Have you ever met a celebrity at a restaurant? I have, in completely random places. I once met the entire cast of Kids In The Hall when I walked into a Tim Horton’s in downtown Toronto back in the late eighties. I was just a kid then, but it was cool to shake their hands and get an autograph!
Next, I met famed hockey goon Esa Tikkanen at a bar in Seoul, South Korea. He was the guy who made sure nobody touched Wayne Gretzky, and he stills holds the record for most career penalty minutes. He played with the Edmonton Oilers, the New York Rangers, and the Los Angeles Kings, and I got to drink tequila shots with him and joke around until he flew into a drunken rage for some reason and stormed out of the place. Fun times!
If you go to South Korea you probably won’t meet any celebrities, but I’ve looked deep into this issue and after extensive research on “The Google”, I’ve come up with a foolproof list of places where you, too, can meet a celebrity and even potentially make them so angry that they threaten to kill you and storm off!
After all, celebrities are real people. They eat food and get angry just like the rest of us. If you’re eating in one of these 20 restaurants, you could end up hanging out with a celebrity too!
20 Saanewold Lodge, Gstaad
Ok, so you don’t normally think of celebrities when you think of Switzerland, but the first restaurant on this list where you can potentially spot a celebrity is the Saanewold Lodge in Gstaad. This mountain retreat has long been a hangout with the A-list crowd, who spend their days skiing and relaxing in luxury chalets. If you’re down with forking over a lot of cash for a shiny meal, then Saanewold Lodge is where you go when you want to spot a celeb eating, drinking, and wearing ridiculous wool sweaters straight out of an 80s Wrigley’s commercial.
19 Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro
Celebs need to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood, so many of them do that by heading to the hustle and bustle of Rio for some reason. Here they stay at the Copacabana Palace, a luxury hotel with a fine restaurant attached. Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Louis Vuitton, and Will Smith all come here regularly. If you want an autograph or a selfie, or maybe even to share a bottle of the bubbly, then book a reservation and enjoy the fine dining while you work up the nerve to approach the Beebs!
18 Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a celebrity magnet. It’s a major transit point for flights heading west out of Los Angeles, and it has a massive movie industry as well as a lot of money. Those last two points are things celebrities love, so it’s no surprise that if you head to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for a nice meal, you run the risk of running into Georgia Armani, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ariana Grande, and Adriana Lima, to name a few. The O’Bar is a great place for a nightcap, where you might even be able to share a drink with Leo himself or try to pick up a Victoria’s Secret Angel and fail miserably.
17 Kozue, Tokyo
Head to the Hyatt Hotel and then look way, way up. There, at the top of this massive skyscraper, is Kozue Restaurant. It’s a swanky Japanese restaurant serving haute cuisine, including potentially-deadly puffer fish and perfectly marbled wagyu beef. When Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson filmed Lost In Translation, they ate here often. Angelina Jolie has been spotted here, and both Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber are known to frequent the restaurant. Is there anywhere the Beebs hasn’t been?
16 Grill Royal, Berlin
According to Top 10 Berlin, the Grill Royal is the best restaurant in the entire city, and for that reason, it attracts the most A-listers when they’re in town. Samuel L. Jackson, Leonard DiCaprio, many top models, and any pop star on tour will pop in for a steak. It’s not even all that expensive, so you can afford to eat here, too. Make sure to book a reservation and then you could be wining and dining alongside Ariana Grande or, if you’re really lucky, the greatest superstar actor and singer of all time: David Hasselhoff. Imagine!
15 Antica Pesa, Rome
Buried deep in one of the oldest quarters of the Eternal City is Antica Pesa, Rome’s celeb hot-spot to beat. You’ll know you’ve found it when you see the walls covered in photos of celebrities eating here throughout the years, from Al Pacino to Steven Spielberg to Mick Jagger to Justin Bieber. Back before the internet killed off the paparazzi, you could always find dudes on Vespas hanging around outside, cameras slung around their necks. Today you can book a reservation and maybe even get a picture taken next to Liam Neason, or the Beebs!
14 Hotel Cipriani, Venice
Ah, Venice, with the call of the gondola and the gentle sound of water lapping against your balcony. Also, Hotel Cipriani, where a long list of celebrities has been spotted over the years. Jim Carrey, Paul McCartney, Faye Dunaway, Danny DeVito, Tom Hanks, and so many others are known to dine here regularly that you might as well forget visiting anything else in Venice and just hang out here. Get a room and hang out in the lobby if you have too much cash but don’t want to donate it to charity. You’re bound to spot an A-lister!
13 Baoli, Cannes
Listing a restaurant in Cannes as a place to spot celebs is a no-brainer. Celebrities flock to Cannes the way Canadian Geese flock to Florida when the cold weather comes. It’s the call of the celebrity-wild or something. And if you really want to see celebs get wild, head to Baoli, a beachfront nightclub which is a patio restaurant during the day. Jay Z, Eva Mendez, Bella Thorne, and other hot young A-listers hang out here regularly. It’s not all that hard to get in, either. Go during the day for an early supper and just hang out until the dancing starts, and you avoid the lines and doormen!
12 Hotel LeMeurice, Paris
If Justin Bieber is all over Asia, then Jay Z is the Beebs of Europe. Jay Z loves Europe, and you can spot him at pretty much any upscale hangout in France or Italy. One place where Jay Z always sleeps and eats when he’s in Paris the Hotel LeMeurice. Jay Z used one of his songs to tell us that he conceived a child with Beyoncé in this hotel, while Kanye West actually recorded a song in the restaurant. Kristen Stewart stays here regularly, but the Justin Bieber finds the hotel “too cramped” and prefers to stay at the Mandarin. The Beebs loves Asia.
