Yahoo News The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018 - how many have you been to?
Massimo Bottura’s restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy was named the world’s best restaurant yesterday evening at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards.
Bottura’s three-Michelin-starred establishment was followed in second place by El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, and by Mirazu in Menton, France in third place.
Bottura, looking slightly dazed, talked from the platform while his wife and close collaborator Lara Gilmore looked on from the front row: “It’s such an amazing feeling, to be in the middle of such a group of people, that I share incredible projects [with] that just five years ago wouldn’t be possible," he said.
A total of nine new restaurants have made the top 50, with six making their debut
"This is a community of people who are creating a revolution in the food world… Step by step, one step at a time, we are changing the world. I know it and I feel it."
Peruvian and Spanish restaurants were also well-represented in the top 10, with Central in Lima ranked sixth and Maido in Lima ranked seventh. The highest UK restaurant was The Clove Club, way down the list at no.33, while last year’s number one, Eleven Madison Park in New York, was knocked down to fourth place.
The event, which was held this year at Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, Spain, is considered to be the Oscars of the restaurant world.
This year’s list features restaurants from 23 countries. A total of nine new restaurants have made the top 50, with six making their debut and three returning to the list.
The nine new restaurants on the list are: The Test Kitchen in Cape Town (50), Hiša Franko in Kobarid, Slovenia (48), Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, Switzerland (47), Mikla in Istanbul, Turkey (44), Nihonryori RyuGin in Tokyo, Japan (41), Lyle’s in London (38), Maaemo in Oslo, Norway (35), Odette in Singapore (28), and Disfrutar in Barcelona, Spain, which received the Highest New Entry Award 2018 in 18th place.
Other accolades awarded included a gong for best pastry chef, which went to French chef Cédric Grolet (famous for his playful creations with a spin on traditional pastries: surreal Rubiks cubes), and a sustainable restaurant category, which was presented to Azurmendi Eneko of Atxa, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the Basque country. Den in Tokyo, Japan, won the Highest Climber Award, after climbing 28 places up the list.
Despite the fact that Clare Smyth of the UK was named the world's best female chef amid complaints that the award was sexist (there is no equivalent prize given out to male chefs), her restaurant Core was absent from the list.
William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said: “We applaud all those involved in this list of inspiring restaurants, which is constantly redrawing and reflecting the global gastronomic map.”
The four British restaurants to be included in the top 50 this year were two restaurants in Shoreditch: The Clove Club (33rd place) and Lyle’s, which made its top 50 debut in 38th place.
Massimo Bottura vowed to use the platform to further his social projects, including the Reffettorios
Meanwhile, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, ranked 36th in 2017, slipped down to 45th place and The Ledbury, ranked 27th in 2017, moved down to 42.
The restaurants are judged by over 1,000 industry insiders, including food writers, critics, chefs, restaurateurs and gourmands, who vote for 10 restaurants each, four of which must be outside their home region, to reveal 50 of the finest food destinations across the world.
The triumphant Osteria Francescana opened in in 1995, with the chef Massimo Bottura declaring his intention to "juxtapose culinary tradition and innovation with contemporary art and design". It has been listed in the top five at the awards since 2010 (Osteria Francescana was also crowned number one in 2016 and number 2 in 2017).
Is Osteria a better restaurant than two years ago, Bottura was asked at the ceremony? "Yes, because the team is stronger and more mature...I have to be honest, yes, it’s a better restaurant.”
Osteria Francescana is famed for "brilliant yet eccentric" food, which celebrates the finest produce of the Emilia-Romagna region. Dishes include the 'Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano' and 'Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart', a twist on the traditional dessert that was inspired by an accident in kitchen.
And last night in Bilbao, Massimo Bottura vowed to use the platform to further his social projects including the Reffettorios, one of which is Reffettorio Felix in London’s Earl’s Court, which feed homeless people using food that would otherwise go to waste."I am going to use this spotlight to make [projects] even stronger… Without Osteria Francescana I cannot, we cannot do the things we are doing, ” he said.
