Elite Traveler, a magazine targeted towards the jet setting, “wealthy elite” has published its ranking of the top 20 restaurants in the world.
The recently launched issue of Elite Traveler’s World’s Top Restaurants magazine gave Alinea the top nod, calling it the best restaurant in the world for its “hypermodern, emotional approach to dining.”
British chef Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, in Bray came in second for “pushing the boundaries of British gastronomy” and providing a dining experience that excites the senses and reinvents traditional British classics.
And Thomas Keller’s New York restaurant Per Se made third place for offering “understated luxury,” while his flagship eatery The French Laundry in Yountville, California, was ranked 14th. Keller is the only chef to have two restaurants in the list.
Elite Traveler’s selection provides an interesting contrast to other international rankings like Restaurant magazine’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
While chef René Redzepi’s Copenhagen eatery Noma, for instance, has topped that ranking for two years running, it’s conspicuously absent from Elite Traveler.
In addition to critics from the magazine, restaurants were also chosen by magazine readers, a market described as the wealthy, jet-setting crowd.
Top 20 restaurants in the world
1 Alinea – Chicago, USA
2 The Fat Duck – Bray, UK
3 Per Se – New York, USA
4 Pierre Gagnaire – Paris, France
5 Daniel – New York, USA
6 Le Bernardin – New York, USA
7 El Celler de Can Roca – Girona, Spain
8 Louis XV Alain Ducasse – Monaco
9 Mugaritz – Errenteria, Spain
10 Hof Van Cleve – Kruishoutem, Belgium
11 Alain Ducasse Au Plaza Athenee – Paris, France
12 Jean Georges – New York, USA
13 Matsuhisa Restaurant – Los Angeles, USA
14 The French Laundry- Yountville, USA
15 Al Sorriso – Soriso, Italy
16 The Ledbury – London, UK
17 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay – London, UK
18 L’Hotel de Ville – Philippe Rochat- Crissier, Switzerland
19 La Colombe – Cape Town, South Africa
20 L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges – Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or, France