World's 50 Best Restaurants - Revealed!
Restaurant Magazine yesterday (Monday 28 April) revealed. the 50 Best Restaurants in the World for 2003 at an exclusive ceremony held at the exclusive Mayfair eatery, Hush. The world's finest chefs and restaurateurs traveled from as far a field as California, Argentina, Barbados, Nairobi, Australia and Japan.
The awards themselves were presented on the night by the epitome of international sophistication, Mr Roger Moore CBE. The restaurant rankings were decided by an expert panel of international reviewers, restaurateurs and raconteurs. The specific categories were for the Five Best Restaurants in the World, as well as awards for "Best Newcomer', 'Most Improved' and "Outstanding Value'.
The winner of the coveted title "World's Best Restaurant' was The French Laundry, in California, a restaurant famed for recreating 'three-star' French cuisine amongst the vineyards of the Napa Valley. Ironically, the restaurant was a clear winner ahead of the traditional big names of Gallic cuisine, and even French daily Le Monde asked "Is it possible the best French Restaurant is not in France?"
Brits faired well again, with Ramsay's flagship London restaurant appearing at number five, the highest of the UK entrants. Other London successes included celeb haunt The Ivy, sushi restaurant Nobu and cult eatery St John, where it is possible to eat 'Roasted Bone Marrow' or even "Squirrel with Offal on Toast'.
Unsung hero's from outside London included Gidleigh Park, in newly fashionable Devon, and The Merchant House, famed for having only one chef and space for barely twenty diners, which picked up an Outstanding Value award for offering a world class menu at around 30 pounds a head.
Thom Hetherington, Marketing Director for Restaurant Magazine said, "French restaurants have historically had the market in top-end dining to themselves, but people's tastes are broader now due to food TV and foreign travel, so it seems that the more inventive or exotic restaurants have edged ahead of the traditionalists.
It's interesting to note that of the canapds offered at the event, the one that has attracted the most interest is a mini-Yorkshire pudding with a cube of rare roast beef and horseradish cream. It seems there are some things we Brits still do best. "
World's 50 Best Restaurants - Revealed!
The list in full...
1. French Laundry, CA, USA
2. El Bulli, Spain
3. Le Louis XV, Alain Ducasse, Monaco, France
4. Jean Georges, NY, USA
5. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London, UK
6. L'Arpége, Paris, France
7. Comme chez Soi, Brussels, Belgium
8. Rockpool, Sydney, Australia
9. L'Ambroisie, Paris, France
10. Gramercy Tavern, NY, USA
11. Michel Bras, Laguiole, France
12. Chez Panisse, CA, USA
13. Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France
14. The Merchant House, Ludlow, UK
15. Bocca, Tallinn, Estonia
16. Jiro, Tokyo, Japan
17. Felix, Hong Kong
18. L'Auberge de L'ill, France
19. Gidleigh Park, Devon, UK
20. Bukhara, New Delhi, India
21. Restaurant Bocuse, Collonges, France
22. De Karmeliet, Bruges, Belgium
23. Al Mahara, Dubai
24. Vincent Guerithault on Camelback, AZ, USA
25. Thornton's, Dublin, ROI
26. Nobu, London, UK
27. Operakalleren, Stockholm, Sweden
28. Eigensinn Farm, Ontario, Canada
29. Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons, Oxfordshire, UK
30. Restaurant Guy Savoy, Paris, France
31. The Ivy, London, UK
32. The Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye, UK
33. Pétrus, London, UK
34. Daniel, NY, USA
35. Dal Pescatore, Mantova, Italy
36. Bagatelle, Norway
37. Tetsuya's, Sydney, Australia
38. Quattro Passi, Marina del Cantoni, Italy
39. Charlie Trotter's, Chicago, USA
40. Restaurant Arzak, Spain
41. Flower Drum, Melbourne, Australia
42. The Cliff, Barbados
43. The Square, London, UK
44. Enotecca Pinchiorri, Florence, Italy
45. 1884, Argentina
46. Checchino dal 1887, Rome, Italy
47. River Cafe, London, UK
48. The New York Grill, Tokyo, Japan
49. St John, London, UK
50. Carnivore, NairobiBest Newcomer - LArpege, Paris, France
Most Improved - Michel Bras, Laguiole, France
Outstanding Value - The Merchant House, Ludlow, UK
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