Last year, the unconventional chef also gave the soup kitchen a Michelin-star makeover both in the favelas of Rio during the Olympics
Here, we present everything you need to know about this year’s World’s 50 Best restaurants, in ascending order...
50. The Test Kitchen, Cape Town, South Africa (new entry)
A post shared by The Test Kitchen (@thetestkitchenct) on Jun 15, 2018 at 5:47am PDT
Michelin stars
0
About the restaurant
The first fine dining restaurant to open in Cape Town’s gentrifying Woodstock, The Test Kitchen kicked off an artistic boom. With food based on popular global dishes with South African ingredients and twists, English-born chef Luke Dale-Roberts’s restaurant has two intimate dining areas – one “dark”, one “light”.
Signature dish
Sample small bites from around the world like ceviche and roti paired with cocktails in the quieter dark room; classic modern fare is served in the buzzy light room – like eiland (local oryx) carpaccio, local kingklip smoked with curry leaves and scallops with a Cape Malay sabayon.
49. Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand (28)
Michelin stars
0
About the restaurant
While he has a background in classic French cuisine, chef David Thompson has dedicated himself to understanding and evolving Thai ingredients and techniques at Nahm.
Some dishes served at Nahm are said to be so spicy, the chefs joke that they could alter your DNA.
Signature dish
Head to Nahm for Thompson's take on traditional Thai cuisine. He's particularly well known of his spicy curry with minced prawns, eggplant and holy basil.
48. Hiša Franko, Kobarid, Slovenia (new entry)
A post shared by Hiša Franko (@hisafranko) on Mar 29, 2018 at 1:05am PDT
Michelin stars
0
About the restaurant
Chef Ana Ros put Slovenia on the gastronomic map after being voted The World’s Best Female Chef in 2017 and starring in her own episode of Netflix’s cult series Chef’s Table. Pronounced Hi-sha Franko, the restaurant is located in the stunning surrounds of the Soça Valley and has drawn visitors to Slovenia from all over the world.
Signature dish
a six-course and an eight-course tasting menu, each starting with the restaurant’s homemade bread, local butter and Kramar’s own cheese lollipops; expect the likes of the signature cauliflower ravioli and kid goat liver to tripe cooked in wild duck jus or ‘dirty’ cuttlefish with sea salad.
47. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau, Switzerland (new entry)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
A remote, romantic location in in a fairy tale castle in the Swiss Alps. The restaurant and six-room boutique hotel sits in the historic village of Fürstenau, which, with only eight full-time residents, claims the title of the smallest town in the world.
Signature dish
Surprising flavours from simple ingredients: the menu is designed to enrich the senses, with dishes such as beef, apple and mustard, or Swiss pikeperch fish, artichoke and mushrooms.
46. Saison, San Francisco, USA (37)
A post shared by Saison (@saisonsf) on Jun 1, 2018 at 1:08pm PDT
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Chef Joshua Skenes began Saison as a pop-up restaurant, serving seasonal food to a few tables on just a few nights a week. Now his San Francisco venture is a permanent fixture, complete with wine bar and a dining room (with space for only 18 diners) that overlooks the chefs at work.
Signature dish
Skenes’ tasting menu changes every day and can stretch to up to 18 courses. If you’re lucky, his ‘Liquid Toast’ will be on the list - a glazed sea urchin served on crusty bread soaked in a rich sauce and dusted with a powder of river vegetables
45. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London, England (36)
A post shared by Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (@dinnerbyhb) on May 15, 2018 at 12:04am PDT
Michelin stars
2
About the restaurant
Dinner by Heston opened in 2011 and quickly gained its first Michelin star, with the second one following in 2014.
The restaurant is now headed up by the former head chef of The Fat Duck, Ashley Palmer-Watts.
Blumenthal was awarded the 2017 Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award at The 50 Best Restaurants awards.
Signature dish
Menu options are based on historical dishes researched by food historians, such as a 16th century porridge with roast cod and smoked beetroot flavour and spiced celeriac sauce and oyster leaf alongside chicken cooked with lettuce.
