Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery
Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery holds a Michelin star in the 2026 guide, cooking heirloom Nyonya recipes behind a Bishop Street shopfront in Penang.
10 upscale places in Penang, editor-picked. Occasion restaurants in Penang: destination kitchens for celebrations and visits. All Penang food.
The upscale list
10 places
Backdoor Bodega
Drink Georgetown Gimlet
Backdoor Bodega hides behind a clothing store on Jalan Gurdwara and sits at No. 64 on Asia's 50 Best Bars extended list for 2025, Penang's flagship bar.
Peninsula House
- ★ 4.4
- Modern Australian
- $$$
- George Town Heritage Core
Peninsula House serves modern Australian sharing plates upstairs in 1937's India House, the handsomest dinner room on Penang's old Beach Street.
Book food experiences in Penang
Guided tour · 4 hours
Penang: Morning Food Tour with 15+ Tastings in George Town
Discover the favorite local brunch foods on a guided tour of the George Town district.
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Guided tour · 4 hours
Penang: 4-Hour Penang Plates Food Tour with 15+ Tastings
Take a deep dive into Penang's rich food culture and history. Meet the people behind the food, salivate over 15+ tastings, and discover what makes up this island's vib...
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4 hours
Penang: Spice Garden Tour with Hands-On Cooking Class
Explore a tropical spice garden and learn to cook South East Asian dishes in a fully hands-on cooking class. Enjoy a personalized experience with individual stations a...
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Firewood
Firewood cooks everything over an open flame in a lofty heritage building on Pitt Street, Penang's purest expression of live-fire restaurant dining.
Kebaya Dining Room
Kebaya Dining Room sets Peranakan set menus under chandeliers at the Seven Terraces hotel, Penang's dressiest take on Straits Chinese cooking.
No Bar Here
Drink Megumi Highball
No Bar Here plays 80s and 90s nostalgia a few doors from its older sibling Backdoor Bodega, a Tatler-listed disco-cocktail room in central Penang.
Magazine 63
Drink Sultan Negroni
Magazine 63 opened in 2017 behind an unmarked wooden door on Jalan Magazine, Penang's first true speakeasy and still its most theatrical lounge.
Kool Kongsi Listening Bar
- ★ 4.2
- Cocktail bar
- $$$
- Pulau Tikus
Drink Bartender's choice built to the record playing
Kool Kongsi spins vinyl on a mezzanine above Jalan Argyll as Penang's first listening bar, with cocktails mixed to match the record on the deck.
La Vie
La Vie serves Asian-inflected European dinners in the Le Dream Boutique Hotel on Rope Walk, a Michelin-listed Penang room without the ceremony.
Wine Not Penang
- ★ 4.1
- Wine bar
- $$$
- Jelutong and the South
Wine Not Penang stocks boutique and minimal-intervention wines above Lebuh Presgrave, the snug tasting room anchoring Penang's natural wine scene.
Nothing matches.