7 Secret Off-Menu Dishes to Order Now

From a flavourful soup in Bahrain to an expertly aged rum cocktail in Koh Samui, chefs at Four Seasons hotels and resorts around the world are known for creating secret menu items with their own personal flair. For a truly exclusive dining experience, guests in the know should order one of these by-request-only dishes or drinks during their next evening out.

Elevated comfort food in St. Louis


Dia's cheese bread

Warm and comforting Dia’s Cheese Bread is inspired by Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis Chef Gerard Craft’s beloved childhood nanny.

Much of the inspiration for the menu at Cinder House at Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis comes from Chef Gerard Craft’s love of South American cuisine – his beloved childhood nanny, Dia, introduced him to its flavours. Today, many of the wood-fired dishes at the restaurant are an ode to Dia. “As an adult, I now recognize how much care she put into everything that she made,” Craft says. “Dia had the ability to evoke a sense of comfort from simple, fresh ingredients, and that’s something I hope always translates on the Cinder House menu.”

One of Dia’s most comforting dishes is only available by request: Dia’s Cheese Bread, or Pao De Queijo, was on Cinder House’s opening menu but now is a secret favourite among Cinder House regulars. The warm, pillowy pieces of fresh bread are best served with prosciutto and lardo or as the perfect accompaniment to a warm meal after a long day.

Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis

Seafood Ramen in Bahrain


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For a twist on the traditional Asian dish, this Seafood Ramen combines local Bahraini prawns, black sea bass and clams alongside more traditional garnishes like a shoyu egg, fresh scallions and sesame.

It took 18 months for up-and-coming Bahraini Chef Lulwa Sowaileh at Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay to perfect her ramen noodles, experimenting with different textures and techniques until she was satisfied with the result. A change from the traditional dim sum and authentic robata-style grilled items she normally creates at re Asian Cuisine, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant, the dish is served with dashi broth – made by slow-cooking fish bones, shitake mushrooms, bonito flakes and kombu and seasoned with tamari and sea salt – fresh prawns, black sea bass and clams, and garnished with a shoyu egg, crispy shallots, lime, cilantro, fresh scallions and sesame.

Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay

Vegan choices in Scottsdale


A green dish in Scottsdale

Chef Mel Mecinas’ vegan dishes, such as this asparagus risotto, add playful and healthy alternatives to the menu at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North.

Chef Mel Mecinas’ off-menu, six-course vegan tasting at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North was originally prepared to accommodate a vegan guest, but it has become so popular that it’s no longer just vegans asking for it. Driven by which fruits, vegetables and grains are in season, Mecinas is constantly creating new dishes that are healthful, deeply satisfying and playful, too.

His pappardelle, for example, is topped with a silky sauce made of tofu instead of cream or cheese, while his tartare swaps out beef with toothsome, hearty tomatoes, which give a similar meaty effect. If you’d like to try one of his creations, like asparagus risotto, or are wondering what new vegan dish he’s concocted, all you have to do is ask.

Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North

Traditional delights in Egypt


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Chef Emad Ebeid of Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza enjoys preparing labour-intensive folk dishes for guests, such as koshari.

Zitouni at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza specializes in Egyptian cuisine, but there are two traditional dishes that aren’t on the menu because they’re so labour-intensive. For guests who prefer more rural recipes, however, Chef Emad Ebeid doesn’t mind crafting his koshari, a hearty blend of lentils, rice and macaroni topped with a spicy tomato sauce and fried onions, or his rich oxtail stew.

“These are very ethnic folk dishes, mostly served in areas that are difficult to commute to by our guests, and also require special culinary preparations,” Ebeid says. “The challenge is producing a folk dish without compromising Four Seasons culinary perfection.”

Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza

Exclusive caviar in Beverly Hills


Caviar tin

The mother-of-pearl dish bearing delicious and decadent Kaluga and Osetra caviar is made exclusively for Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel.

To cater to the sophisticated palates of locals and visiting guests alike, Chef Samir Roonwal of Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel makes sure certain ingredients are always on hand, available to those who know to ask. Kaluga and Osetra caviar, for example, arrives in a dazzling mother-of-pearl set made exclusively for the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel. In addition, there are fresh truffles (white or black, depending on the season), which diners can request be added as an indulgent finish to anything from pasta to popcorn.

Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel

Aged rum in Koh Samui


Tropical cocktails with mini umbrellas

The Aged Zombie at CocoRum includes a potent mix of three rums that have been aged for 60 days.

