William Reed Media’s 50 Best Restaurants in the World 2021

An annual list of the world’s 50 best restaurants is back – and for the first time, a city topped the top two spots.

Two restaurants in Copenhagen, Denmark – Noma and Geranium – ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively at the “50 Best Restaurants in the World” award ceremony held in Antwerp, Belgium on Tuesday. .

This is the fifth time Noma has topped the list since 2010.

Since the list was created in 2002, restaurants in Europe – and sometimes America – have produced the best restaurant in the world. This year, this streak remains intact.

The annual ranking, organized by UK-based William Reed Media, was not released last year due to the pandemic.

Directed by chef René Redzepi, Noma is known for its “new Nordic cuisine” which relies on forage and fermented foods.

Redzepi produces three menus each year – there’s the ocean season, the vegetable season, and the game and forest season – the latter of which is currently served for 2,800 Danish kroner ($ 436) per person. Food and wine pairing costs an additional $ 280 and each menu consists of approximately 20 courses.

The menus within each “season” change, and no two restaurant experiences are the same.

“In 2010, when we stood at this point and the speaker’s words said Noma was # 1, it was really a shock to my system – to everyone’s system – and definitely a shock to our reservation system … our website crashed several times, “Redzepi said at the awards ceremony yesterday.” Suddenly everyone was asking, ‘What’s going on at the Denmark? ‘”

After the same restaurants dominated the charts for more than a decade, the 50 Best organization announced in 2019 that the No.1 winners could not be elected to lists for subsequent years. Noma closed in 2016 and reopened in a new location in 2018, allowing it to compete again.

Previous # 1 winners are called “The Best of the Best”. Noma will soon join the seven restaurants on this list, including El Bulli in Spain, The Fat Duck in the UK and The French Laundry in the US, as well as “Noma (original location)” as it is written on the listing.

The full list is:

1. Noma (Copenhagen, Denmark)

2. Geranium (Copenhagen, Denmark)

3. Asador Etxebarri (Atxondo, Spain)

4. Central (Lima, Peru)

5. Enjoy (Barcelona, ​​Spain)

6. Frantzen (Stockholm, Sweden)

7. Maido (Lima, Peru)

8. Odette (Singapore)

9. Pujol (Mexico City, Mexico)

10. The President (Hong Kong, China)

11. Den (Tokyo, Japan)

12. Steirereck (Vienna, Austria)

13. Don Julio (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

14. Mugaritz (San Sebastian, Spain)

15. Lido 84 (Gardone Riviera, Italy)

16. Elkano (Getaria, Spain)

17. La Casa do Porco (Sao Paulo, Brazil)

18. Piazza Duomo (Alba, Italy)

19. Narisawa (Tokyo, Japan)

20. Divergence (Madrid, Spain)

21. Franko Stocks (Kobarid, Slovenia)

22. Cosme (New York, United States)

23. Arpège (Paris, France)

24. Septime (Paris, France)

25. White Rabbit (Moscow, Russia)

26. The Calandre (Rubano, Italy)

27. Quintonil (Mexico City, Mexico)

28. Benu (San Francisco, United States)

29. Reale (Castel di Sangro, Italy)

30. Twins Garden (Moscow, Russia)

31. Restaurant Tim Raue (Berlin, Germany)

32. The Clove Club (London, United Kingdom)

33. Lyle’s (London, United Kingdom)

34. Burnt Ends (Singapore)

35. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairt (Shanghai, China)

36. Hof Van Cleve (Kruishoutem, Belgium)

37. SingleThread (Healdsburg, CA, USA)

38. Borago (Santiago, Chile)

39. Anthology (Tokyo, Japan)

40. Suhring (Bangkok, Thailand)

41. Alleno Paris at Pavillion Ledoyen (Paris, France)

42. Belcanto (Lisbon, Portugal)

43. Atomix (New York, United States)

44. Le Bernardin (New York, United States)

45. Nobelhart & Schmutzig (Berlin, Germany)

46. ​​Léo (Bogotá, Colombia)

47. Maaemo (Oslo, Norway)

48. Atelier Crenn (San Francisco, United States)

49. Azurmendi (Larrabetzu, Spain)

50. Wolfgat (Paternoster, South Africa)

Europe topped this year’s list, with more than half of the ranked restaurants located there. Asia won eight places, Singaporean Odette (No.8) being awarded the best position on the continent.

Eight restaurants in North America were selected, the Mexican Pujol being named “Best restaurant in North America”. South America took six spots, with two – Central and Maido, both in Peru – named in the prestigious Top 10 list.

Africa moved closer to the list, with South African Wolfgat taking 50th place.

Spain left the awards with six restaurants etched on the list – the most of any country. More than half are located in the Basque Country, an autonomous region and a renowned culinary power near the French border.

This is how voting works, according to the 50 Best website.

The institutions are chosen by some 1,040 industry insiders called the “academy”. They are food writers, critics, chefs and restaurateurs from 26 geographic regions around the world. At least 25% of academy members in each region change each year.

Each member chooses 10 restaurants. There are no set requirements and restaurants are chosen at the discretion of members, said William Drew, content director for the 50 Best Restaurants in the World.

“For one person, food can be everything; for another, the wine list or the atmosphere can play a bigger role,” he told CNBC. “There are no defined criteria – we don’t think there is, or should be, any type of restaurant that makes it into the Top 50 lists.”

Academy members must vote for at least four restaurants outside their region. To account for the restricted travel and dining options caused by the global pandemic, the 2021 list consisted of votes cast in January 2020 – which were never released – as well as updated regional picks, Drew said.

Despite its name, the 50 Best organization released the list of restaurants ranked 51 to 100 last month. The organization released its first expanded list in June – for its list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars – to recognize more deserving establishments, Mark Sansom, the list’s content editor, told CNBC.

The academy also announced individual awards this week.

Peruvian chef Pia Leon won the award for the best female chef in the world for her work at Restaurant Central de Lima – ranked No.4 – as well as for her first solo business, the nature-inspired restaurant Kjolle, also in Lima, in Peru.

Italy’s Lido 84 – which debuted at No.15 – received the highest new entry award, which is given to the restaurant that ranks highest among all of the new entrants on the list.

The 50 Best organization publishes several Top 50 lists to recognize excellence in the food industry, including the world’s best bars and regional lists such as Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and America’s 50 Best Restaurants Latin.