11 China Tang, London
Guess which Asia-loving celebrity eats at this upscale Chinese restaurant in London? If you guessed Justin Bieber, you’re right! Also, Fergie, Tom Hanks, several Royals including Prince Harry, and several top models. China Tang is famous for its amazing views of the Thames and its three Michelin stars, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat here. If you’re willing to drop a hundred British pounds or more for a plate of fusion Chinese food, you can potentially dine with a celebrity!
10 Chiltern Firehouse, London
Another London hangout for A-list celebrities in the Chiltern Firehouse. According to The Telegraph, this is the celebrity hot spot in London, with Lilly Allen, Kate Moss, David Beckham, Orlando Bloom, and Bono all frequenting this bar and grill. It’s the kind of place you go to when you want a nice pint and a steak, but you also have too much money and you don’t know what to do with it. If that sounds like you, then book a reservation and hang out with Ewan McGregor!
9 Zuma, Miami
Miami is a celebrity hot spot. It’s up there with Los Angeles and New York City when it comes to places in the continental US where you can spot a celebrity. Zuma is a gourmet restaurant where those class and sophistication eat. Sir Michael Caine is often spotted here, as is Sean Connery, Chrissy Teigen, and Ryan Gosling, to name a few. When Leonardo DiCaprio is in Miami, he can be spotted eating here, although he’s not known to frequent the city that much.
8 Bar Pitti, New York City
There are more Italian restaurants in New York City than in Italy. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it sure feels like it when you’re in the Big Apple. There are definitely more celebrities in Bar Pitti than in Italy. This exquisite Italian restaurant draws celebrities to its spaghetti, like moths to a light. There are always top models, A-list actors, and local New York legends hanging out on the patio here, and best of all, it’s not that expensive. You can dine here and still pay your rent! Beware of the popped collars, that’s all I’m saying.
7 The Spotted Pig, New York City
This modest pub and eatery is actually co-owned by both Jay Z and Bono, and you can often find the likes of Gary Sinise, Vince Vaughan, Ryan Reynolds, and the entire Imagine Dragons band eating here. The burgers are charcoal-grilled and are reportedly the best you’ll ever have. What’s great about The Spotted Pig is that it’s just an ordinary-looking British pub. It’s affordable and welcoming and comfortable. It just happens to be filled with A-list celebrities, because some really big names own it! Go grab a pint and a burger and a selfie with someone famous!
6 Trattoria Sotto Sotto, Toronto
During the Toronto International Film Festival, the city fills with all of Hollywood’s glitzy screen legends. Most of them can be found dining at the upscale Trattoria Sotto Sotto. Johnny Depp, Natalie Portman, and Dustin Hoffman have all been guilted into taking selfies with diners (and Bill Murray had a selfie taken with one of the restaurant’s chefs…in the kitchen). Jude Law used to come here during his heydey, which may have helped make the place attractive to the A-list crowd. You might be able to afford to eat here if you save up all year and then book a reservation during TIFF.
5 Sushi Roku, Las Vegas
Possibly the trendiest, coolest restaurant in Vegas, Sushi Roku is a popular hangout for celebrities and tourists alike. It’s right next to Caesar’s Palace, and the head chef is a Michelin-starred celebrity chef who learned to cook in Paris. You can often find Taylor Swift, Ted Danson, Bruce Willis, Owen Wilson, and Olivia Wilde dining here. What’s great about Sushi Roku is that it’s not an exclusive A-lister restaurant. If you feel like dropping $200 on a sushi dinner, then you’re welcome to eat here. It all depends how much that autograph is worth to you.
4 West Restaurant, Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia is often called “Hollywood North” because so many films are made here and so many Hollywood celebrities’ own homes here. Neat fact: more Canadian celebrities come from Vancouver than any other city in Canada. Ryan Reynolds, Michael J. Fox, Nelly Furtado, and a host of others all grew up in Vancouver. You can find many of them eating at West Restaurant. Pierce Brosnan, James Nolan, JJ Abrams, Selena Gomez, and Ashley Judd all eat here, making it the single best restaurant to spot a celebrity in Canada.
3 Valentino, Santa Monica
Santa Monica’s most famous celebrity hangout for the past few decades is Valentino. Unfortunately, it’s set to close at the end of 2018, but I’ve included it in this list because it is a landmark in the city and still one of the best places to spot a celebrity. Everyone from Bruce Willis to Rihanna eat here regularly. Ryan Gosling has been spotted here frequently, and Jennifer Lawrence is a staple. Perhaps after it closes a shrine will be built, and we can spot teary-eyed celebrities paying homage to the former restaurant they ate at. That’s as good as seeing them in the restaurant!
2 Koi, Los Angeles
When in Los Angeles, head to Koi and simply enjoy your dinner. You’ll probably be the only non-celebrity here. Even the serving staff are celebrities-in-waiting, and one may pop a movie manuscript down on your table if they mistake you for a director. If not, they’ll probably hassle John Travolta, Denzel Washington, Jack Nicholson, Jessica Alba, Heather Graham or any other major celeb who happens to be eating there. If you have a manuscript, why don’t you try getting it in front of George Clooney before the waiter does? I’m sure he’ll love that, and you’ll definitely be famous by tomorrow. That’s sarcasm.
1 The Palm, West Hollywood
If you want to catch a big fish, go to where the big fish are. This makes the Palm in West Hollywood the number one restaurant in the world where you can spot a celebrity. They come here from the nearby studios for lunch and dinner, so expect to dine with pretty much any Hollywood movie actor and director you can think of. It’s surprisingly easy to get into The Palm. If you have the money to eat here, then they won’t turn you away. This means you can actually see how short Tom Cruise is in real life, and if he’s not hanging out in Asia, you might even catch a glimpse of The Beebs!