1 La Colombe D'Or, St Paul de Vence, France (00 33 4 93 32 8002)
This is the apotheosis of restaurants with good art in them - nothing can come near it. Originally a small bar clinging to the slope of this stunningly beautiful hill town, local broke artists such as Léger, Miró, Picasso and Braque would pay for their food with a painting. Consequently they have one of the most valuable private collections in the world. The village is now a clogged and horrible tourist trap, but the Colombe D'Or which is situated outside the ramparts just about retains its integrity by virtue of the high walls and heavy gate round the terrace where you can eat in summer under the watchful gaze of a huge Léger mural.
You can stay (Yves Montand and Simone Signoret booked it for their wedding reception) and there's a shady little swimming pool in the inner courtyard, but in high summer there is a feeling of claustrophobia because of the enormous crowds of tourists on the other side of the wall. Sunday lunch is a jolly, laid-back affair with lots of locals and Petula Clark was eating there in merciful silence when we visited last month. Booking essential, food very basic and unpretentious, waiters jolly and prices, all things considered, fair.
2 Odin's 27 Devonshire Street, London W1 (020 7935 7296)
Forget Quo Vadis (Warhols) and City Rhodes (Passmores) this is the British venue for good art. Founder Peter Langan was a collector with a good eye and this small West End establishment off Marylebone High Street boasts the most spectacular collection of artists in any British restaurant. This includes Hockney, Patrick Procter (his late wife, Kristen, was Langan's business partner), Laura Knight, Harold Gilman, Gaston LaTouche, Sickert, Edmund Dulac, Alexander Forbes. Some of Kitaj's more erotic work is also there. Not as front-rank fashionable as it was, Odin's is one of those more formal establishments where you can hear yourself speak, sit in a comfortable chair and look at great art.
3 Lot 61 550 West 21st, New York (00 1 212 243 6555)
The city's first restaurant to display site-specific art commissioned from seven artists including Damien Hirst (a 17-foot spot painting), Sean Landers and David Salle. Once a truck garage, the refit cost $1.5 million, fills 5,000 square feet of gallery space and features seating garnered from a mental institution. Menu is ribs, oysters and usual New York bird food. Not cosy, but very chic.
4 Bellagio hotel, Las Vegas (00 1 888 987-6667)
Camp enough to warrant a visit just to clock the imitation Lake Como water feature in the entrance. This behemoth of a hotel has 10 dining rooms, one of which is the Picasso room, sporting a very large collection of originals. The crafty Catalan probably would have approved of this completely mad venue, but not been keen on the overpriced food.
5 Do Forni, Calle dei Speccheiri 468, S. Marco, Venice (00 39 041 5232148)
Originally a local bakery for the area immediately behind St Mark's Square, the restaurant has made a name for itself hosting the annual international art award, the Premio Internazionale di Grafica Do Forni. The winning works of art are hanging on the walls and include the British artist Joe Tilson who was in the forefront of the pop art movement, taught at most of the top London art colleges and travelled extensively in Italy in the late Fifties. The modern works are slightly at odds with the slightly stiff Italian surroundings, but the more interesting for it.
6 Garden of the Rodin museum, Hôtel Biron, 77 Rue de Varenne, Paris (00 33 1 44 1861 10)
What could be nicer after a lot of pavement-pounding and fierce dialogue with unyielding Parisians than stopping here for a quiet lunch al fresco surrounded by wonderful sculpture? Rodin lived on the first floor of this building from 1908, and it was opened to the public in 1919. The garden is typically Parisian formal but is superbly tranquil, and this unusual gem of a restaurant shuts at 6.30 pm in the summer, 4.30pm in winter.
7 Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford, Napa Valley, California (00 1 707 963 1211; reserve@aubergedusoleil.com)
Luxurious 50-bedroom hotel which is part of the exclusive Relais and Chateau group in the middle of wine-growing country surrounded by vineyards and rolling acres. So you can work up an appetite walking among the vines and then either eat al fresco in the sculpture garden or simply gaze out over it from the wonderful dining room. Richard Reddington just joined as new chef and the word is that he is very promising.
8 Michael's, 147 Third Street, Santa Monica, California (00 1 310 451 0843)
In 1979 Michael McCartney renovated a dilapidated 1930's house in Santa Monica and combined his Cordon Bleu training with a flair for collecting art. The result is that you can eat the usual California mad gastronomic hybrid while looking at a valuable selection by David Hockney, Jasper Johns and Richard Diebenkorn. Alas the Nineties were not so kind to McCartney: an earthquake shattered 100 wine bottles and his Malibu home closed down.
9 La Lanterna 23 via San Cesareo, Sorrento (00 39 081 878. 1355)
Sorrento's great because it's pretty, and chic and slightly faded and because its lack of beach avoids mass tourism. There are the hideous cruise ships disgorging unfeasible amounts of malcontents ashore every now and again, but on the whole life here potters at a steady pace.
This restaurant situated in a small and pretty alley right in the middle of things, is reasonably priced, famed for its risotto alla pescatore but, best of all, boasts the remains of a Roman house with fantastic mosaics preserved under glass downstairs. So your culinary brush with art does entail rising from the table and a slight contortion, but it only takes a moment and then you can refill your glass.
10 Hotel Unicornio Azul, Castro, Chiloé Island, Chile (00 56 6563 2359)
If you ever happen to be passing this way and feel inclined to hop on the ferry from Puerto Montt on the mainland, you could stay in this tiny hotel on the top of the hill for around £10 a night and eat in the dining room while marvelling at the strong, simple and brightly coloured native art on the walls. There is a strong local tradition of mythology and witchcraft - art is everywhere both painting and sculpture.
Now it's your turn
What are your favourite restaurants with art? Postcards to Top 10, OFM, The Observer, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER or email us at food.monthly@observer.co.uk
