Noun for unique thing

Question

What can I call a thing that is one-of-a-kind?

This restaurant's Loganberry Duck is one-of-a-kind, and the Crystal Brush Pulpo is another _______.

I want to use it to compliment a dish, to express the "you can only get this here" kind of meaning.

Answer 1

If you were solver of crossword puzzles, your unique-thing noun would be oner (that’s pronounced one-er):

oner, n.
1. slang.
a. A person or thing of a unique or remarkable kind; esp. a person who is particularly keen on or expert at something.
_{[selected example]
1986    R. L. CHAPMAN New Dict. Amer. Slang (1987) 304/2    That was a great joke, a oner.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (login required)}

So: This restaurant’s Loganberry Duck is one-of-a-kind, and the Crystal Brush Pulpo is another oner.

Answer 2

Exclusive as a noun refers to something that can only be obtained from one source. You'll often see this used in the context of journalism to refer to a story that is only available through one particular publication. It would be a somewhat unusual usage to use "exclusive" in this manner to refer to a dish with limited availability, but I think the context would be quite clear in the example sentence due to the juxtaposition with "one-of-a-kind".

This restaurant's Loganberry Duck is one-of-a-kind, and the Crystal Brush Pulpo is another exclusive.

Answer 3

I would recommend rarity. From wiktionary

3. A rare object.

Some other possibilities are:

1. wonder or marvel, which I think don't imply uniqueness as much as you want.
2. curiosity or novelty, which I don't think are as positive as you want.
3. delicacy, which implies the food is expensive.
4. original implies uniqueness due to being invented by the restaurant while one-of-a-kind implies uniqueness due to quality

Answer 4

The term that has been suggested by Mr. Baskin in a comment (within minutes of the posting of this question), sui generis, answers perfectly the OP's general question ('What can I call a thing that is one-of-a-kind?'), although it does not fit well the OP's sample sentence. It would fit it syntactically if another were replaced with also, but it is debatable whether it would even then fit it pragmatically, as it is usually used in different contexts.

Answer 5

One-off. In your example sentence, you could say

...Crystal Brush Pulpo is another One-off.

(Although "one-of-a-kind" is not quite synonymous with "unique". One-off is usually for a unique event or deed, or an item like a 50th wedding anniversary cake, made only once).

In Collins Dictionary:

1. countable noun

You can refer to something as a one-off when it is made or happens only once. [mainly British] (Collins)

Here is a use "in the wild":

We feel that, as this is a one-off measure, it can help to promote job creation and to reduce the parallel economy. (europarl.europa.eu)

Answer 6

singleton

NOUN
Something occurring or existing singly and not as one of a pair or of a group.
(Webster's New World College Dictionary)

Answer 7

You could say that it is like no other. TFD defines this as:

Like nothing or no one else, as to highlight someone's or something's unique and important qualities.

Answer 8

You can definitely say that something is unique to a place:

unique to somebody/something
existing only in a particular place or in relation to a particular person or people (Longman)

Cambridge defines the expression saying that:

if something is unique to a place or situation, it only exists in that place or situation:

• Many of our problems are unique to our profession.

So your sentence could be:

This restaurant's Loganberry Duck is one-of-a-kind, and the Crystal Brush Pulpo is also unique to it/this place.

Answer 9

There's a word that fits semantically, but can sound rarefied:

nonpareil [noun]:

an unrivalled or matchless person or thing.

• a great player, Britain's nonpareil of the 1980s.

[Oxford Languages]

An example from the internet (the word in its adjective form ... which is more usual):

• Experience a nonpareil contemporary cafè with a fine dining twist in the heart of East Cantonments.

[Instagram]

And from Rajesh Saxena, at Quora:

What is the meaning of nonpareil?

The term "nonpareil" means "without equal" or "unsurpassed." It can be used to describe something or someone that is the best or most excellent of its kind. The word "nonpareil" comes from the French phrase "sans pareil", which means "without equal." The term is often used to describe people or things that are considered to be the best or most outstanding in their field or category. For example, someone might describe a sports team as a nonpareil, meaning that they are the best in their league, or a chef might be described as a nonpareil, meaning that they are the best in their profession.

Answer 10

Maybe describing it as "particular" or "distinctive" to that place? There's also unrivaled, distinguished, etc.

Answer 11

I suggest epitome for which Cambridge Dictionary has

the typical or highest example of a stated quality, as shown by a particular person or thing

So for example

This restaurant's Loganberry Duck is the epitome of how a roast should be.

Perhaps 'epitome' suggests 'epicure', and taking this idea further:

This restaurant's Loganberry Duck is the upper crust of how a roast should be, and the Crystal Brush Pulpo is the crème de la crème of desserts.

Other suggestions are quintessence and exemplification.