The world’s ten best restaurants

Mirazur’s owner and head chef Mauro Colagreco (right)

A French restaurant has claimed the top spot in the
annual World’s 50 Best
Restaurants awards for the first time in the
event’s 18-year history.

Three-Michelin-starred Mirazur, run by Argentinian chef
Mauro Colagreco in the French Riviera town of Menton, was crowned
the winner at a ceremony in Singapore on
Tuesday, The Independent reports.

The BBC
reports that Mirazur was praised by the panel of expert judges for
dishes “including salt-crusted beetroot from its own garden with
caviar cream”, while the Independent includes reference to “eggs
from the chicken coop with smoked eel and hazelnuts and a brioche
of potatoes with melting egg and white truffle”.

Last year the restaurant placed third in the rankings, and its
climb to first place saw it replace Italy’s Osteria Francescana in
top spot.

Colagreco said he felt like he “was in the sky” after hearing
the news, which “showed the world when you have a dream all is
possible”.

This year’s judging panel pushed for more diversity, “both
from an outside perspective and from inside the previously
male-dominated European awards”, says the Independent.

The result is a top 50 list that features restaurants from 26
countries, with Italy, Japan, China, Thailand and Russia each
getting two restaurants on the list, while Leo became the first
Colombian restaurant awarded a spot.

But this shift also saw the UK suffer a sharp decline in
representation, with only two restaurants making the cut – The
Clove Club in 27th and Lyle’s in 33rd. Both restaurants are in the
London district of Shoreditch and are run by two chefs who used to
work together.

Adam Coghlan, the editor of Eater London, told The Guardian: “For me, it doesn’t say much
about how good London restaurants are.”

Described by some experts as the restaurant world’s answer to
the Academy Awards, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is one of
the most prestigious rankings in the gastronomy industry. The BBC
says that the awards “now rival the famous Michelin stars, although
some experts question the methodology”.

Here is the top ten:

1. Mirazur – Menton, France
2. Noma – Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Asador Etxebarri – Axpe, Spain
4. Gaggan – Bangkok, Thailand
5. Geranium – Copenhagen, Denmark
6. Central – Lima, Peru
7. Mugaritz – San Sebastian, Spain
8. Arpege – Paris, France
9. Disfrutar – Barcelona, Spain
10. Maido – Lima, Peru