The Top 100 Restaurants category, compiled by readers of Elite Traveler magazine, placed Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in second place with New York’s Daniel moving up two places into third. Pierre Gagnaire of Paris maintained fourth place on the annual list, which had 24 new entries this year.
The list was compiled from the dining experiences of Elite Traveler’s network of ultra-high-net-worth readers, who travel by private jet. The restaurants were judged by the quality of the food, the surroundings, and the service. Elite Traveler is published by Progressive Media.
The top 10 restaurants worldwide are:
Alinea – USA
Fat Duck – UK
Daniel – US
Pierre Gagnaire – France
La Pergola – Italy
Aqua – Germany
El Celler De Can Roca – Spain
Robuchon Au Dome – China
Noma – Denmark
The Ledbury – UK
France was the country with the most restaurants in the top 100 list, with 18 establishments included, followed by the UK with 14 restaurants included, and 13 in America.
Alinea’s Grant Achatz said: “It is always an honour to be recognised and to receive accolades but it’s not what drives us every day. I am proud of the team, their effort and passion is unparalleled in trying to do better each day. Every time we get an honour it makes us try harder, and adds more pressure.”
International food critic Andy Hayler believes that this award is well deserved: “The cooking of Grant Achatz at Alinea is without doubt at the forefront of modern cooking, creative and original whilst remembering that top restaurant dishes should not only be clever: they must taste great too. Few modern restaurants pull off this combination, but Alinea certainly does.”
To see the top 100 list in full visit www.elitetraveler.com/category/top-100-restaurants-in-the-world/
Helen Roxburgh
