This paper presents a bibliometric review to map how academic research from different disciplines on luxury and gourmet restaurants has evolved, focusing on the most influential themes, contributors, and publication trends. To date, prior research has examined luxury as a broad construct, while bibliometric insights into luxury restaurant research remain scarce. Moreover, this study aims to uncover underlying structural patterns and theoretical imbalances within the field.
A total of 287 peer-reviewed journal articles was retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science, covering publications from 1995 to March 2025. Bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer and Bibliometrix were employed to conduct performance analysis and science mapping.
The analysis reveals growing academic interest in luxury dining, with dominant research topics that have been grouped into six clusters: (1) studies centered on customer satisfaction in the frame of the servicescape; (2) studies focused on the Michelin Guide linked to Destination Marketing Theories, Internationalization frameworks (global versus local strategies) and Digitalization; (3) studies interested in behavioral intentions grounded in the Pleasure–Arousal Paradigm, Theory of Planned Behavior and Brand Attachment; (4) studies focused on customer satisfaction but framed in the Experiential Consumption and Brand Personality Theory; (5) studies based on long-term loyalty in luxury restaurant, inspired in the Relationship Marketing and Social Psychology Theories; (5) studies managerially orientated, using approaches such as the traditional SERVQUAL model. Overall, core themes include customer satisfaction, service quality, behavioral intentions, loyalty, and the role of the Michelin Guide. Beyond this thematic structure, the findings reveal a strong theoretical convergence around satisfaction–loyalty paradigms, suggesting a potential saturation of dominant research streams. At the same time, the analysis exposes a structural imbalance, with a clear dominance of psychological and managerial models, while cultural and institutional perspectives remain underrepresented. Emerging trends highlight increasing attention to emotional value, sustainability, digital transformation, and identity signaling, although these remain weakly integrated into the dominant theoretical core.
Despite the field’s interdisciplinary potential, this study demonstrates that luxury restaurant research is characterized by structural fragmentation, theoretical saturation, and disciplinary imbalance. By moving beyond a purely classificatory approach, the review provides a more critical understanding of the field’s intellectual development and offers guidance for future theory-building across hospitality, marketing, and consumer behavior.
