The annual 50 Best Restaurant Awards list has this week been unveiled with a somewhat expected name topping the list. Having taken the runner's up spot already last year, and each year's winner being ineligible for the award having been victorious, Barcelona's Disfrutar continued to impress over the past 12 months and took top spot in the rankings.
Chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas originally met at El Bulli before going on to open Disfrutar in 2014, celebrating their 10th anniversary this year in style. The restaurant boasts a unique menu for visitors - those that manage to get a table that is. Two 30-course menus are available: The Classic and The Festival. Discover the restaurant in more detail on its website, here.
Spain featured highly in this year's list with three of the top four venues from the country, including second placed Asador Etxebarri from the Basque Country where every dish on chef Victor Arguinzoniz is prepared on the grill, and Diverxo in Madrid taking fourth spot, which offers an artistic environment from the moment you enter the restaurant.
London, and the wider UK, only featured twice in total, with Mexican chef Santiago Lastra's Kol placing 17th and Ikoyi, the two Michelin-starred restaurant from Jeremy Chan and Iré Hassan-Odukale, in 42nd spot.
Paris featured highly with four venues making the top 50 - Arpège in 45th, Pléniture in 18th, Septime in 11th and Table by Bruno Verjus in 3rd.
The top 20 is as follows:
1. Disfrutar, Barcelona
2. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo
3. Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris
4. Diverxo, Madrid
5. Maido, Lima
6. Atomix, New York
7. Quintonil, Mexico City
8. Alchemist, Copenhagen
9. Gaggan, Bangkok
10. Don Julio, Buenos Aires
11. Septime, Paris
12. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera
13. Trèsind Studio, Dubai
14. Quique Dacosta, Dénia
15. Sézanne, Tokyo
16. Kjolle, Lima
17. Kol, London
18. Plénitude, Paris
19. Reale, Castel di Sangro
20. Wing, Hong Kong
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We hosted Ikoyi founders Jeremy Chan and Iré Hassan-Odukale at our 2018 Culinary Congress when they were near the beginning of their journey with the now highly acclaimed restaurant in London, where they shared how they are using the ingredients and techniques of West African food to create something a little more high-end than other African restaurants in London. We've been proud to follow their journey closely since.
Image - tortilla with the famed Mole Madre (super complex, aged mole sauce) from restaurant Pujol, which placed 33rd in this year's list.