San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2010

[Food Snob]

The awards ceremony takes place in a couple weeks in London.

What are people's expectations?

[sunbeam]

A) that there will be some food served this time, real food not chocolates etc

B)that it wont be so drawn out and tedious

C) that el bulli wont win again because it means another stultifying speech from the chief bully and I don't think anyone can take that for the (4th?) year running

D) that fat duck isn't second again because that's also very boring and repetitive

E) That judith's boy, if he must compere again, gets a proper script

It's about time the bully and duck took honorary positions and 'retired' from the competition. Right now it's like the same film winning the oscars year in, year out. How silly would that be? I for one am debating whether it's even worth attending this year. It used to be a fun evening, now it's an endurance test for mind and bum.

S

[Food Snob]

I understand your point, but I don't know whether it would be fair to make el Bulli and FD 'retire'. If they deserve to be first, etc, then they should be no matter how many times they've been first before.

Looking at it in another context, Michael Schumacher won how many World Championships? It wouldn't have been right to force him to stop racing just because he had won too many races...

I think Fat Duck will drop down. Noma ought to go up.

There will probably be more Japanese and maybe Australian restaurants in there too.

[eatenmess]

ive got to agree, you cant just take out restaurants because they are always in the same place and it would be nice to give the top spot to someone else.

i still think el Bulli will be top. who, if anyone, do you think will break into the big 2? noma sky rocketed last year maybe they'll pop in between them this time. be nice for a change.

[sunbeam]

As long as judges remain in love with that style of cuisine then its two best exponents will continue to come first and second. It's as predictable as an English 'summer'.

Age forces a sportsman to retire a lot earlier than a chef. I'm not asking these chefs to stop cooking, just to stop entering!

Imagine if all the old Oscar winning films had to slug it out with each year's new films and, say, Citizen Kane won every year? It might be well deserved, but by christ it would be tedious.

On the plus side, at least Orson wouldn't be making any boring speeches. Unless we had to sit through a prerecorded same one each time, which wouldn't be much different to what we seem to get with Ferran anyway.

At the end of the day the whole concept of a 'best restaurant in world' is fundamentally flawed, it's like comparing oranges and apples to see which is best.

It's a bit of fun and fluff, or at least it used to be.

s

[eatenmess]

a film comes out once, a restaurant is open every year. its a totally different world, u cant compare them. it may be slightly boring that that the top 2 are very predictable but at some point it will change, its just the same as the premiership or cricket pre the rest the world getting good.

[Food Snob]

Well, it's clearly possible to find analogies to make each of our points....

How does one decide which restaurants the jury can vote on then?

There is already the condition that one must have eaten there in the last 18(?) months...which means, whatever happens, in a couple of years el Bulli will perhaps no longer even be in the running.

'At the end of the day the whole concept of a 'best restaurant in world' is fundamentally flawed, it's like comparing oranges and apples to see which is best'

Of course, but it's still interesting to read...

[roosterchef21]

It's just a boring list from the critics who are trying to beat the Michelin Guide. Chef's care about three Michelin stars not making a list of questionable values. Half of it, to me, is just ego's and marketing. I tend to think that it's for making a quick buck. Any list with a Nobu in the top 50, ADPA not even in the top 50 and Tetsuya's ahead of Quay... Please.

[Polarbear]

Word on the street is Noma number 1

[PhilD]

Word on the street is Noma number 1

If the voting system is the same this year then that is a good bet. It is likely that most critics etc headed there this year and it is less likely they would have returned to El Bulli/Fat Duck for yet another meal (or ADPA for that matter).

[Food Snob]

I hardly tend to agree with the rankings (maybe one of my top five restaurants anywhere is even in the top50), but I still think it's difficult to deny that the list has use.

It is decided by people within the industry after all and is some sort of indicator of what's popular - what's hott.

I also think it does matter to many restaurateurs; perhaps not the majority of three stars, but to 'smaller' ones and those places outside the established foodie centres…

Ps. @polarbear would love to see that.

[olicollett]

Didn't realise this was coming up so soon! was looking at booking Noma for a weekend trip this summer so i better get on to it before this comes out!

[FDE]

Live at Guildhall now. I think there is another restaurant from Japan got into this year's Best50.

According to the website, you can follow it live on Twitter.

