The Ride of Your Life
The Lanesborough is
one of those magical
hotels that can make
any request happen,
no matter how far-
fetched. Now the
London property has
partnered with the
Somerton Sporting
Club to give guests
access to some of the
world’s best athletes.
Its cycling experience
is as close as you can
get to replicating the
Olympics: a private
session on the velo-
drome with an Olympic
athlete. Depending on
your skills, you can
learn how to ride a fixed-
gear bike or actually
challenge the Olympian
for a race you’ll never
forget. Doubles from
$846; lanesborough.comvirtues of wild plants growing between the
cracks in urban spaces. Hannouni conceived
its low-lit brutalist art installation of a dining
room as “a territory of refuge for diversity.”
The Tiers Paysage team works closely with
the charcutier Viens, which uses humanely
raised animals from family-run farms in Que-
bec’s Eastern Townships. Viens’s charcuterie is
served in many top restaurants, including Old
Montreal’s Monarque, one of the splashiest
openings in recent years, where wonder chef
Jérémie Bastien does both updated comfort
food and adventurous fine dining.
The Ethiopian-Swedish celebrity chef
Marcus Samuelsson has also come to town,
with a restaurant in the Golden Square Mile’s
impeccable new Four Seasons hotel. At Marcus,
Samuelsson channels his crayfish-filled child-
hood on the Swedish shoreline. At the entrance
a display of fish charcuterie hangs in a tempera-
ture-controlled diorama. Inside the soaring
main room, diners share shellfish towers. Like
Shewchuk, Samuelsson has said that he wants
guests to be able to eat a lot without feeling
stuffed, which is something of a unifying prin-
ciple for Montreal’s emerging dining scene.
Samuelsson and his crew regularly end the
night across the street at Bar George, a wood-
paneled beauty in the 1883 Renaissance
Revival home of a former railway tycoon. Mau-
ritian chef Kevin Ramasawmy oversees a menu
of modern British-inspired Quebecois fare
that honors Montreal’s bilingual history. The
personal touches set Bar George apart. Rama-
sawmy’s halibut is served in sauce à la Caro-
line, named after his wife. The dish’s curried
squash with coconut and makrut lime accents
is inspired by his mother’s home cooking. The
devils on horseback come with a uniquely
Montreal twist: The bacon-wrapped prunes
are served atop a rich whipped liver mousse.
And in his take on a classic beef Wellington,
the pastry is as flaky as a croissant, the coating
of duxelles both judicious and flavorful, the
filet mignon perfectly cooked in its green pep-
percorn sauce, all paired with a silky chestnut
purée. Like Montreal itself, it’s as fresh as it is
timeless. –adam gollner
Paddle Up
Table tennis has been
an Olympic sport since
1988, but the mixed
doubles competition
was dropped in 2008.
To celebrate its return
this year, the OMO5
hotel in Tokyo is adopt-
ing a full-blown Ping-
Pong theme. Starting in
June, there will be a
table on every floor for
guests to show off their
skills, as well as one in
the lobby that’s open
to the public. The lobby
will also be kitted out
with a library of Ping-
Pong books—ranging
from English tomes to
manga. Doubles from
$215; omo-hotels.comPing-Pong at
OMO5 in TokyoCatch a Wave
You can’t surf with an
Olympic champion yet,
because the sport is
debuting at the Games
this summer—but you
can get pretty close
at Dorado Beach, a
Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
The hotel has a partner-
ship with Goodwins,
a Puerto Rico–based
water-sports instruction
company run by former
Olympic windsurfer
Karla Barrera-Morstad’s
team of pro athletes,
who can take you out
for surfing lessons. Or
better yet, get a jump
start on kite boarding
for bragging rights—
that sport debuts at the
summer 2024 Games
in Paris. Doubles from
$1,299; ritzcarlton.comEven if you can’t make it to the Tokyo Olympics this July, you can get into
the competitive spirit now at properties around the world. by stephanie wuLet the Games Begin➤ the hotel scenebeba dinner for two from $100; restaurantbeba.ca
tiers paysage dinner for two from $80; tierspaysage.com
viens sandwiches from $8; alimentsviens.ca
monarque dinner for two from $80; restaurantmonarque.ca
marcus dinner for two from $180; fourseasons.com
bar george dinner for two from $125; bargeorge.ca
26 CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER APRIL 2020
PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF HOSHINO RESORTS
word of mouth^ ➤^ eat here now