The culinary world was rocked Monday night by one of the most anticipated days of the year: the World’s 50 Best Restaurants were announced. Apparently, there’s more than just Michelin stars and James Beard Awards to worry about if you’re part of the restaurant scene.
Hosted by S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna in London and announced by the revered Restaurant Magazine, this was more than just your average listicle (aka #BFD). Noma dropped down to the third spot, whereas El Celler de Can Roca reclaimed its bragging rights by climbing back up to number one.
Here’s the list that almost broke the internet:
50. The French Laundry, USA
Photo courtesy of The French Laundry
Chef: Thomas Keller
Location: Yountville, California
Style: French-American, Daily menu change
Must-Try Dishes: Slow-cooked fillet of wild king salmon, salmon tartare cornet, coffee and doughnuts
49. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, USA
Photo courtesy of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
Chef: Dan Barber
Location: On a farm in Pocantico Hills, NY
Style: Farm-to-table, local, ingredient-focused, no physical menu to choose dishes from, daily menu change based on seasonality and availability
Must-try dish: Blue Hill bone char cheese
48. Schloss Schauenstein, Switzerland
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Andreas Caminada
Location: In a castle in the Swiss Alps
Style: French
Must-try dishes: Goose liver with fresh goat’s cheese and maize; seared brook trout
47. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, France
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Alain Ducasse and executive chef Romain Meder
Location: In a fancy hotel in Paris
Style: Haute French focused on fish, cereal and vegetables; focus on sustainability
Must-try dishes: Green puy lentils and caviar; borage and warm oysters
46. Restaurant Andre, Singapore
Photo courtesy of finedininglovers.com
Chef: André Chiang
Location: Former shophouse in Chinatown in Singapore
Style: French novelle cuisine, gastronomy, tasting menu
Must-Try Dishes: “Memory” – warm foie gras jelly with black truffle coulis, “Artisan” – grilled Taiwanese baby corn
45. Relae, Denmark
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Christian Puglisi
Location: Hip part of Copenhagen
Style: New Nordic, laid-back, sustainable, local, four or seven course menus. Restaurant is certified organic
Must-try Dishes: Pickled mackerel with cauliflower and puréed lemon peel, sous-vide chicken with heart
44. Maido, Peru
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Mitsuharu Tsumura
Location: Lima
Style: Nikkei (Peruvian-Japanese)
Must-try Dishes: Barnacle ceviche; grilled octopus; confit of guinea pig
42. Boragó, Chile (tie)
Photo courtesy of starchefs.com
Chef: Rodolfo Guzmán
Location: Santiago
Style: Contemporary Chilean, forages locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients
Must-try Dishes: Grouper Cooked in Mud Oven with Bruja Potato and Allium Flowers (pictured); Venison tartare with maqui berries
42. Tickets Bar, Spain (tie)
Photo courtesy of different-doors.com
Chef: Albert Adrià
Location: Barcelona
Style: Spanish, Gastronomy, laid-back, “high-impact” dishes
Must-try Dishes: Razor clams with coconut sauce, mushrooms and peanut; watermelon infused with sangria, cinnamon, lemon zest and min
41. Mani, Brazil
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chefs: Daniel Redondo and Helena Rizzo
Location: Old house in São Paulo
Style: Brazilian-European mix, semi-casual fine-dining
Must-try Dishes: Mandioquinha gnocchi with fermented cassava juice; catch of the day with tucupi, bananas and Mani’s own manioc flour
40. Per Se, USA
Photo courtesy of donuts4dinner.com
Chef: Thomas Keller
Location: Time Warner Center in NYC
Style: French-American, 9 course tasting menus, seasonal
Must-try Dishes: Moulard Duck Foie Gras with Banana (pictured); oysters and pearls
39. Quique Dacosta, Spain
Courtesy of quiquedacosta.blogspot.com
Chef: Quique Dacosta
Location: Dénia, Alicante
Style: Spanish, playful and minimalistic
Must-try Dishes: Tobacco leaf and toro; deconstructed Bloody Mary meringue with a liquid center
38. Amber, China
Photo courtesy of amberhongkong.com
Chef: Richard Ekkebus
Location: Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong
Style: French cuisine with Asian ingredients
Must-try Dishes: Hokkaido sea urchin in a lobster jell-o with cauliflower, caviar and crispy ‘seaweed’ waffle; tails with iberian pork belly, charred pencil leeks, water cress coulis its claws with pork trotter, pieds de moutons, raw button mushrooms & its bisque
37. Restaurante Biko, Mexico
Photo courtesy of alifewortheating.com
Chefs: Mikel Alonso and Bruno Oteiza
Location: Mexico City
Style: Spanish-Mexican fusion, two different menus plus a tasting menu
Must-try Dishes: Cremoso de foie con yoghurt cítrico y miel trufada (pictured), Foie gras, pineapple and aniseed
