Restaurant (magazine) Top 50
Encyclopedia
The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants is produced by British magazine Restaurant
based on a poll of international chef
s, restaurateur
s, gourmand
s and restaurant critics. In addition to the main ranking, the Chef's Choice list is based on votes from the fifty head chefs from the restaurants on the previous year's list. The top restaurants are often forerunners of molecular gastronomy
. Most of the restaurants serve haute cuisine
.
In 2010, Noma
succeeded the 2006-2009 winner El Bulli
as the world's best restaurant; Noma maintained first place in 2011.
There is no list of nominees; each member of the international voting panel votes for their own personal choice of 5 restaurants. To ensure that there are winners from many regions, they may vote for up to two restaurants in their own region, the remaining votes must be cast outside their home region. Nobody is allowed to vote for their own restaurant, and voters must have eaten in the restaurants they nominate within the past 18 months -- although it is not possible to ensure that they have.
The criteria are different from those of the Michelin Guide
or other guides, which has allowed restaurants like Momofuku Ssam Bar, Asador Etxebarri
and St. John to hold their own among the molecular
or traditional cuisine of restaurants like The Fat Duck
to Les Ambassadeurs to The French Laundry.
Restaurant (magazine)
Restaurant is a British magazine aimed at chefs, restaurant proprietors and other catering professionals that concentrates on the fine dining end of the industry. It produces an annual list of what it considers to be the best 50 restaurants, based on the votes of 600 "chefs, restaurateurs, critics...
based on a poll of international chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
s, restaurateur
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
s, gourmand
Gourmand
A gourmand is a person who takes great pleasure in food. The word has different connotations from the similar word gourmet, which emphasises an individual with a highly refined discerning palate, but in practice the two terms are closely linked, as both imply the enjoyment of good food.An older...
s and restaurant critics. In addition to the main ranking, the Chef's Choice list is based on votes from the fifty head chefs from the restaurants on the previous year's list. The top restaurants are often forerunners of molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in...
. Most of the restaurants serve haute cuisine
Haute cuisine
Haute cuisine or grande cuisine was characterised by French cuisine in elaborate preparations and presentations served in small and numerous courses that were produced by large and hierarchical staffs at the grand restaurants and hotels of Europe.The 17th century chef and writer La Varenne...
.
In 2010, Noma
Noma (restaurant)
Noma is a two Michelin star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi in Copenhagen, Denmark. The name is an acronym of the two Danish words "nordisk" and "mad" , and the restaurant is known for its reinvention and interpretation of the Nordic Cuisine...
succeeded the 2006-2009 winner El Bulli
El Bulli
elBulli was a Michelin 3-star restaurant near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by chef Ferran Adrià. The small restaurant overlooked Cala Montjoi, a bay on Catalonia's Costa Brava, and has been described as "the most imaginative generator of haute cuisine on the planet" and does a great...
as the world's best restaurant; Noma maintained first place in 2011.
Methodology
The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is compiled from the votes of the "World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy", a group established to make the ranking. The world is divided into regions, with a chairperson in each region appointed for their knowledge of their part of the restaurant world. These chairs each selected a voting panel, who cast a total of 4,030 votes.There is no list of nominees; each member of the international voting panel votes for their own personal choice of 5 restaurants. To ensure that there are winners from many regions, they may vote for up to two restaurants in their own region, the remaining votes must be cast outside their home region. Nobody is allowed to vote for their own restaurant, and voters must have eaten in the restaurants they nominate within the past 18 months -- although it is not possible to ensure that they have.
The criteria are different from those of the Michelin Guide
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
or other guides, which has allowed restaurants like Momofuku Ssam Bar, Asador Etxebarri
Asador Etxebarri
Asador Etxebarri is a Spanish restaurant in Atxondo , Basque Country which was voted 44th best in the world in Restaurant Top 50 Awards 2008. The chef is Victor Arguinzoniz, who cooks everything over a grill. Thus, all courses, even dessert, have the taste of fire....
and St. John to hold their own among the molecular
Molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in...
or traditional cuisine of restaurants like The Fat Duck
The Fat Duck
The Fat Duck is a restaurant run by chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Berkshire, England. The restaurant is known for its menu of unusual dishes, created following the principles of molecular gastronomy examples include: "snail porridge", "sardine on toast sorbet", "bacon and egg ice cream", and...
to Les Ambassadeurs to The French Laundry.