Classics Revisited: Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
44. Mikla, Istanbul, Turkey (new entry)
A post shared by Mikla (@miklarestaurant) on May 14, 2018 at 7:34am PDT
Michelin stars
0
About the restaurant
Rated one of the best restaurants in Istanbul, Mikla boasts an outdoor terrace from which guests can look over the Bosphorus to see a glimpse of both Asia and Europe. Mehmet Gürs was credited as one of the cooks leading the change in Istanbul’s restaurant scene when he returned from the US to open his first restaurant in 1996.
Signature dish
Gürs is a champion of the New Anatolian Kitchen, where he transforms traditional and ‘noble’ products with a blend of new and ancient techniques. His menu includes everything from Anatolian raw milk cheeses to north Aegean octopus and Iskenderun prawns with 65-degrees egg.
43. Azurmendi, Biscay, Spain
A post shared by Azurmendi Restaurant (@azurmendi_atxa) on Jun 8, 2018 at 3:09am PDT
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Located in the heart of the Larrabetzu countryside, Azurmendi serves Basque food sourced from surrounding greenhouses and gardens and is run by chef Eneko Atxa.
Far from the straightforward sit-down restaurant experience, at Azurmendi the journey starts in the rooftop vegetable garden where guests inspect the home-grown produce before continuing to an indoor greenhouse for a selection of ‘snacks’. Diners are eventually seated in a section of the dining room, flanked by temporary fabric walls projecting different scenes for different courses.
Signature dish
One of Atxa's most popular signature dishes is a truffle-infused egg yolk, cooking inside out and prepared at the table by Atxa himself.
42. The Ledbury, London, UK (27)
Michelin stars
2
About the restaurant
Located in Notting Hill, London, The Ledbury has been voted the UK’s best restaurant more than half a dozen times and regularly features in the top 20 on best restaurant lists worldwide.
Signature dish
The modern French menu includes a rhubarb buttermilk with olive oil shortbread dessert and the signature brown sugar tart with stem ginger ice cream.
41. Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo, Japan (new entry)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Dhef Seiji Yamamoto is a dynamic interpreter of traditional Japanese cuisine. initially gained recognition for integrating avant-garde modernist cooking techniques in his cuisine, but he has always been deeply grounded in the kaiseki tradition. The motif of the dragon is a recurring theme in the décor and the table settings.
Signature dish
Among the many highlights are the grilled ayu (sweetfish) in summer; matsutake mushrooms with Wagyu beef from Kagawa in early autumn; matsubagani crabs from November to December; and wild torafugu blowfish in the winter months.
40. Septime, Paris, France (35)
A post shared by Septime (@septimeparis) on Jun 7, 2018 at 9:52am PDT
Michelin stars
1
About the restaurant
Graduating from the kitchens of Alain Passard's L'Arpège, chef Bertrand Grebaut has quickly made a name for himself with Septime, a restaurant specialising in 'micro seasonal' food.
According to the Michelin guide, the key to Septime's success is 'the neo-industrial decor, resolutely seasonal cuisine and high quality ingredients.'
Signature dish
There's plenty to enjoy at Septime, but the endive, pear, trout egg is particularly popular.
39. Astrid y Gastón, Lima, Peru (33)
A post shared by Astrid & Gaston Bogotá (@astridygastonbta) on Sep 29, 2017 at 11:55am PDT
Michelin stars
0
About the restaurant
Husband and wife duo Gastón Acurio and Astrid Gutsche head up Astrid y Gastón in Peru, serving traditional Peruvian food in a grand mansion.
Alongside the restaurant, guests can take advantage of the bar, herb garden, and three kitchens.
Signature dishes
Their signature dish is the 'Tiradito of Love and Cebiche' from the Andes.
38. Lyle's, London, UK (new entry)
Michelin stars
1
About the restaurant
After dining two consecutive nights at St. John Bread & Wine and The Fat Duck as a 20-something graduate, James Lowe was so blown away by the extremely different experiences that he became convinced that he too should run a restaurant.
Jacking in his dream of becoming a pilot and notching up experience with Heston Blumenthal, St. John Bread & Wine and a longer stint at The River Café, Lowe then took the pop-up route with chef friends Ben Greeno and Isaac McHale (see The Clove Club) under the Young Turks moniker. Four years ago, he opened up a permanent space with John Ogier in London’s Shoreditch, aiming to identify British food in this day and age.