36. L’Astrance, France
Photo courtesy of andrewzimmern.com
Chef: Pascal Barbot
Location: Posh area across the river from the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Style: Redefined French cuisine, diners choose how many courses they want not what dishes they want (aka no menu)
Must-try dishes: Mushroom and foie gras tart marinated in verjus; miso-marinated mackerel
35. Quintonil, Mexico
Photo courtesy of Bon Appétit
Chef: Jorge Vallejo
Location: Mexico City
Style: Traditional Mexican mixed with newer culinary techniques, sustainably-minded, highlights seasonal ingredients, tasting menu
Must-try dishes: Huazontles with Chiapas cheese, nopal cactus snow
34. Le Calandre, Italy
Photo courtesy of alajmo.it
Chef: Massimiliano (or Max) Alajmo
Location: Padua
Style: Modern Italian gastronomy, diners choose from three carts that range from modern to very modern
Must-try Dishes: Extra virgin olive oil risotto with capers, coffee and rose; hand-chopped raw Piedmontese beef with black truffles
33. Aqua, Germany
Photo courtesy of qliweb.com
Chef: Sven Elverfeld
Location: Motor theme park next to Volkswagen’s car factory (because where else would you put an awesome restaurant?) in Wolfsburg
Style: “Reinvention of German peasant food,” also has some foreign dishes
Must-try Dishes: Cod, veal brawn, cauliflower, brown butter and silverskin onions; ellow fin mackerel
32. Attica Restaurant, Australia
Photo courtesy of australiaplus.com
Chef: Ben Shewry
Location: Suburb south of Melbourne
Style: Modern Australian, tasting menu except for Tuesday nights when he offers a 5 course menu of new experimental dishes (watch Chef’s Table on Netflix for more info)
Must-try Dish: Red kangaroo tartar with bunya bunya
31. Restaurant Frantzén, Sweden
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Björn Frantzén
Location: Stockholm
Style: Scandinavian, seasonal, multiple course tasting menu
Must-try Dishes: Sea urchins from Faroe Islands on grilled brioche with truffle caviar, pumpkin and chicken skin; lingonberry- and apple macarong with blood crème and foie gras
30. Restaurant Vendôme, Germany
Photo courtesy of Schloss Bensberg Hotel
Chef: Joachim Wissler
Location: Historic Schloss Bensberg hotel near Cologne
Style: German with hints of New Nordic, Asian and French; some say he’s part of the “New German School” due to the modernity of his dishes
Must-try Dishes: Suckling pig, bean stew, grilled green bananas, curry and macadamia nut;
29. Nihonryori Ryugin, Japan
Photo courtesy of nihonryori-ryugin.com
Chef: Seiji Yamamoto
Location: Roppongi district in Tokyo
Style: Traditional kaiseki menu with a strong emphasis on local, seasonal food; à la carte menu for a limited time during service
Must-try Dishes: Seven Kinds of Japanese Fish; seasonal wild blowfish menu
28. The Test Kitchen, South Africa
Photo courtesy of The Test Kitchen
Chef: Luke Dale-Roberts
Location: Woodstock district in Cape Town
Style: Various international flavors and techniques; artsy; five- and nine-course dinner tasting menus
Must-try Dishes: ‘Blinissoise’ – chilled blini creme, barbecued langoustine ‘en gelée’ langoustine tataki, liquorice powder; “Pork Belly” – parsley pressed apples, wild rosemary infused honey, blue cheese cream, crackling
27. Piazza Duomo, Italy
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Enrico Crippa
Location: Alba, apparently the “foodie capital of Piedmont”
Style: Italian, gastronomic, emphasis on local food
Must-try Dishes: Suckling pig with asparagus; Eggs and eggs salad
26. Alinea, USA
Courtesy of Huffington Post
Chef: Grant Achatz
Location: Chicago
Style: “Cutting edge,” intense blow-your-mind cool gastronomy; extensive dining experience that plays out over several hours and has “special lighting that allows for the colour of the walls to change and create different moods”; seasonal menu that ranges from 18 to 22 courses
Must-try Dish: Edible helium balloon
25. Fäviken, Sweden
Photo courtesy of Erik Olsson/VisitSweden
Chef: Magnus Nilsson
Location: In a barn in the middle of no-where, also referred to as North Sweden
Style: “Rustic Scandinavian,” multiple course menu; restaurant seats only 12 and since it’s a long ways away diners spend the night there
Must-try Dish: Scallop cooked over burning juniper branches
24. Ultraviolet, China
Photo courtesy of Jing Daily
Chef: Paul Pairet
Location: A “secret location” in Shanghai
Style: “Experiential cuisine,” meaning you go to Shanghai to get in a bus that drives you to the restaurant where you get in a cage lift that brings you up to the restaurant. Each course has a different song to go with it. Pairet has been known to call his food “psycho taste,” which means that food you eat should strongly remind you of “memory, imagination, experience and culture.” Think: James Bond meets 2o course meal meets shrooms.