Tiki drinks are already enjoying a comeback, but at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui the trend is being pushed even further with barrel aging, which lends cocktails unusual depth and complexity. Available only by request, the Aged Zombie at CoCoRum bar is a potent mix of three rums that have been aged for 60 days in an American oak barrel.

“It sounds a bit complicated,” says head bartender Samart Khethong, “but the result is this wonderfully smooth cocktail.” If you’re a vodka fan and want to continue imbibing under the radar, order an avocado martini and watch what happens.

Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui

Upside-down pancakes in Lanai


Pastry on a white plate

Made with brown sugar and fresh local pineapple, the upside-down pineapple pancake is a favourite of regular guests at Four Seasons Resort Lanai.

Though it was a breakfast staple at ONE FORTY years ago, the upside-down pineapple pancake has since been removed from the menu at Four Seasons Resort Lanai. But guests with a taste for its sweet flavour and fresh pineapple can ask for a special order. To make each cake, a ring of the local fruit is mixed with pancake batter, brown sugar and clarified butter, then baked for 10 minutes before the whole thing is inverted onto a plate. The result is fluffy, not too sweet and distinctively Hawaiian.

Four Seasons Resort Lanai

Hideaway in Abu Dhabi


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With a design that’s inspired by Al Capone’s prison cell and his infamous 1928 Cadillac, the Hideaway private dinning room at Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island is only accessible by an unmarked passageway.

An off-menu item is one thing, but Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island is taking dining secrecy to a whole new level with a hidden speakeasy that you have to find before you can even get the menu.

The newly launched Hideaway, a secret extension of Butcher & Still, can be reached only by knowing an insider at the property and locating the unmarked passageway. When you do secure access, you and 17 of your closest friends will be rewarded with your own private venue, with plenty of decadent eats, spirited cocktails and cigars on hand. The room’s retro design is inspired by Al Capone’s prison cell and his infamous 1928 bulletproof Cadillac.

Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island

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City at night

The Best Places for Brunch
Around the Globe


Brunch Spread

Brunch is an integral aspect of any culinary journey. – Layne Nguyen, General Manager at Nobu Doha

There are few better ways to toast a week’s end than with brunch. The meal that falls somewhere between breakfast and lunch is a time for celebration, community and little agenda beyond filling plate after plate with global delicacies like Peking duck, beef Wellington and eggs Benedict – plus copious tipples of Champagne. Whether you’re travelling to an exotic port city or hunkering down in a cultural capital, book a table at one of the best places for brunch with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Los Angeles: Sunday Brunch at Culina, Modern Italian


Burrata Pizza With Spec

Locals consider Culina, Modern Italian’s Sunday dining affair the most extravagant in the City of Angels, thanks to its multiple dining stations (including omelettes and fresh, custom juices) and a fondue fountain that overflows with some 40 pounds of chocolate every single week. The restaurant is also a magnet for celebs, and though we can’t mention the boldfaced names of many regular diners, you’ll surely recognise their faces.

Recently added to the menu: pizza from the restaurant’s new al fresco pizza oven, set on the patio underneath California skies. Don’t miss ordering Chef Luca Moriconi’s favourite: Pizza with Burrata e Speck. “I love the fact that the tomatoes are locally sourced and the burrata is from Puglia,” he says. “The smoky flavour from the Speck completes the flavour profile for an amazing pizza!” To go off-campus for your next bite, head to Bianca Bakery, where Moriconi brings his own family.  “It is a new Italian-Argentinian place where you can enjoy great bread, pastries, pasta and mimosas,” he says.

See what else is on the menu at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills >

Washington, DC: Sunday Brunch at Seasons


Seasons Brunch Salad Is A Signature Dish

On sunny spring days, political players and denizens desiring a gossip session reserve seats on the outdoor terrace at Seasons for views of Rock Creek Parkway’s joggers and cherry-blossom-seeking travellers. It’s a favourite for special occasions like Mother’s Day, but every weekend is packed – and delicious – thanks to Chef Andrew Court’s expansive menu. Locals stop by regularly to try the international station with rotating themes, which might include anything from sushi to paella. Currently on offer? The charms of a Hawaiian luau, such as pineapple fried rice with spicy shrimp, chef-carved kalua pork with passion fruit sauce, and Hawaiian barbecue chicken.

