Step inside some of Europe's top restaurants and you wouldn't know there had been a global financial meltdown a few years ago. These temples to haute cuisine are still unashamedly, perhaps reassuringly, expensive.

In this rarefied world of showy dining, the cost of a single dish nudges into three figures. And that's before you pay $1,000 for a bottle of wine.

In return you get some of the world's most prized ingredients - truffles, caviar, blue lobster - served in fantastic surroundings.

France leads the way, with four restaurants making our list - five if you count Monte Carlo.

It is, after all, the land where Michelin stars are as common as designer handbag stools in these glittering palaces.

1. Le Meurice - Paris
The king of haute cuisine, Alain Ducasse, holds court in the Versailles-style grandeur of one of Paris's finest hotels.

While there's gold lining the walls of this three-Michelin-starred restaurant overlooking the Tuileries gardens, there's black gold on the plate, in the form of supremely expensive black truffle.

Signature diner: Refined gourmet with a nose for earthy pleasures.
Signature dish: Whatever truffle dish suits the season. A starter of scallops and black truffle goes for $165.
Le Meurice, 228 Rue de Rivoli, Paris, France; +33 1 44 58 10 55

See the rest of the list: 10 of Europe's most expensive restaurants

Previously:
'World’s 50 Best Restaurants' announced for 2013