The 2010 World's Best 50 Restaurants

The 2010 World's Best 50 Restaurants

The annual "World's 50 Best Restaurants" list was released on April 25, 2010 in London, England, by the Italian water producer S.Pellegrino. It was the 9th edition of the much buzzed-about ranking of the international culinary landscape. For the past 4 years, Ferran Adria’s restaurant El Bulli in Spain had taken the No. 1 spot, but it was downgraded to second best this year.

The No. 1 spot went to Noma, a two Michelin star-rated restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. Noma, helmed by chef René Redzepi, 32, who is half Danish and half Macedonian, ranked No. 3 in 2009. René Redzepi brought seven of his top 8 staff to London, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a picture of Ali, Noma's head dishwasher, who had fallen foul of Britain's immigration laws and wasn't granted a visa for the occasion.

Many commentators said that this promotion marks a shift away from laboratory cuisine toward cooking rooted in regional produce. Noma boasts that it does not use olive oil, tomatoes or nonseasonal garlic, as all of its produce is from Denmark and the neighboring Nordic countries. In addition, Ferran Adria had announced last December that the Mecca of molecular gastronomy was taking a break and will reopen as a nonprofit foundation -- a think tank of gastronomic creativity for 20 to 25 young chefs - in 2014.

This year’s most honored country is the US, with eight restaurants crowned: Alinea in Chicago, Illinois; Daniel, Per Se, Le Bernardin, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, wd~50 and Eleven Madison Park in New York; and The French Laundry in Yountville, California.

Britain’s The Fat Duck was downgraded to third for the first time since bursting onto the list at No. 2 in 2004.

Of the 50 top finishers, six are in France; Spain and Italy each have five. The best French restaurant is the Chateaubriand in Paris as No. 13 only. This provoked controversy, with French critics complaining that not a single French establishment made the Top 10, while there are 3 American restaurants in this group.

Gordon Ramsay, who has become a famous TV celebrity didn't have a restaurant in the top 50 this year. Leading French chefs Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Ducasse and Joël Robuchon all had restaurants in the top 50.

Three German restaurants are on the list. Joachim Wissler’s Vendôme was promoted, while Harald Wohlfart’s Schwarzwaldstuben was demoted. And with the Aqua in Wolfsburg of Sven Elverfeld, there is a German newcomer on the list.

Here is the full list, including promotions and demotions:

1 Up 2 Noma Denmark Best Restaurant in the World
2 Down 1 El Bulli Spain Chef of the Decade
3 Down 1 The Fat Duck UK
4 Up 1 El Celler de Can Roca Spain
5 Down 1 Mugaritz Spain
6 Up 7 Osteria Francescana Italy
7 Up 3 Alinea USA Best Restaurant In N.America
8 Up 33 Daniel USA The Highest Climber
9 Down 1 Arzak Spain
10 Down 4 Per Se USA
11 Up 29 Le Chateaubriand France
12 Up 26 La Colombe South Africa Best Restautant in South Africa
13 Down 4 Pierre Gagnaire France
14 Up 2 L'Hotel de Ville - Philippe Rochat Switzerland
15 - Le Bernardin USA
16 Down 5 L'Astrance France
17 up 9 Hof Van Cleve Belgium
18 Up 6 D.O.M. Brazil Best Restaurant in South America
19 Up 10 Oud Sluis Holland
20 Up 29 Le Calendre Italy
21 Up 9 Steirereck Austria
22 Up 3 Vendome Germany
23 Down 2 Chef Dominique Finland
24 Down 4 Les Creations de Narisawa Japan Best Restaurant in Asia
25 Up 25 Mathias Dahlgren Sweden
26 Up 5 Momofuku Ssam Bar USA
27 Up 19 Quay Australia Best Restaurant in Australasia
28 Up 17 Iggy's Singapore
29 Down 11 L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon France
30 New Entry Schloss Schauenstein Switzerland
31 6 Le Quartier Francais South Africa
32 Down 20 The French Laundry USA
33 Down 4 Martin Berasategui Spain
34 New Entry Aqua UK
35 Up 7 Combal Zero Italy
36 Up 12 Dal Pescatore Italy
37 New Entry De Librije Netherlands
38 21 Tetsuya's Australia
39 New Entry Jaan Par Andre Singapore
40 New Entry Il Canto Italy
41 Re-Entry Alain Ducasse Au Plaza Athenee France
42 Down 10 Oaxen Krog Sweden
43 Down 29 St John UK
44 Re-Entry La Maison Troisgros France
45 New Entry wd50 USA
46 New Entry Biko Mexico
47 Down 24 Die Schwarzwaldstube Germany
48 New Entry Nihonryori RyuGin Japan
49 New Entry Hibiscus UK
50 New Entry Eleven Madison Park USA

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