Signature dishes
During the shooting season, gamebird or venison is likely to be the main protein – think wild duck breast cooked at a low temperature in a wood oven, served with preserved wild mulberries and red cabbage. Lowe also enjoys challenging diners with oft-forgotten products such as mutton, cooked over the grill with beechwood charcoal.
Read The Telegraph restaurant review here
37. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin, Germany (48)
Michelin stars
2
About the restaurant
Chef Tim Raue serves Asian fusion cuisine at his eponymous restaurant, while his wife Marie-Anne acts as the restaurant's sommelier.
Fascinated by Asia, Raue combines eastern and western ingredients and techniques to create what the Michelin guide describes as "a riot of contrasting textures and flavours, always combined to perfection."
Signature dish
Raue is known for his dim sum and his wasabi langoustine.
36. Reale, Abruzzo, Italy (43)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Reale is set in a monastery in Castel Di Sangro in Abruzzo, about two and a half hours from Rome. The restaurant opened in 2003, gained its first Michelin star in 2007 and now holds three.
It’s run by a brother and sister team, consisting of chef Niko Romito and Christiana Romito, who is in charge of the front of house.
Signature dish
A main dish of suckling pig is served simply, with an emulsion of potato and olive oil a streak of orange and caramel sauce.
35. Maaemo, Oslo, Norway (new entry)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Maaemo’s 35-year-old head chef and co-owner, Esben Holmboe Bang, hails from Denmark but has made Oslo his home for the past 13 years. Since opening in 2010, Maaemo has become one of the most in-demand destination restaurants in all of Scandinavia.
Signature dishes
Among the stand-out dishes that helped put Maaemo on the map is Bang’s langoustine roasted in pine butter, glazed with a gel of spruce shoots. More recent classics include his remarkable chicken foot, with chicken liver and fermented lingonberry juice, decorated with glistening red sorrel leaves.
34. Alinea, Chicago, USA (21)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Run by chef Grant Achatz and restaurateur Nick Kokonas, Alinea first opened in 2005 and was awarded its three Michelin stars in 2010.
The guide describes the cuisine as "strikingly original and very clever. It can surprise but it can also challenge; at times dishes can be playful or even whimsical. But underpinning all those clever techniques and all those dazzling arrangements and quite striking presentations is an inherent understanding of flavor-and this is what gives the cooking such great depth."
Signature dish
Alinea serves an impressively experimental menu with dishes that change every four months.
Highlights include a green apple helium balloon that floats past the table and milk chocolate paté sucree.
33. The Clove Club, London, England (26)
Michelin stars
1
About the restaurant
Based in the old town hall in Shoreditch, The Clove Club started its life as a supper club in an East London flat.
Scottish chef Isaac McHale serves diners either a five or seven-course tasting menu in a relaxed atmosphere.
Scottish chef McHale has devised a five-course and a seven-course tasting menu featuring signature dishes of flamed Cornish mackerel and buttermilk fried chicken and plenty of delights from his homeland, such as haggis doughnuts. Another classic is the warm blood orange dessert with ewe’s milk yoghurt mousse and wild fennel granite.
Signature dish
Stand-out dishes include a raw Orkney scallop with Perigord truffle, hazelnut and clementine, flamed Cornish mackerel, and buttermilk fried chicken.
32. Tickets, Barcelona, Spain (25)
Michelin stars
1
About the restaurant
A vibrant restaurant with several bar counters, the cuisine at Tickets pays homage to the traditional tapas dishes that were once created at El Bulli.
In 2015, chef Albert Adria was voted the world's best pastry chef.
Signature dish
Enjoy a basil air waffle with Scamorza cheese or try the famous liquid olive - olive juice turned into a solid olive.
31. Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain (30)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Located on top of a hill in San Sebastian, Arzak has been in the Arzak family for generations and is currently run by chef Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena.
Innovative food menu aside, Arzak has gained notoriety for its impressive wine cellar with over 100,000 bottles.