[FDE]

I think it is RyuGin, a restaurant from Japan

[LPShanet]

Having followed the list for a number of years, I get the distinct impression that there is a notable time lag between what's on the list and what is actually happening at the restaurants in question. It would seem that restaurants tend to retain their spots on the list for a while after they've begun to decline, and newly acclaimed places take a similarly long time to start ascending. For example, Rockpool in Sydney made the list a couple of years ago, and was on the rise in the rankings even though it had long closed (and re-opened with a different name, a new concept and vastly inferior cooking and service) before the list was published. It was not a matter of having closed in the intervening time; it had been closed for ages. This also helps explain why places past their prime and relevancy (e.g. Nobu) stay on the list, and why places that are universally praised (e.g. Mugaritz, Alinea) took so long to make it to a prominent spot on the list.

For that reason, I wouldn't be surprised to see El Bulli continue in a high position in the near future (not to mention that, as anyone who has actually been can attest, it totally deserves the praise). Still, if they close after next season, as claimed, then it won't matter, will it.

[FDE]

2010 list 50-25...

50. Eleven Madison Park

49. Hibiscus.

48. RyuGin

47. Die Schwarzwaldstube

46. Biko

45. WD50

44. Troisgros

43. St. John

42. Oaxen Krog

41. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee

40. Il Canto

39. Jaan par Andre

38. Tetsuya's

37. De Librije

36. Dal Pescatore

35. Combal Zero

34. Aqua

33. M. Berasategui

32. French Laundry

31. Le Quartier Francais

30. Schloss Schauenstein

29. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

28. Iggy's

27. Quay

26. Momofuku Ssam Bar

25. M. Dahlgren

[FDE]

The World's 50 Best 2010 (11-24)

24. Les Creation de Narisawa

23. Chez Dominique

22. Vendome

21. Steirereek

20. Le Calandre

19. Oud Sluis

18. D.O.M.

17. Hof van Cleve

16. L'Astrance

15. Le Bernardin

14. L'Hotel de Ville

13. Pierre Gagnaire

12. La Colombe

11. Le Chateaubriand

[FDE]

The World's 50 Best 2010 (1-10)

10. Per Se

9. Arzak

8. Daniel

7. Alinea

6. Osteria Francescana

5. Mugaritz

4. Can Roca

3. Fat Duck

2. El Bulli

1. Noma

[PhilD]

For example, Rockpool in Sydney made the list a couple of years ago, and was on the rise in the rankings even though it had long closed (and re-opened with a different name, a new concept and vastly inferior cooking and service) before the list was published. It was not a matter of having closed in the intervening time; it had been closed for ages.

Rockpool isn't/wasn't closed. It is still operating at its original site and whilst the menu format has changed over the years it has remained a high quality restaurant - ALC, degustation etc. Neil Perry opened an Oyster Bar at the front for a period, but that is now the chefs table, they focussed on fish for a period but it is now a mixed menu again. He has opened a separate restaurant"Rockpool Bar & Grill" in another location in Sydney a year or so ago which is basically a steakhouse (with 80 day dry aged beef!).

[FDE]

Here is the official list released

http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners

[olicollett]

Noooooo! I tried booking Noma last night but it was closed for the date I wanted, the next weekend that will be available is my birthday weekend which would be perfect, but I imagine it's going to be near on impossible to get a table now! I'll be gutted if I don't get one especially after missing out on the FD last year. Fingers crossed I guess.

Anyway, back to the list.. The French Laundry and Tetsuyas have big drops - have things really changed that much?

[FDE]

I went to French Laundry at the end of 2008, the quality compared to 2006 was lower... still surprise how much it is dropped on the list

[ajnicholls]

It's been nearly impossible to get a dinner table at noma for over a year!

[torres]

The 'Worlds 50 Best Restaurants' is a load of dribble to say the least. Granted Noma is an exceptional restaurant and one of the best meals I have eaten, is actually better than Can Roca, Fat Duck, El Bulli, Mugaritz, Per Se?? Are we saying St John is the second best restaurant in Britain to dine at? There should few more British restaurants in the top 50. When was the last time Mr Jay Rayner dinned out of London???

Edited April 27, 2010 by torres (log)

[FDE]

Having followed the list for a number of years, I get the distinct impression that there is a notable time lag between what's on the list and what is actually happening at the restaurants in question.

There is always a delay in any ratings. It took Michelin 15yrs to give St.John a star. (Well, it was more a change of Michelin standard rather than a lag in the St.John case.) But many of their 3* are outdated.

Click HERE for a few photos in you are interested.