement for years, working closely with the big island’s farmers, ranchers and fishermen to create a menu that is 75 percent locally sourced on Hawaii Island in this open air beachside restaurant designed by EDG.

Coming soon: At the new Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg, opening this year, travellers to Peter the Great’s storied city can look forward to SPIN’s Japanese-style Sintoho, the Italian Percorso, and an exquisite Tea Lounge, all under the culinary leadership of Executive Chef Andrea Accordi.

Causing a Stir: New Bars and Lounges at Four Seasons

• FIVE Grill & Lounge at Four Seasons Hotel Amman – In the heart of the Jordanian capital, this lounge comes alive as the sun sets on the terrace, a place to relax and unwind with drinks, food and shisha.
• GRAIN at Four Seasons Hotel Sydney – In a country that knows a thing or two about beer, the “fine art of drinking” is taken in new directions with an organic and biodynamic wine list, exotic cocktail, and of course, handcrafted local brews to wash down apps, such as deep fried old man’s saltbush.
• The Lookout at Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, California – This innovative new outdoor lounge concept in LA County features firepits, a canopied daybed, black and white film classics projected on the wall, and the sun setting behind the Santa Monica Mountains.
• Pony Line at Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires – Inspired by the sport of kings, this all-new polo themed bar designed by EDG offers a fun and funky place to meet for after work drinks, long evenings with friends, or even a welcome break from a day of shopping or sightseeing around La Recoleta. Featuring Sommelier Sebastian Maggi’s innovative twists on traditional cocktails and Executive Chef Juan Gaffuri’s light bites.

Also: Travellers who love to sample the local watering hole will want to check out the bars and lounges at the newest Four Seasons around the world, including:

• Bentley’s at Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Azerbaijan
• The Bar at Encantado at Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe
• dbar at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, designed by Yabu Pushelberg
• Opus Lounge and Opus Bar at Four Seasons Hotel Beijing
• Sundowner Bar and Maji Bar at Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Tanzania
• Tian Bar and The Atrium at Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou

Coming soon: The vodka is already chilling in anticipation of the opening of Xander Bar at the new Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg, designed by SPIN.

Have an Appetite for More?

Check out what’s cooking at Four Seasons by visiting the new epicurean site Taste by Four Seasons, designed for those hungry for new flavours, delicious ideas and hot trends, and follow the #FSTaste hashtag on Twitter.