Signature dish
The menu at Arzak is rooted in tradition and includes several tasting menus and an á la carte menu with signature dishes such as the Red Space Egg with red peppers, pig trotters, mushrooms, and seabass.
30. D.O.M, Sao Paulo, Brazil (16)
Michelin stars
2
About the restaurant
Run by chef and former DJ Alex Atala, D.O.M has been considered one of the best restaurants in South America since 2006 and is best known for its use of native Brazilian ingredients.
The Michelin Guide praises Atala for "bringing to the fore Tupinquim ingredients that were overlooked by, or unfamiliar to, other renowned chefs, such as priprioca, black rice and pupunha palm heart, his cooking surprises and stimulates the palate."
Signature dish
The contemporary Brazilian menu features a twist on 'feijoada', Brazil's national dish and, Atala's signature dish, baked manioca with coconut milk.
29. Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris, France (31)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
The Pavillon Ledoyen, a beautiful neo-classical building close to the Champs-Élysées, has been home to chef Yannick Alléno since July 2014. He brought with him his manifesto for Modern Cuisine, which “aims to marry a perfect mastery of classic French cuisine’s traditional techniques with genuine creative ambition and an extra ingredient: culinary research.”
Signature dish
Alléno’s modern approach (in which he strives to “prioritise new techniques” and “create and invent, not just rework”) means extractions, concentrations, fermentations and remarkable dishes such as blue lobster tail in a floral cucumber cream and black truffle in a cocoa crust with turnip caramel.
28. Odette, Singapore (new entry)
Michelin stars
2
About the restaurant
Chef and co-owner Julien Royer may look like he’s barely out of his teens, but he has serious pedigree. Having apprenticed under Michel Bras in his native France, Royer worked in the Caribbean and London before arriving in Singapore a decade ago. He established himself as the region’s rising star while at Jaan, before opening Odette in late 2015 at the grand National Gallery Singapore.
Signature dish
Hokkaido Uni combines sea urchin, langoustine tartare, Granny Smith apple and caviar to stunning effect; Royer’s morels with veal sweetbreads and fresh asparagus has French terroir in spades; while rosemary-smoked organic egg is another signature.
27. Boragó, Santiago, Chile (42)
Michelin stars
0
About the restaurant
Chef and owner Rodolfo Guzman has an intense interest in the pastures and woods which is reflected in his menu at Boragó.
Guzman takes advantage of the surrounding diverse landscape to source unique ingredients to use in his dishes.
Signature dish
Making use of the environment around the restaurant, the ingredients used in the dishes at Boragó are rare and change constantly. Lucky diners might get to try conger eel with sea star flowers and beach dill, or enjoy dessert with milk from cows, goats and even donkeys.
26. Le Bernardin, New York, USA (17)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Founded in Paris in 1972 and then transplanted to New York in 1986, Le Bernardin is one of the world's top restaurants for seafood.
Chef Eric Ripert has been running the kitchen for more than 20 years, serving a menu of dishes with both French and Asian influences.
Le Bernardin is one of six restaurants in New York with three Michelin stars.
Signature dish
The menu is split into three sections 'Almost Raw', 'Barely Touched' and 'Lightly Cooked' and offer dishes like poached halibut with Manila clams, wild mushroom casserole, and a buttery striped bass.
25. Cosme, New York, USA (40)
Michelin stars
0
About the restaurant
Expect Mexican-inspired flavours, created with produce from New York’s Hudson River Valley and the surrounding region. Mexican-born chef Enrique Olvera left home to study at the Culinary Institute of America before returning to open Pujol in Mexico City (no 20 on this year’s list). Cosme is his first US venture.
The New York Times says: ‘the cooking is a thrill, largely because it sails right over ideas like tradition, authenticity and modernity.’
Signature dish
Duck carnitas with onions radishes and cilantro; or lobster served with shiso, ginger mojo, and brown butter.
24. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai, China (41)
Michelin stars
2
About the restaurant
Widely considered to be one of the most avant-garde dining experiences in the world, Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet seats just 10 guests a night in a secret location in Hong Kong.
It earned its two Michelin stars relatively quickly, with the guide describing it as "an immersive, exclusive experience that's so much more than just a 22-course dinner."