Must-try Dish: Foie Gras Can’t Quit (crisp fruit skin cigarette filled with an airy foie gras mousse sitting in an ashtray dotted with black cabbage ash, according to The World’s Best 50 Restaurants)
23. White Rabbit, Russia
Photo courtesy of White Rabbit
Chef: Vladimir Mukhin
Location: Moscow
Style: Modern Russian with international ingredients, embraces local produce as well, Alice in Wonderland-esque
Must-try Dishes: Beetroot soup; buckwheat porridge served with fried duck hearts and reindeer moss sauce
22. Nahm, Thailand
Photo courtesy of tomeatsjencooks.com
Chef: David Thompson
Location: Ground floor of the Metropolitan Hotel in Bangkok
Style: Rustic/Authentic/Traditional Thai; tasting menu is a popular option; market-fresh produce
Must-try Dishes: Green mango salad with grilled pork and sour leaves; jungle curry with ‘pla chorn’
21. Le Chateaubriand, France
Photo courtesy of lennardy.com
Chef: Inaki Aizpitarte
Location: Paris
Style: Part of Paris’ “bistronomie” movement aka more affordable and relaxed bistros; fixed 70 Euro tasting menu with daily menu changes
Must-try Dishes: Squid salad with sea asparagus, onions, redcurrants and wakame powder
20. The Ledbury, UK
Photo courtesy of The Ledbury
Chef: Brett Graham
Location: Notting Hill, London
Style: Modern British with some foreign flavors; tasting menu and a fixed price dinner menu
Must-try Dishes: Truffles and foie gras; jowl of pork, endive, pear and juniper
19. Azurmendi, Spain
Photo courtesy of Pintrest
Chef: Eneko Atxa
Location: On a hill in Bizkaia
Style: Basque + gastronomy; Atxa pioneers many culinary techniques that are considered “cutting edge”
Must-try Dishes: Foie asado, melocotón y cenizas a la brasa; tomato and eel
18. Le Bernardin, USA
Photo courtesy of le-bernardin.com
Chef: Éric Ripert
Location: NYC
Style: High-class seafood that encompasses a combination of Japanese and French culinary techniques and flavors
Must-try Dishes: Yellowfin tuna with foie gras and toasted baguette; lobster lasagne
17. Arzak, Spain
Photo courtesy of Arzak/Ametsa
Chefs: Juan Mari Arzak & Elena Arzak Espina
Location: San Donostia/San Sebastián
Style: Basque + gastronomy; self-proclaimed “evolutionary cuisine” that constantly innovates new dishes with ingredients from the market
Must-try Dish: The red egg (piquillo peppers and crisped-up trotter meat according to The World’s Best 50 Restaurants)
16. Pujol, Mexico
Photo courtesy of alifewortheating.com
Chef: Enrique Olvera
Location: Polanco district in Mexico City
Style: Mexican, local native ingredients with gastronomic techniques
Must-try Dishes: Cuitlacoche; powdered ants; mole madre
15. Restaurant Steirereck, Austria
Photo courtesy of morfae.com
Chef: Heinz Reitbauer
Location: Stadtpark in Vienna
Style: Austrian with gastronomic and modern technqiues, innovative; some of their ingredients come from Reitbauer’s family farm; farm-to-table
Must-try Dishes: Char cooked in beeswax with yellow carrot, pollen and sour cream; veal tongue & sweetbreads with romanesco, canihua & whisky
14. Astrid y Gaston, Peru
Photo courtesy of argentinepost.com
Chefs: Gastón Acurio & head chef Diego Muñoz
Location: Wealthy San Isidro district of Lima
Style: Peruvian with modern techniques; 3-hour long tasting menu experience that is supposed to tell its diners stories about Peru
Must-try Dish: Apple ceviche
13. Asador Etxebarri, Spain
Photo courtesy of asadoretxebarri.com
Chef: Victor Arguinzoniz
Location: In the hills of the Atxondo valley
Style: Spanish, lots of firewood grilling (Arguinzoniz is considered the father of European bbq); local, seasonal ingredients sometimes foraged by the chef
Must-try Dishes: Wild red tuna belly; raw chorizo tartare
12. L’Arpege, France
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Alain Passard
Location: Paris
Style: French that focuses on vegetables from his biodynamic farm, aka very farm-to-table
Must-try Dish: Beetroot tartare with horseradish cream
11. Mirazur, France
Photo courtesy of Mirazur
Chef: Mauro Colagreco
