Heston Blumenthal's Dinner has been named ninth best restaurant in the world in Restaurant Magazine's annual listing.
The celebrated British chef also has the distinction of being the only restaurateur to have two establishments in the top 15 of the magazine’s 50 Best Restaurants – making him effectively the best chef in the world, according to some commentators.
While Blumenthal’s long-established Fat Duck in Bray slipped to 13th place, his new London restaurant Dinner – which already has one Michelin star – came in at number nine.
The rankings were announced in London last night. The survey, now in its tenth year, is based on the opinions of 800 international food experts.
Number one, for the third year running, is René Redzepi’s Noma in Copenhagen, which focusses on foraged, local and seasonal produce.
Second is El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, northeast Spain – a neighbour to El Bulli just up the coast, five-times winner of the World’s Best award until its closure last year.
Can Roca was followed at number three by Mugaritz in San Sebastian, with Arzak, also in San Sebastian, at number eight. Arzak’s joint head chef Elena Arzak was also awarded the Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef.
While there are six French and five Spanish restaurants on the list, there are only three British: Blumenthal’s two, and The Ledbury in London’s Notting Hill at 14, from 34 last year, whose chef Brett Graham is Australian.
Claude Bosi’s Hibiscus and Fergus Henderson’s St John have both dropped off the list.
After Blumenthal, the next most successful chef is the celebrated American Thomas Keller, whose restaurants Per Se in New York and long-established The French Laundry in Yountville, Napa, are at number six and number 43.
Other restaurants in the top ten are DOM in Sao Paolo, Brazil at number four, Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy at five, Alinea in Chicago at seven and Eleven Madison Park in New York at 10.
Written by Adam Lechmere
