The World’s 50 Best restaurants 2018 announced

The eagerly awaited annual ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ awards ceremony recently took place in Bilbao, Spain, to reveal this year’s best in culinary class around the world. The sought-after list saw 23 countries across six continents honoured, culminating with Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana reclaiming the No.1 spot.

Osteria Francescana, which previously held the No.1 position in 2016, was joined in the top three by El Celler de Can Roca (No.2), in Girona, Spain, and Mirazur (No.3), in Menton, France. The top spot for Osteria Francescana is testament to Bottura’s continued commitment to driving forward the restaurant’s unique character. The discreet Modena restaurant serves Bottura’s contemporary cuisine, which challenges and reinvents Italian culinary tradition while making use of the finest produce from the Emilia-Romagna region.

Spain boasts seven restaurants on the list, including three in the top 10: El Celler de Can Roca (No.2); Mugaritz (No.9) and Asador Etxebarri (No.10). The USA follows closely with six restaurants on the list, including last year’s winner Eleven Madison Park in New York (No.4).

France has five restaurants on the list, with two in the top 10: Mirazur in Menton (No.3) and Arpège (No.8) in Paris, and the UK and Italy are represented by four restaurants each. Peru, with three restaurants in the list, includes two in the top seven alone: Central (No.6) and Maido (No.7), both in Lima.

Having received the Miele One To Watch Award in 2017, Disfrutar in Barcelona continues its rise by winning the 2018 Highest New Entry Award, debuting at No.18. Meanwhile Den, in Tokyo, Japan, picks up the 2018 Highest Climber Award, having jumped from No.45 to No.17 in just one year.

Odette in Singapore is another notable new entry at No.28, having opened less than three years ago. Hiša Franko, Slovenia’s first restaurant on the list, debuts at No.48, representing another triumph for Ana Roš, the 2017 winner of The World’s Best Female Chef Award.

Mikla in Istanbul (No.44) represents Turkey’s first restaurant on the list since 2002, and Maaemo in Oslo (No.35) brings Norway back onto the list for the first time since 2003. Lyle’s in London is also a newcomer, debuting at No.38. Nihonryori RyuGin, from Tokyo, Japan (No.41), Schloss Schauenstein from Fürstenau, Switzerland (No.47) and The Test Kitchen from Cape Town, South Africa (No.50) have all re-entered the list.

Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, USA (No.12), won the Chefs’ Choice Award. The Chefs’ Choice Award is bestowed on an individual believed by their peers to have made the most significant contribution to the industry over the last year and is a testament to Barber’s innovative work and commitment to the debate around food ethics.

The Ferrari Trento Art of Hospitality Award goes to Geranium from Copenhagen, Denmark (No.19). Cofounder Søren Ledet, an award-winning chef, made the transition from the kitchen to the restaurant floor when founding Geranium and as the sommelier and front of house manager has propelled the restaurant to the highest standards of hospitality.

Azurmendi from Larrabetzu in the Biscay region of Spain (No.43) wins the Sustainable Restaurant Award, led by head chef Eneko Atxa, Azurmendi previously won this award in 2014 and this year’s achievement recognises the restaurant’s continual improvements in sustainable practices. These include planting 800 trees around the restaurant and developing a project with local families and bars to turn their organic waste into compost for the region’s farmers.

French sensation Cédric Grolet received The World’s Best Pastry Chef Award. Head pastry chef at Le Meurice, Paris, part of The Dorchester Collection, Grolet has this year spearheaded Le Meurice’s Pastry Boutique and continues to create waves by integrating gastronomy and art with his unique patisserie and trompe l’oeil fruit creations.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurant’s 2018

1. Osteria Francescana; Modena, Italy
2. El Celler de Can Roca; Girona, Spain
3. Mirazur; Menton, France
4. Eleven Madison Park; New York, USA
5. Gaggan; Bangkok, Thailand
6. Central; Lima, Peru
7. Maido; Lima, Peru
8. Arpège; Paris, France
9. Mugaritz; San Sebastián, Spain
10. Asador Etxebarri; Axpe, Spain
11. Quintonil; Mexico City, Mexico
12. Blue Hill at Stone Barns; Pocantico Hills, USA
13. Pujol; Mexico City, Mexico
14. Steirereck; Vienna, Austria
15. White Rabbit; Moscow, Russia
16. Piazza Duomo; Alba, Italy
17. Den; Tokyo, Japan
18. Disfrutar; Barcelona, Spain
19. Geranium; Copenhagen, Denmark
20. Attica; Melbourne, Australia
21. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée; Paris, France
22. Narisawa; Tokyo, Japan
23. Le Calandre; Rubano, Italy
24. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet; Shanghai, China
25. Cosme; New York, USA
26. Le Bernardin; New York, USA
27. Boragó; Santiago, Chile
28. Odette; Singapore
29. Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen; Paris, France
30. D.O.M.; São Paulo, Brazil
31. Arzak; San Sebastián, Spain
32. Tickets; Barcelona, Spain
33. The Clove Club; London, UK
34. Alinea; Chicago, USA
35. Maaemo; Oslo, Norway
36. Reale; Castel di Sangro, Italy
37. Restaurant Tim Raue; Berlin, Germany
38. Lyle’s; London, UK
39. Astrid y Gastón; Lima, Peru
40. Septime; Paris, France
41. Nihonryori RyuGin; Tokyo, Japan
42. The Ledbury; London, UK
43. Azurmendi; Larrabetzu, Spain
44. Mikla; Istanbul, Turkey
45. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal; London, UK
46. Saison; San Francisco, USA
47. Schloss Schauenstein; Fürstenau, Switzerland
48. Hiša Franko; Kobarid, Slovenia
49. Nahm; Bangkok, Thailand
50. The Test Kitchen; Cape Town, South Africa

Details: For more information, visit The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. If you enjoyed this article, you may like this story on this new restaurant launch in Dubai.