Noma in Copenhagen was named the No. 1 restaurant on the annual list of the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” at an awards ceremony Monday at the Guildhall in London. The four-time champ reclaimed its title after Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca, which came in at No. 2, knocked chef Rene Redzepi’s restaurant from its perch last year.
In creating the list, Restaurant magazine each year compiles opinions from more than 900 international gourmands from the Diners Club World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy. The chefs, restaurateurs and food critics vote for their “bests” based on personal experience at restaurants around the world.
The ceremony was packed with some of the biggest names in the restaurant industry, chatting and sipping Champagne in the fuschia-lit hall. The chefs stood out with turquoise silk scarves draped around their necks, reported Los Angeles Times columnist and academy member S. Irene Virbila, who attended the ceremony.
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Fergus Henderson of St. John in London received this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the award for Best Female Chef went to Helena Rizzo of Mani in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Chef’s Choice Award went to Alex Atala of D.O.M. in Sao Paulo.
Gaggan in Bangkok claimed the award for Highest New Entry, while Central, in Lima, Peru, was awarded Highest Climber.
Saison in San Francisco received the award for One to Watch, and World’s Best Pastry Chef went to Jordi Roca of El Celler de Can Roca. The Sustainable Restaurant Award went to Azurmendi, just outside Bilbao, Spain.
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There are seven U.S. restaurants on the list this year: Eleven Madison Park in New York (No. 4); Alinea in Chicago (No. 9); Le Bernardin in New York (No. 21); Per Se in New York (No. 30); Daniel in New York (No. 40); the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif. (No. 44); and Coi in San Francisco (No. 49).
Here’s the full list of winners:
1. Noma, Copenhagen 2. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain 3. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy 4. Eleven Madison Park, New York 5. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London 6. Mugaritz, San Sebastián, Spain 7. D.O.M., Sao Paulo, Brazil 8. Arzak, San Sebastián, Spain 9. Alinea, Chicago 10. The Ledbury, London 11. Mirazur, Menton, France 12. Vendôme, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany 13. Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand 14. Narisawa, Tokyo 15. Central, Lima, Peru 16. Steirereck, Vienna 17. Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand 18. Astrid y Gastón, Lima, Peru 19. Fäviken, Sweden 20. Pujol, Mexico City 21. Le Bernardin, New York 22. Vila Joya, Albufeira, Portugal 23. Frantzén/Lindeberg, Stockholm 24. Amber, Hong Kong 25. L’Arpege, Paris 26. Azurmendi, Vizcaya, Spain 27. Le Chateaubriand, Paris 28. Aqua, Wolfsburg, Germany 29. De Librije, Zwolle, Netherlands 30. Per Se, New York 31. L’Atelier Saint Germain, Paris 32. Attica, Melbourne, Australia 33. Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo 34. Asador Extebarri, Vizcaya, Spain 35. Martín Berasategui, Guipúzcoa, Spain 36. Mani, Sao Paulo, Brazil 37. Restaurant Andre, Singapore 38. L’Astrance, Paris 39. Piazza Duomo, Piemonte, Italy 40. Daniel, New York 41. Quique Dacosta, Alicante, Spain 42. Geranium, Copenhagen 43. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau, Switzerland 44. The French Laundry, Yountville, Calif. 45. Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium 46. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy 47. Fat Duck, Berkshire, England 48. The Test Kitchen, Cape Town, South Africa 49. Coi, San Francisco 50. Waku Ghin, Singapore
Jenn Harris is a columnist for the Food section and host of “The Bucket List” show. She has a BA in literary journalism from UC Irvine and an MA in journalism from USC. Follow her @Jenn_Harris_.