First place restaurants by year
- 2011 NomaNoma (restaurant)Noma is a two Michelin star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi in Copenhagen, Denmark. The name is an acronym of the two Danish words "nordisk" and "mad" , and the restaurant is known for its reinvention and interpretation of the Nordic Cuisine...
, CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... - 2010 Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2009 El BulliEl BullielBulli was a Michelin 3-star restaurant near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by chef Ferran Adrià. The small restaurant overlooked Cala Montjoi, a bay on Catalonia's Costa Brava, and has been described as "the most imaginative generator of haute cuisine on the planet" and does a great...
, Roses, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... - 2008 El Bulli, Roses, Spain
- 2007 El Bulli, Roses, Spain
- 2006 El Bulli, Roses, Spain
- 2005 The Fat DuckThe Fat DuckThe Fat Duck is a restaurant run by chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Berkshire, England. The restaurant is known for its menu of unusual dishes, created following the principles of molecular gastronomy examples include: "snail porridge", "sardine on toast sorbet", "bacon and egg ice cream", and...
, Bray, BerkshireBray, BerkshireBray, sometimes known as Bray on Thames, is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It stands on the banks of the River Thames, just south-east of Maidenhead. It is famous as the village mentioned in the song The Vicar of Bray...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... - 2004 The French LaundryFrench LaundryThe French Laundry is a French restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. The chef and owner of the French Laundry is Thomas Keller....
, Yountville (Napa Valley), CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - 2003 The French Laundry, Yountville (Napa Valley), California, US
- 2002 El Bulli, Roses, Spain
Chef's Choice restaurants by year
- 2011: Osteria FrancescanaOsteria FrancescanaOsteria Francescana is a two Michelin star restaurant owned and run by chef Massimo Bottura in Modena, Italy.The restaurant was voted 4th best in the world by Restaurant magazine in 2011....
, Italy (4) - 2010: The Fat DuckThe Fat DuckThe Fat Duck is a restaurant run by chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Berkshire, England. The restaurant is known for its menu of unusual dishes, created following the principles of molecular gastronomy examples include: "snail porridge", "sardine on toast sorbet", "bacon and egg ice cream", and...
, UK (3) - 2009: NomaNoma (restaurant)Noma is a two Michelin star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi in Copenhagen, Denmark. The name is an acronym of the two Danish words "nordisk" and "mad" , and the restaurant is known for its reinvention and interpretation of the Nordic Cuisine...
, Denmark (3) - 2008: MugaritzMugaritzMugaritz is a restaurant in Errenteria, Spain with 2 Michelin stars. Chef Andoni Aduriz apprenticed at El Bulli. Mugaritz was voted 4th best restaurant in the world by Restaurant in 2008, up from 7th place in 2007. In 2011 the restaurant had climbed to the 3rd place...
, Spain (4) - 2007: The Fat DuckThe Fat DuckThe Fat Duck is a restaurant run by chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, Berkshire, England. The restaurant is known for its menu of unusual dishes, created following the principles of molecular gastronomy examples include: "snail porridge", "sardine on toast sorbet", "bacon and egg ice cream", and...
, UK (2) - 2006: Pierre GagnairePierre GagnairePierre Gagnaire is a well known French chef, and is the Head Chef and owner of the eponymous Pierre Gagnaire restaurant at 6 rue Balzac in Paris . Gagnaire is an iconoclastic chef at the forefront of the fusion cuisine movement. Beginning his career in St...
, France (3) - 2005: El BulliEl BullielBulli was a Michelin 3-star restaurant near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by chef Ferran Adrià. The small restaurant overlooked Cala Montjoi, a bay on Catalonia's Costa Brava, and has been described as "the most imaginative generator of haute cuisine on the planet" and does a great...
, Spain (2) - 2004: Tetsuya'sTetsuya'sTetsuya's is a restaurant in Sydney, Australia, owned by Tetsuya Wakuda. Tetsuya's cuisine is based on Australian, Japanese cuisine and classic French cuisine, and makes use of Australian ingredients including Tasmanian Ocean Trout, which forms its signature dish.-Location:Tetsuya's is housed in...
, Australia (19)