Signature dish
Everything in Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet is designed to stimulate the senses, from the dishes to the bespoke lighting and scents.
23. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy (29)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Another family restaurant, Massimiliano and Raffaele Alajmo inherited the restaurant from their parents and have spent the last 10 years perfecting it.
The brothers believe in constantly evolving and experimenting however, according to the Michelin guide "the cuisine remains balanced and harmonious."
Signature dish
Dishes are split into three tasting menus: one is filled with Le Calandre classics, while the other two showcase each of the brothers' own tastes.
The crispy buffalo ricotta and mozzarella cannelloni with tomato sauce is particularly popular, along with the saffron juniper and liquorice powder risotto.
22. Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan (18)
Michelin stars: 2
In 2003, chef Yoshihiro Narisawa opened the restaurant 'Les Création de Narisawa' in Tokyo, renaming it Narisawa in 2011.
Narisawa fuses French cooking techniques with Japanese ingredients served alongside rare Japanese wines.
Signature dish
Narisawa uses exclusively organic and sustainable Japanese ingredients in his cooking, meaning the menu changes with the seasons.
One of his signature dishes is Wagyu beef roast, marinated in leek, basted in olive oil and carbonised on the outside.
21. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris, France (13)
Michelin stars: 3
After months of refurbishing Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée is back and reclaims its spot on the list of the best 50 restaurants in the world.
Ducasse obtained the three Michelin stars for the restaurant in 2001, with the guide describing the dishes as "really outstanding".
Signature dish
Ducasse's signature dish is a seasonal vegetable cookpot. Speaking to Forbes, he said: "For years, I have always wanted to create a signature dish with my favorite vegetables, as they are the thread that connects my life experience with the diverse, sensory experience found at my restaurants."
20. Attica, Melbourne, Australia (32)
Michelin stars: 0
Widely considered to be one of the top restaurants in Australia, Attica is a fine-dining restaurant with a Australian twist.
Lamb, chicken, pork and beef are scarce on the Attica menu and are instead replaced with Australian wildlife such as kangaroo and crayfish.
Signature dish
Chef Ben Shewry's signature dish is 'Sea Tastes', featuring prawns, clams, sea flora and sea urchin.
19. Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark (19)
Michelin stars
3
Chef Rasmus Kofoed was recently awarded three Michelin stars.
The Michelin guide describes the cuisine served as "beautiful, pure and balanced dishes."
Signature dish
Kofoed's signature dish is his salted hake, parsley stems and Finnish caviar in buttermilk.
18. Disfrutar, Barcelona, Spain (Highest New Entry Award 2018)
Michelin stars
1
About the restaurant
Run by a team of three chefs – Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas and Eduard Xatruch – all of whom held senior positions in the creative culinary team at the legendary El Bulli prior to the restaurant’s closure in 2011.
Signature dishes
Paradoxical, counterintuitive dishes: gazpacho in sandwich form, crispy egg yolk, liquid salad, hare bonbons.
17. Den, Tokyo, Japan (45)
Michelin stars:
0
About the restaurant:
International influences can be found as light touches on traditional Japanese cuisine in Hasegawa’s eight-course menu. The playful presentation of the modern kaiseki (a style of food involving a series of small, intricate dishes) is a delight.
Signature dish
The signature garden salad is composed of 20 vegetables picked daily from the garden or chicken wings presented in a fast-food takeaway box.
16. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy (15)
Michelin stars:
3
About the restaurant
Chef Enrico Crippa showcases a menu filled with modern Italian cuisine and wines at Piazza Duomo while utilising Japanese cooking techniques.
Many ingredients sourced directly from Crippa's own farm.
Signature dish
Crippa's signature dishes include as a salad called '21, 31, 41', a dish that varies on the number of ingredients depending on season (it has 41 ingredients at the height of spring).
Crippa is also known for his white truffle dish with potato cream, Lapsang Souchong tea, quail egg, and shaved white truffle.
15. White Rabbit, Moscow, Russia (23)
Michelin stars: 0
Located on the 16th floor of Smolenskiy Passage in Moscow, the White Rabbit serves modern Russian cuisine in an eclectic setting.
