Herewith the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants 2008 by www.theworlds50best.com, reckoned to be the 50 best places on earth to eat.. enjoy !
1. El Bulli, Spain
This is the third consecutive year that Farron Adria, chef at El Bulli on the Costa Brava in Spain, has topped the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. Offering diners a unique taste experience, Adria was one of the first to delve into the world of molecular gastronomy. His most famous protegée was Heston Blumenthal.
Paul Wootton, editor of Restaurant magazine, said that Adria "offers such an extraordinary eating experience in his restaurant and what is also important - the service and the setting are top notch. Heston Blumenthal is very close to him however and it will interesting to see if he topples his mentor next year."
2. The Fat Duck, UK
Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck in Berkshire is said to be snapping at the heels of his mentor, Farron Adria of El Bulli, as it has been revealed that there were very few points between the two modern restaurants. The judges' scores are a very closely guarded secret, however, so we will have to wait til next year to see if Blumenthal manages to close the margin.
3. Pierre Gagnaire, France
At number 6, rue Balzac in Paris, Pierre Gagnaire is reported to run his kitchen with an iron fist. Gagnaire was an influential figure of the "fusion" movement, mixing modern and classic French styles to create the Modern French cuisine serves up today. The ingredients on the menu are said to vary from day to day, depending on what takes the Head Chef's fancy.
Gagnaire says, "I want my restaurant to be a place that feels open, meaning dynamic, living in the present, looking to the future but respectful of the past, and never losing sight of its objective: to give pleasure through its cuisine, a generous and lively cuisine which takes risks and, as my critics say, occasionally goes overboard. I trust that these people will forgive my over-enthusiasm!"
4. Mugaritz, Spain
Set in a rural setting in the hills behind San Sebastian in Spain, the terraces of the restaurant look over field and pasture. The owner and head chef, Andoni Luis Aduriz is gaining in notoriety for superb and innovative cuisine. A former student of Farron Adria of El Bulli, Aduriz works along the same lines of experimental cooking, but uses fresh local produce, with much of the vegetables grown on-site in the organic vegetable and herb garden.
Some of the delights to be found at Mugaritz are the "iced vegetables" which look like frozen peas but are actually concocted from herbs and other vegetables; also the clay-cooked potatoes that come out like waxy, blue orbs.
5. The French Laundry, USA
The French Laundry is set in the heart of the Napa Valley in California and is owned by Thomas Keller. Keller worked his way from the bottom of the barrel in New York restaurants to honing his talent at the 3-star Taillevent restaurant in France. By keeping portions small, Keller allows his diners to taste many different dishes and most customers opt for the 9 course menu, which also comes in the vegetarian variety.
Keller's signature dishes include "tongue in cheek" - braised lamb's tongue with tender beef cheeks – and "macaroni and cheese" - butter-poached lobster in a lobster broth, with orzo pasta and mascarpone cheese.
6. Per Se, USA
This is Thomas Keller's second venture into haute-cuisine, which received great fanfare at its time of opening in 2004. Using the same format as The French Laundry in California, this central New York based restaurant treats diners to a 9-course menu with a "tasting of vegetables" option for vegetarians.
Here one of the favourite dishes is Coffee and Doughnuts, a gourmet take on the New Yorkers' favourite. Miniature cinnamon and sugar doughnuts are served with a demitasse of cappucino.
7. Bras, France
Michel Bras is the owner of the idyllic Bras restaurant in the French countryside of Laguiole. Situated on a hilltop of Aubrac in south-west France, the restaurant has been described as a modern assult on a landscape that it attempts to "blend" in with, however, with three walls of the dining room comprised of floor-to-ceiling glass, customers are afforded the views of a lifetime. Bras' respect of the area and its customs are evident in his cooking, which makes the best of the region's specialities, and information on the history of Aubrac can be found scattered around the dining room.
The food is simply cooked, focussing on traditional French styles and the specialities of the area such as delicious foie gras and cheeses. Many of the courses are purely vegetables, with one extra special dish called 'gargouillou' which is a symphony of 40 different vegetables, flowers, herbs and seeds.
8. Arzak, Spain
Arzak is situated in San Sebastian in the Andorra region of Spain. The history of the restaurant is linked to one family, whose love for cooking has endured since 1897, when a tavern was opened on the site by José Maria Arzak Extabe and his wife. Their children were the first to make it into a gourmet restaurant, and today it is Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena who run the famous restaurant.
Arzak's desire to reinvent the traditional cuisine of the Basque region put him on a journey of discovery in the 1970's. Lots of seafood features on Arzak's menu, with interesting twists such as cocoa and coffee being used in sauces. Arzak has passed this passion for cooking onto his daughter Elena, who is a world-class chef, having trained at some of the world's top-class restaurants.
9. Tetsuya's, Australia
Without doubt, Tetsuya Wakuda is an Australian success story. Having arrived in Sydney at 22 years old, with only a little English and a big passion for food, Tetsuya set about honing his talent, first as a sushi chef and learning the mastery of French cuisine. Within 18 months, Tetsuya had opened his first restaurant, but the Tetsuya's that the world knows and loves today was opened in 2000.
Combining his Japanese heritage with French flair, Tetsuya has created a fresh, exciting 15 course tasting menu which includes Japanese style seafood dishes with French sauces and amuse gueules.
10. Noma, Denmark
Noma is one of the most exciting restaurants to have cropped up in northern Europe in recent times and is currently impressing the Danish gourmands to no end. Noma's head chef and owner, Rene Redzepi, opened his restaurant in the picturesque Christianhavn, a man-made island home to colourful houses and many riverboats. Noma's cuisine focusses on top quality native Scandinavian ingredients, sourcing from Denmark, Sweden and Greenland.
The interior creates a warm atmosphere using candlelight, animal hides and wooden floorboards. The food is equally warming, but also experimental. Starters include crisps of potato, fish skin and roasted chicken. Main dishes use the excellent seafood stocks coming out of the north sea, as well as beef dishes such as steak tartare with tarragon and wood sorrel. Homemade muesli with sheep's milk yoghurt sorbet finish off a hearty, Nordic dining experience.
Restaurants 11th to 50th below;
11 L'Astrance, France
12 Gambero Rosso, Italy
13 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, UK
14 L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, France
15 Le Louis XV, Monaco
16 St John, UK
17 Jean Georges, USA
18 Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, France
19 Hakkasan, UK
20 Le Bernardin, USA
21 Alinea, USA
22 Le Gavroche, England
23 Dal Pescatore, Italy
24 Le Cinq, France
25 Troisgros, France
26 El Celler de Can Roca, Spain
27 Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville, Switzerland
28 Hof Van Cleve, Belgium
29 Martín Berasategui, Spain
30 Nobu London, England
31 Can Fabes, Spain
32 Enoteca Pinchiorri, Italy
33 Le Meurice, France
34 Vendôme, Germany
35 Die Schwarzwaldstube, Germany
36 Le Calandre, Italy
37 Chez Panisse, USA
38 Charlie Trotter's, USA
39 Chez Dominique, Finland
40 DOM, Brazil
41 Daniel, USA
42 Oud Sluis, Netherlands
43 Cracco Peck, Italy
44 Asador Etxebarri, Spain
45 Les Ambassadeurs, France
46 L'Arpège, France
47 Tantris, Germany
48 Oaxen Skärgärdskrog, Sweden
49 Rockpool (Fish), Australia
50 Le Quartier Français, South Africa
Worlds Best 2007