Top 5 Museum Restaurants Around the World

From a Paris to Texas to Canada, here are the top five museum restaurants to pair cultural excursions with fantastic food.

1. Fort Worth, TX: Café Modern at the Modern Museum in Fort Worth was recently included in Open Table’s list of Top 100 Brunches across the US which is assembled from more than five million verified diner reviews of more than 20,000 restaurants across the nation, Texas native Denise Shavandy, executive chef uses inspiration from the museum’s broad display of contemporary art when creating the award-winning brunch menu. Highlights include vital farms pasture-raised eggs with crispy prosciutto, parmesan crisp, chives and topped with shaved périgord truffle.

2. Paris, France: The sumptuous Belle Époque restaurant in the Musée D’Orsayoverlooks the Seine and Right Bank, capturing the true beauty of Paris. The restaurant has maintained its glamour and charm since opening in 1900, when it was the restaurant of the Hôtel d'Orsay. Surrounded by dazzling chandeliers and gilded ceilings, the Historic Monument is a work of art itself. The menu serves traditional French cuisine along with original dishes tied to current museum events.

3. Lexington, KY: The Lockbox restaurant in Lexington, KY’s 21c Museum Hotel (a combined hotel/contemporary art museum) offers an artistic menu within an inspiring environment. One of the property’s many art installations – dubbed “Tomorrow’s Weather” – hangs in the bar with orbs representing atmospheric molecules that change color and height depending on the following day’s weather forecast. A masterpiece unto itself, the menu led by executive chef Jonathan Searle features a range of thoughtful, yet simple, signature dishes including a Pepper Jam and Chicken Liver Mousse, Cornmeal Gnocchi, Woodland Farm Cast Iron Hog Chop and Kentucky Silver Carp.

4. Canada: Remai Modern, the new museum of modern and contemporary art opening in the burgeoning city of Saskatoon, Canada on October 21^stwill launch an on-site restaurant Shift, which will be managed by leading Canadian restaurant group, Oliver & Bonacini (O&B). O&B currently operates some of Canada’s most celebrated dining venues and event spaces in Toronto, Calgary and Montreal including Canoe and Auberge du Pommier. Shift, O&B’s first foray into Saskatoon, will be a modern Canadian restaurant serving lunch, dinner, light bites, and weekend brunch. Oliver & Bonacini will also be leading Remai Modern’s catering division, delivering chef-driven cuisine and inspired service to corporate events, weddings and more. Telling the stories of Canada’s people and places through genuine, generous cooking, the restaurant will support Remai Modern’s promise to “redefine what it means to be on the Prairies” and reflect both the history and the future of Canada.

5. Rochester, NY:The Strong National Museum of Play, the country’s only museum dedicated to play, offers Bill Gray’s Restaurant located in a vintage Skyliner Diner in the museum’s atrium adjacent to the beloved carousel and across from the mock Wegman’s Grocery (where kids learn healthy nutrition as they fill their carts). Guests can step back in time as they order from the famed regional chain known for its cheeseburgers, hot dogs and frozen custard before heading off to favorite exhibits including the Rise of Computer Learning (with The Oregon Trail!), Toy Halls of Fame and American Comic Book Heroes.