15 Hotels With Unforgettable Caviar Experiences

15.05.2024 - 15:25 / forbes.com / Star IV (Iv)

When sisters Saskia and Petra Bergstein founded their Bay Area-based brand, The Caviar Co., “our goal was to see caviar everywhere,” Petra says. Eight years later, it’s clear the Bergstein sisters were on to something. Caviar is everywhere, including many Forbes Travel Guide-rated hotels’ restaurants.

“We really encouraged restaurants to go beyond the traditional caviar service, where you just buy an ounce of caviar and it’s really expensive,” Bergstein says. “We were working with chefs and said, ‘Put it on your tater tots. Put it on your omelets. Use it as an ingredient to give the surprise and delight without scaring people away with the full one-ounce caviar service that costs hundreds of dollars.’”

Chef Rodrigo del Valle, at Four-Star Las Alcobas, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Mexico City, follows Bergstein’s advice and serves caviar in a unique appetizer. “CyT” (Caviar y Tequila), found at the hotel’s Anatol, consists of an ounce of caviar atop a potato terrine with chipotle guacamole and crema de pueblo (a Mexican cream similar to crème fraîche but enhanced with lemon zest). The caviar bite is unexpected but delicious, and a chilled Casa Dragones tequila blanco accompanies it.

Another surprising place where caviar is popping up is at the meal’s last course. “We love it in a dessert,” Bergstein says. “Caviar and strawberries go really well together, and white chocolate does, too. White chocolate’s fat content matches the caviar, so they are a really good pairing.” The Caviar Co.’s tasting room in Tiburon serves caviar atop Basque cheesecake, white chocolate potato chip cookies and Humphry Slocombe’s strawberry ice cream.

Caviar Russe, which has caviar-focused restaurants in New York and Miami, also adds the ingredient to its desserts. It spreads caviar on crème brûlée and inside canelés. For the latter, the chef cuts the French pastry in half and inserts the delicacy with a scoop of buttermilk gelato to make a decadent canelé sandwich.

Speaking of scoops, ice cream and caviar make a delicious combination at Miss River at Four-Star Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans. The restaurant crafts a Creole cream cheese ice cream with Imperial Golden Osetra caviar. “It’s a favorite,” says the restaurant’s director of public relations, Vicki Bristol. “The sea salt notes in the caviar complement the ice cream to satisfy those salty-sweet cravings.”

Eggs have always been a popular accompaniment to caviar, and many chefs are still using it to jazz up breakfast. Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Conrad Los Angeles offers an opulent start to the day in the form of huevos el camino at San Laurel restaurant. The stunning dish consists of egg whites topped with labneh, nasturtium, croutons and a large serving of Kaluga