When he’s grabbing his own brunch, Court often beelines to the cheekily named Dirty Habit in D.C.’s Penn Quarter. “I used to go to the original Dirty Habit in San Francisco when I was living there, so it’s become a tradition,” he says. “I’ll generally order the house-made yogurt and granola, then the BBQ Burrito or the Healthy Bowl – it depends on how much exercise I can get in on Sunday morning!”

See what else is on the menu at Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC >

London: Weekend Brunch at Amaranto Restaurant


London Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Amaranto Restaurant is inarguably chic: Polished black marble and dark red booths create an intimate environment. The mouthwatering menu is an Anglophile’s delight, featuring Gloucestershire beef, Kent berries and Shetland smoked salmon. Those with a sweet tooth shouldn’t leave without trying the lemon ricotta pancakes with Yorkshire rhubarb compote – an ideal way to kick-start another day in the city.

For another brunch experience in London, Ivan Arena, Bar Manager at Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane, recommends Granger & Co: “My go-to order is the Sweet Corn Fritter dish, followed by something sweet from the bakery menu. They also do a very good Bloody Mary, which is always important to me!”

See what else is on the menu at Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane >

Doha: Friday Brunch at Nobu Doha


Doha Chef Setting Up Brunch

The 2,400-square-metre Nobu outpost in Doha is one of Nobuyuki Matsuhisa’s largest restaurants, and the menu is worthy of its grand space on the Marina, where nearly every seat overlooks the Arabian Gulf. While a Sunday or Saturday brunch is customary in much of the world, catch it here on Friday, the first day of the Arabic weekend. It’s well worthy of a splurge, thanks to dishes like lobster quinoa risotto and Wagyu rib-eye.

“Not only are guests treated to incredible cuisine with a wonderful tasting-style menu,” says Layne Nguyen, General Manager at Nobu Doha, “but the Friday brunch allows for an ideal ambience to gather with family and friends and reconnect over a magnificent meal, matched by a stylish setting.”

If you’re ready for another local gem, Andrew Bozoki, Head Chef of Nobu, recommends brunching at Baladna Farm Restaurant in northern Qatar. “I love the lamb thareed there, and the fact that I can visit their milk factory with my family,” he says. “It’s the place to savour delicious Arabic-style food alongside the freshest possible dairy products.”

See what else is on the menu at Four Seasons Hotel Doha >

Bahrain Bay: Friday Brunch at CUT by Wolfgang Puck

 


Cut In Bahrain Bay

Celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck brings his cutting-edge experience to the meat-centric CUT restaurant in the capital city of Manama – a brunch spot beloved by diplomats and members of the royal family. When it comes to the à la carte menu, start with Puck’s famous pretzel bread, then move on to more filling fare, served family style: creamy burrata bruschetta, steak skewers with a kick of chimichurri sauce, and homemade pasta. Try the filet mignon au poivre – a USDA prime hunk of marbled steak drizzled in black peppercorn and mustard sauce.

Another favourite, suggested by Fabio Marques, Director of CUT by Wolfgang Puck: NOMAD Urban Eatery. “It’s a great spot for brunch, with an elegant and sophisticated Greek design,” he says. “The friendly staff and quality food make for a pleasant and relaxed dining experience.”

See what else is on the menu at Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay >

Macau: Wellness Menu at Windows


Macau Beetroot And Cinnamon Latte

Healthy living is the order of the day at Windows, an intimate fireside lounge helmed by Executive Sous-Chef Benjamin Lim. Dishes on the all-day menu would delight any wellness enthusiast, including meat-free Impossible burgers served with tahini and grilled eggplant; turmeric bliss kombucha; and a vitamin- and antioxidant-stocked juice blend with guava, orange, blueberry and raspberry – an excellent way to prepare for a day of exploring Macau’s ancient temples.

When Lim himself ventures into Macau for brunch, he often selects Shun Hin, where his go-to dish is braised black mushrooms and assorted vegetables in fish broth. “Macau is a place where I have been immersed in the Chinese culture, especially the food culture,” he says. “Dim sum with tea starts as breakfast and is served until lunchtime, and can be savoury or sweet – a wonderful way to enjoy the moment with your family.”

