STAY > Grand Hotel Des Ètranges, Siracusa (17/20)

Grand Hotel Des Étrangers in Ortigia is Syracuse at its most cinematic: a freshly restored, 5‑star grande dame with Ionian light pouring in through neoclassical balconies and just enough contemporary polish to feel quietly current rather than stuffy. AMBIENCE > The hotel’s neoclassical façade dominates the Ortigia waterfront, looking straight over the Levant Sea with…

ByCrispy4 hours ago0Comments

EAT > AUSTRALIA EAT > MORNINGTON PENINSULA EAT > VICTORIA WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Cape, Cape Schank (17/20)

Cape Restaurant at RACV Cape Schanck remains one of the Mornington Peninsula’s most compelling reasons to drive that extra stretch of highway after dark: dinner here still feels like an occasion, but an unusually relaxed and generous one. AMBIENCE > Cape’s room is still that familiar dusk-toned amphitheatre of glass, timber and bottle-light, only now…

ByCrispy2 days ago0Comments

DRINK > WINE DRINK > WINE > Pinot Noir

WINE > Clarence House Estate Pinot Noir, 2024 (17/20)

Clarence House Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2024 is a poised, cool-climate Tasmanian Pinot that trades in perfume, fine-boned structure and quiet confidence rather than sheer volume, rewarding both contemplation now and patient cellaring later. APPEARANCE > Pale to medium garnet in the glass, with a translucent core that hints at delicacy rather than density. A…

ByCrispyFebruary 22, 20260Comments

EAT > SPAIN SAN SEBASTIAN WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Geralds Bar, San Sebastian Spain (17/20)

Walk a few blocks back from La Zurriola beach and you’ll find Geralds Bar, a warmly lit corner of Gros that feels part Basque neighbourhood dining room, part Melbourne wine bar reunion. It’s the kind of room where vinyl spins on the turntable, glasses of txakoli and nebbiolo clink across the bar and plates of…

BySebFebruary 22, 20260Comments

CAFE > CAFE > TOKYO

CAFE > Comfort Stand, Chiyoda Tokyo (17/20)

Comfort Stand in Chiyoda is a quietly precise little coffee room, the kind of calm, design-forward hideout where commuters, office workers and drip‑coffee obsessives share the same slow, measured pause between trains and meetings. Across espresso, filter and a short, thoughtful line of baked things, it feels less like a grab‑and‑go kiosk and more like…

ByCrispyJanuary 24, 20260Comments

EAT > APPI KOGEN EAT > JAPAN WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Sushi Nagata, Appi Kogen (17/20)

Sushi Nagata at Appi Kogen is the quiet, omakase-style heart of this snow resort: a compact counter where Sanriku’s deep-sea richness, meticulous craft, and a faintly hushed hotel calm come together on the second floor of the ANA Crowne Plaza Resort Appi Kogen. Seasonal seafood, handled with a measured, almost ceremonial precision, makes this one…

ByCrispyJanuary 20, 20260Comments

STAY > JAPAN STAY > YUZAWA & NIIGATA WHERE TO STAY >

STAY > Yukinohana, Yuzawa Niigata (17/20)

Yukemuri no Yado Yukinohana in Yuzawa is a polished modern ryokan that blends classic snow-country warmth with contemporary comfort, just a few minutes’ walk from Echigo-Yuzawa Station and some of Niigata’s easiest ski access. It feels purpose-built for weekend ski escapes and onsen-heavy winter breaks, with thoughtful touches—free private baths, night ramen, tatami-lined corridors—that make…

ByCrispyJanuary 9, 20260Comments

STAY > JAPAN STAY > SENDAI WHERE TO STAY >

STAY > KAI Akiu, Akiu Onsen, Sendai (17/20)

KAI Akiu by Hoshino Resorts brings understated design, ritual-rich bathing and river-facing calm to one of Sendai’s most storied onsen towns, wrapping traditional ryokan cues in a quietly luxurious, contemporary frame. For ALMANAK readers, it is the kind of stay that feels purposeful rather than flashy—more about seasons, texture and water than spectacle.Summary Intro goes…

ByCrispyDecember 23, 20250Comments

EAT > JAPAN EAT > TOKYO WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > KUFUKU±, Akihabara Tokyo (17/20)

Tucked into a quiet backstreet on the Akihabara side of Chiyoda, Kufuku feels like stepping out of electric town and into a parallel world—one where time, fermentation, and French technique quietly reframe Japanese comfort food. Set inside a lovingly preserved kominka, this is destination dining for travellers who like their Tokyo with as much patina…

ByCrispyDecember 22, 20250Comments

EAT > JAPAN EAT > TOKYO WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, Ginza, Tokyo (17/20)

High above Ginza’s polished sidewalks, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura feels less like a fashion-house spin‑off and more like a jewelled little universe of its own—part salon, part stage, part lucid dream in Gucci green. Here Italian technique, Japanese produce and a distinctly theatrical sense of storytelling converge into a tasting menu that is playful, polished…

ByCrispyDecember 22, 20250Comments

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