The World's Top 50 Restaurants
By: Leah Rodrigues
Published: May 1, 2011

Since 2002, San Pellegrino compiles a list of the best 50 restaurants in the world.  This year Copenhagen's star restaurant, NOMA, hits top of the list for the second year in a row.  France dominates the list with 8 entries overall while Spain leads the top 10 with 4 entries.  However, there is one key player missing, Ferran Adrià's famed El Bulli.  It was decided among panelists that El Bulli should be excluded this year since he announced in January that the restaurant would be closing in July to open a culinary foundation.

*Executive Chef Rene Redzepi of Noma
There have been other significant movements on the list such as Thomas Keller's restaurant French Laundry which moved from #32 to #56 and Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck who moved from the #3 spot to #5.  Furthermore, there were some appearances from countries who had previously not made the list such as Amber from China at #37, Astrid Y Gaston from Peru at #42 and Russia's Varvary at #48.  One might wonder if this list has any power and the answer is yes.  If your restaurant's name appears on this list, especially in the top 10 spots, it is almost a guarantee that there will be a significant increase in business.  Noma went from having open seating to 10,000 requests for reservations after it's announcement of winning the number one spot.  Just goes to show that even in financial crisis, people will go to great lengths to eat the world's finest food.
Photo By:Phaidon Press