Chef Vladimir Mukhin puts a particularly strong emphasis on using local, seasonal ingredients in his dishes.
While it doesn't have a Michelin star yet, the guide has noted the White Rabbit for its laid-back atmosphere and original cooking with Mediterranean and Asian influences.
Signature dish
The tasting menu includes Black Sea oysters, Crimean truffle, and a rapa whelk beef stroganoff - a twist on one of the signature dishes of Russian cuisine.
14. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria (10)
Michelin stars: 2
A family owned restaurant run by chef Heinz Reitbauer, Steirereck serves a "neo-Austrian" menu with ingredients sourced from Reitbauer's own farm.
The restaurant has had two Michelin stars since 2010, with the guide describing the cuisine as "creative but never fussy, strong on regional and national influences and full of intense, finely balanced flavours."
Signature dish
The menu includes dishes such as Chinese cabbage with duck tongue, pigeon served with parsnips and Reitbauer's signature dish, a freshwater fish cooked in hot beeswax.
13. Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico (20)
Michelin stars: 0
Celebrity chef Enrique Olvera turns Mexican street food into haute cuisine at Pujol.
A six-course menu is served in the dining room while the bar serves a separate taco menu.
Signature dish
Dishes include seabass, quail egg, softshell crab, and Olvera's signature 'mole madre' - a plate with fresh mole sauce encased in an outer layer of mole that has been aged for nearly 1000 days.
12. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, New York, USA (11)
Michelin stars
1
About the restaurant
Established in 2000 in New York's Greenwich Village, Blue Hill usually locally sourced ingredients and counts Barack and Michelle Obama as former diners.
It doesn't technically have a menu. Diners are instead treated to a 'grazing, pecking and rooting' experience of more than 30 dishes that showcase produce from the farms in the surrounding area.
Signature dish
Dishes from the unique menu could include beef fat-aged parsnip steak, rose hip ketchup, creamed spinach.
11. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico (22)
Michelin stars: 0
Chef Jorge Vallejo opened Quintonil (named after a Mexican herb) with his wife Alejandra Flores in 2012 after a brief stint at René Redzepi's Noma.
Vallejo trained in Mexico City's Pujol and has taken his knowledge about indigenous ingredients to put vegetables at the forefront of Quintonil.
Signature dish
The menu includes sardines in green sauce, a sweetened corn crumble and Vallejo's signature dish 'huazontles' (a broccoli-esque vegetable) with cheese and a spicy tomato salsa.
10. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain (6)
Michelin stars: 1
Located near Mount Anboto in Spain's Atxondo valley, Asador Etxebarri is owned by chef Victor Arguinzoniz who purchased the restaurant with his father and uncle.
Arguinzoniz cooks everything over grill - even dessert - so everything has a barbecue taste to it.
Michelin awarded Asador Etxebarri its Michelin star in 2010, describing the food as "an unadulterated pleasure for lovers of simply grilled and roasted dishes."
Signature dish
The menu uses locally sourced produce and, as such, changes on a daily basis. Arguinzoniz is well known for his Palamós prawns, homemade chorizo tartare and his tomahawk steak.
9. Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain (9)
Michelin stars: 2
Since 2006, Mugaritz has regularly been considered as one of the world's best restaurants. As well as two Michelin stars, Mugaritz also has the highest rating by the Repsol Guide, three 'soles'.
In 2013, Portuguese-born chef, Nuno Mendes, named Mugaritz as one of his best restaurants in the world: "The food is very creative, very artistic – probably more artistic than most places I’ve been to – and the restaurant is consistently voted one of the best in the world and deservedly."
Signature dish
Mugaritz offers a "gastronomic experience" of 24 dishes, using foods sourced from orchards, seas, and forests.
The menu includes dishes like egg yolk with sea urchin and, one of its signature dishes, 'Piedras comestibles' - edible stones.
8. L'Arpège, Paris, France (12)
Michelin stars: 3
Chef Alain Passard earned L'Arpège its three Michelin stars in 1996 and has maintained them ever since.