See what else is on the menu at Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip® 

Singapore: Champagne Brunch at One-Ninety: Wood-Fired Steaks and Seafood


Singapore Buffet Spread

Newly reborn as a botanically rich Provençal and Asian brasserie, One-Ninety is practically tailor-made for Instagram, thanks to abundant flowers and lush, tropical plantings that dangle from columns and adorn the bar. Restaurant Chef Kamarl John, who formerly worked with Michelin-garnering chef David Myers, begins each brunch with artisan sourdough bread made from flour milled in Hokkaido, Japan, and served with seaweed butter. His inventive Sunday brunch menu features abundant dishes such as chilli crab omelettes with mantou buns and coriander, and laksa rice noodles with cockles, scallops and quail eggs. Guests love the option of adding free-flowing bubbly – Taittinger Brut champagne or Ruffino Prosecco – and the sustainably sourced seafood tower with Maine lobster, king crab, bluefin tuna, fresh prawns and Hokkaido scallops.

To sit down for brunch, he often heads to Five Oars Coffee Roasters. “The restaurant always reminds me of a trendy, informal brunch spot in London, and they serve really great food,” John says. “My must-orders are the Five Oars Breakfast and their craft beers and ales.”

See what else is on the menu at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore >

Orlando: Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy and His Pals


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Technically it isn’t brunch, but since it’s so special for families visiting Four Seasons Resort Orlando Walt Disney World® Resort, we couldn’t resist including it. On Thursday, Saturday and select Tuesday mornings, Goofy and his pals arrive to entertain picky eaters of all ages at the Resort’s Ravello restaurant.

Ask for a table on the patio overlooking the lake and fountains. Though your kids may be too distracted by Minnie Mouse to realise that the jams are homemade and the bread freshly baked, after their professional photos you can all enjoy house-cured meats followed by the Nutella-filled bomboloni on the dessert table.

When he’s seeking out a magical brunch for himself in Orlando, Executive Sous-Chef Ryan Schelling heads to DoveCote downtown. “The brioche French toast is fantastic, and the steak and eggs are a great way to start a Sunday,” he says. “I love the chicken liver pâté, which keeps me going back. After seeing the dishes you didn’t order, you’ll want to return to try it all.”

See what else is on the menu at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World® Resort >

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The Ultimate California Road Trip

There is a life-size cottage dangling precariously over the edge of the rooftop of Jacobs Hall at the University of California San Diego, and it’s driving me crazy that I can’t get a closer look. It’s my own fault. The viewing hours for South Korean installation artist Do Ho Suh’s Fallen Star are on Tuesday and Thursday, and because I am in San Diego on a weekend, I have to settle for an exterior view of this unusual piece of public art.


Do Ho Suh's Fallen Star in San Diego

Do Ho Suh’s Fallen Star (2012) is part of the Stuart Collection at the University of California at San Diego. It challenges viewers to reflect on the idea of cultural displacement and their surroundings.

San Diego is my first stop on a sun-drenched California road trip, one that has been made all the better with the keys to a silver Ford Mustang, which over the next few days will take me all the way from right here in California’s southernmost city to San Francisco.

San Diego

This city is on the move. While residents remain fixated on a Southern California lifestyle unruffled by smog and congestion, San Diego’s downtown brims with cutting-edge food and nightlife. Petco Park, home to the San Diego Padres, has transformed the once sleepy East Village into a jumble of residential high-rises, and the charming neighbourhoods surrounding Balboa Park are abuzz with activity.

In Mission Hills, for example, I discover The Patio on Goldfinch, an elegant, open-air gem where friends and I toast one another with Goldfinch Mules, made with house-infused pineapple-and-vanilla-bean tequila, while sharing sashimi-grade ahi poke tacos and scallop crudo decorated with sliced kumquat. Afterwards, we duck into nearby Cinema Under the Stars, where the weatherproof retractable dome ensures the comfort of film lovers year round as they swoon over classic films like Casablanca and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.


Salt roasted beet bruschetta at The Patio on Goldfinch

The Patio on Goldfinch serves dishes—such as Salt Roasted Beet Bruschetta, with cambozla blue cheese and rocket arugula—that create memorable dining experiences.

Huntington Beach


Huntington Beach Pier in California.

Known as a west coast surf mecca, Huntington Beach draws in visitors with the ideal waves and picturesque views along its famous pier.

As I inch suburb to suburb through Orange County, I’m listening to Lana Del Rey’s “West Coast” on repeat. Along the way, I stop at the spindly and picturesque Huntington Beach Pier, where cocksure surfers suit up and millennials play volleyball. Amid double strollers and amateur shutterbugs, I stop mid-pier to inhale the salty air.