Location: Hillside next to the Italian border in Menton
Style: Modern French with fresh Côte d’Azur ingredients from the surrounding area and the restaurant’s garden, with flavors from France, Italy and Argentina
Must-try Dishes: Shrimp carpaccio with raspberry and blackberry purée; red prawns with asparagus, borage and wild garlic flowers
10. Gaggan, Thailand
Photo courtesy of 10best.com
Chef: Gaggan Anand
Location: Downtown Bangkok
Style: Indian food that is reinterpreted and rethought with gastronomic techniques; includes street dishes; entertaining dishes that use ingredients like liquid nitrogen
Must-try Dishes: Free-range lamb chops, sous-vide, grilled and finished with green herb oil; Green with Envy
9. D.O.M., Brazil
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Alex Atala
Location: São Paulo
Style: Brazilian with ingredients from the Amazon; uses local producers and is sustainably-minded, however dishes are quite pricey due to the extent that Atala goes to retrieve such ingredients
Must-try Dishes: Palm heart fettuccine with mushrooms
8. Narisawa, Japan
Photo courtesy of Michael T. on Flickr
Chef: Yoshihiro Narisawa
Location: Tokyo
Style: Japanese with an emphasis on French flavors; considered an international restaurant that tries to bring nature to their dishes; ten course tasting menu designed to bring you through the seasons
Must-try Dishes: Irabu sea snake from Okinawa; ‘Bread of the Forest 2001’
7. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, UK
Photo courtesy of londonfoodfreak.com
Chef: Ashley Palmer-Watts
Location: The Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge, London
Style: Historically inspired British dishes; contemporary
Must-try Dishes: Meat Fruit–chicken liver parfait dipped in mandarin jelly (pictured); Earl Grey Tea cured Salmon
6. Mugaritz, Spain
Photo courtesy of Mugartiz
Chef: Andoni Luis Aduriz
Location: Small wooden building that was rebuilt after a fire burned the restaurant down in 2010, in Gipuzkoa
Style: Spanish; no menu, just 24 courses that are designed to meet the dietary needs of the diner; you can eat the cutlery and centerpieces (cool or weird?); gastronomic techniques
Must-try Dish: Ice shreds, scarlet shrimp perfume
5. Eleven Madison Park, USA
Photo courtesy of blog.francescotonelli.com
Chef: Daniel Humm
Location: NYC
Style: European with an emphasis on New York’s local food and produce. Guests are researched in order to create the perfect meal for them
Must-try Dishes: Honey lavender duck with apple and rutabaga; ‘Name That Milk’
4. Central Restaurante, Peru
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Virgilio Martinez
Location: District of Miraflores in Lima
Style: Indiginous ingredients from various altitudes (i.e. you’ll get a dish from the “mountains,” or the “sea”), emphasis on Peru’s biodiversity
Must-try Dish: Octopus in purple coal (pictured)
3. Noma, Denmark
Photo courtesy of nowwhatstheplan.com
Chef: René Redzepi
Location: In the back of an old warehouse in the center of Copenhagen right off the harbor
Style: Scandinavian, locally foraged ingredients, emphasis on seasonality
Must-try Dishes: Sweet shrimps wrapped in ramson leaves; anything that has ants on it (because that’s legit)
2. Osteria Francescana, Italy
Photo courtesy of Osteria Francescana
Chef: Massimo Bottura
Location: Modena, a town in the province Emilia-Romagna
Style: Italian; gastronomic techniques used to reinvent traditional dishes; local, seasonal ingredients
Must-try Dishes: Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano ; The crunchy part of the lasagne
1. El Celler de Can Roca, Spain
Photo courtesy of theworlds50best.com
Chef: Joan Roca
Location: Girona
Style: Spanish; free-style and avant-garde; part of a research project that aims to reduce rare species in food products and dishes. Definitely take a deeper look into their website–it tells all.
Must-try Dish: Mackerel with pickles and mullet roe
For more detailed information check out the full list here, and the restaurants listed 50-100.