In 2001 Passard removed red meat from the menu to instead serve "vegetable-focused progressive French" food. The vegetables are produced in Passard's own gardens, are delivered to the restaurant on a daily basis and "never see the inside of a refrigerator".
Signature dish
Passard is possibly best known for his signature L'Arpège egg, a warm poached egg with chives, crème fraîche whipped with aged Sherry vinegar, Canadian maple syrup and hand-harvested sea salt.
7. Maido, Lima, Peru (8)
Michelin stars: 0
Lima born chef Mitsuhara Tsumara blends the boundaries between Peru and Japan with the Nikkei menu at Maido.
Tsumara uses rare ingredients and cooking techniques learnt in the Amazon jungle to create a unique dining experience.
Signature dish
Some of the signature dishes at Maido include a monkfish sandwich, Amazonian paiche in a dashi broth, oxtail in a bread crust, and Cuy San (deep fried guinea pig).
6. Central, Lima, Peru (5)
Michelin stars: 0
The flagship restaurant for Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez Véliz, Central is his workshop for investigating the indigenous Peruvian ingredients that soon find their way on to his menus.
Martínez and his team source ingredients from the jungle, desert, mountains and sea to find diverse ingredients at every possible altitude.
For the last three years, Central has been named the best restaurant in Latin America.
Signature dish
The tasting menu at Central takes you on a tasting experience at every altitude, with ingredients sourced from 20 metres below sea level and 4100 metres above it.
5. Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand (7)
Michelin stars: 0
Widely considered to be one of the best restaurants in Asia, Gaggan offers a 19-part tasting menu with a focus on modern Indian cuisine.
Signature dish
Highlights on the menus include the Red Matcha tea, and a curry served in a traditional Indian tiffin box with rice, naan and tikka masala.
4. Eleven Madison Park, New York, USA (1)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
One of the best fine-dining restaurants in New York, Eleven Madison Park was founded in 1998 by restaurateur Danny Meyer.
Swiss chef Daniel Humm is currently head chef at the restaurant, serving guests an eight to 10-course tasting menu, offering a cuisine described as "modern French with a New York twist."
Signature dish
While not advertised on the menu, the signature dish at Eleven Madison Park is the Lavender and Honey Duck.
In an interview with Reuters, Humm said: "The dish is not on the menu but we always have it. But really a restaurant like ours is not one that has signature dishes. We actually try to stay away from it even if people fall in love with the dish. Eleven Madison has to keep evolving."
3. Mirazur, Menton, France (4)
Michelin stars
2
About the restaurant
Run by Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, Mirazur is located near the Italian border on the French Riviera and serves modern French cuisine with an Italian influence.
The restaurant earned its second Michelin star in 2012 and has been described in the Michelin Guide as "sleekly contemporary with magnificent views of the sea and the old town".
Signature dish
Colagreco's menu is inspired by the sea, mountains, and gardens and features dishes heavy in fish, crustaceans, and shellfish as well as locally produced meat and dairy products.
His signature dish is oyster with tapioca, shallot cream and pear.
2. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain (3)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Opened in 1986 by the three Roca brothers, El Celler de Can Roca serves traditional Catalan cuisine with creative twists.
Joan Roca, the oldest brother, is the head chef, middle brother Josep Roca is the sommelier, and Jordi Roca, the youngest brother, is in charge of desserts.
El Celler de Can Roca regularly finds itself topping best restaurant lists and has been praised by fellow chefs. Michel Roux once described it as "one of the top restaurants in Europe".
Signature dish
The restaurant has several signature dishes including a deconstructed Palamós prawns, truffle bonbons, and Iberian suckling pig.
1. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy (2)
Michelin stars
3
About the restaurant
Massimo Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy in 1995 with the intention to "juxtapose culinary tradition and innovation with contemporary art and design".
The restaurant earned its third Michelin star in 2012 and has constantly been listed in the top 5 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards since 2010.
Signature dish
Visit Osteria Francescana for a "brilliant yet eccentric" fare, including the 'Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano' in different textures and temperatures and 'Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart', a twist on the traditional dessert that was inspired by an accident in kitchen.