Los Angeles

The City of Angels beckons to me with its tangle of strip malls, clogged freeways and a populace constantly in search of reinvention. However, none of this is on display in exquisite Rancho Palos Verdes, where twisty, scenic byways offer moments of tranquillity en route to LA. It’s here that I discover Wayfarer’s Chapel, a glass church that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son Lloyd Wright. It is an architectural jaw-dropper of unusual angles and geometric shapes. Alas, if I tiptoe any closer I’ll officially be crashing the wedding that is in process.


Lloyd Wright's Wayfarer’s Chapel

Tucked in a grove of redwood trees, Wayfarer’s Chapel was designed by Lloyd Wright and is a favourite for local weddings.

A mile west of downtown LA, I find another kind of respite at Wi Spa, a traditional Korean-style bathhouse where the lead guitarist of a certain legendary rock band and I are both taking a steam. In addition to its nirvana-inducing saunas, showers, nap rooms, and hot and cold tubs, family-friendly Wi also offers co-ed minerals saunas, an on-site deli, a fitness centre, and full-service massage, skin care and nail treatment.

Dinner brings me and a friend to Night Market + Song, a nondescript storefront in Silverlake that dishes out stellar Northern Thai street food dishes like fatty pig neck and Isaan-style catfish larb. Most dishes tingle with intense flavour and heat.

Santa Barbara

As Los Angeles fades away in my rear-view mirror the next morning, I decide my drive to San Francisco will bypass the spine-tingling twists and turns of Pacific Coast Highway in favour of the faster, but no less scenic, Highway 101. The first stop is languid Santa Barbara, where the bahn mi sandwich I order at the Lilliputian eatery Blue Owl provides the requisite fuel for the journey ahead.

The small Santa Ynez Valley city of Solvang proves an amusing diversion. Known as “Little Denmark,” the town is close to the edge of taking itself too seriously with its reliance on windmills, thatched roofs and gingerbread architecture, but it’s a worthwhile place to spend a few hours. Solvang is only a stone’s throw from kooky OstrichLand USA, a working farm that allows visitors to feed the big birds, whose necks look like palm trees swaying in the breeze and who happily snatch every bit of seed from your hands.


OstrichLand USA in Santa Barbara

Experience life on a working farm at OstrichLand USA by taking a guided tour of the property and feeding the ostriches and emus that call it home.

Palo Alto

Home to Stanford University, leafy Palo Alto has a studious vibe. My favourite attraction in the area is about 10 miles (16 kilometres) up the highway from campus. FiLoLi Gardens is an early 20th-century country estate with gardens stretching over 654 acres (265 hectares). The home itself is filled with English antiquities, but there really is no finer way to pass a few hours than to stroll the perfectly landscaped grounds.


Tulips in FiLoLi gardens

Stroll through beautiful blooms on FiLoLi’s 654 acre historic estate in Palo Alto. The property’s house and formal gardens were constructed in the early 20th century.

San Francisco

By sunset, the City by the Bay is within my grasp. I’m booked for a reunion with friends at Soma Streat Food Park, where I find the city’s nascent tech crowd swaddled in hoodies and noshing from delicious food trucks as the wind kicks up. There is stand-up comedy happening tonight, which is a nice touch. Another San Francisco treat new to me is Urban Putt, an indoor mini-golf course in the Mission where each hole offers players a dizzying Rube Goldberg machine for the ball. (Goldberg was born in San Francisco.) It’s a blast.


Indoor mini-golf at Urban Putt in San Francisco.

Stop in for fun at San Francisco’s Urban Putt—an indoor mini-golf course that will bring out the kid in everyone.

My journey comes to its conclusion literally at land’s end. During my last night in town, I find myself at Marla Bakery in the Outer Richmond, a gusty oceanfront neighbourhood that touches the mighty Pacific.


Marla Bakery in San Francisco

At Marla Bakery, snag a coveted seat at Sunday Supper and taste dishes passed down through generations of family cooks.

Every Sunday night, the restaurant is open only to the few who have secured a reservation in advance. They are seated at a single, communal table and treated to a five-course farm-to-table dinner that tonight is inspired by a rabbit’s last meal. Tonight over dinner, I share with friends my many adventures that have taken me from the Golden State’s southernmost city to its most famous peninsula—a trip that has perfectly captured the romance of the road.

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pool at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills