Surprises In Ranking For Daniel, Jean-Georges, And David Chang As Second Half Of World's 100 Best Restaurants Announced

S. Pellegrino's list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants is arguably the most prominent international culinary ranking, and also possibly the most controversial. Although the 2015 list has not yet been released, this year, for the first time ever, Pellegrino has published its list of "runner-up" restaurants, those ranked from 51 to 100, before revealing the top 50."Runner-up" may be too strong a word, because to be considered one of the 100 top restaurants in the world, in whatever position, is prestigious enough.

The most notable presence in the lower 50 is that of Daniel Boulud, whose eponymous Daniel has slipped from No. 40 on last year's list to 80 this year. (Daniel also lost its three-star Michelin rating in October.) In addition, Momofuku Ssam Bar, Marea, and Jean-Georges, all of which were in the 51 to 100 category last year, have disappeared from this portion of the list — though that might be because they made it into the top 50, which will be announced next week.

The change in Daniel's rating isn't the only reason why this year's list is looking a lot different than last year's. Other notable changes in position include California's Manresa, which dropped from No. 60 to No. 100 this year; Coi in San Francisco, which dropped out of the top 50 to No. 75; and U.K. favorite Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck, which was also left out of the top 50 and placed at No. 73. San Francisco's Saison jumped ahead 13 spots to No. 56, and New York's The NoMad Restaurant stayed relatively constant at No. 67 (up one from No. 68).