The Runners-Up Of The World's 50 Best Restaurants Have Been Announced, And There Are Several Surprises
The World's 50 Best Restaurants — the coveted accolades that honor the most extraordinary culinary experiences around the world — has announced its runners-up list. This year, restaurants 51 through 100 have gone through a lot of changes: Estela in New York City dropped from an impressive 44 spot to No. 66 and Test Kitchen in Cape Town plummeted from 22 to 63, while New York's Cosme and Daniel have disappeared from the list completely, along with Michel Bras in Laguiole, France; DiverXO in Madrid; and Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée and L'Astrance in Paris. These restaurants could still appear on the Top 50 list, but for Daniel Boulud — whose flagship restaurant, Daniel, has suffered multipole critical blows in recent years — it does not seem likely.
Another welcome addition to the list is Dominique Crenn's Atelier Crenn. Crenn had been previously named the Best Female Chef in the World — a controversial award which critics claim should not even have to exist. Crenn made her debut on the list at No. 83, quite a bit lower than expected. Last year, the World's 50 Best Restaurants list only included two female chefs. Crenn joins Ana Roš of Slovenia's Hiša Franko and chef Helena Rizzo of São Paulo's Maní as the only three women in the bottom half of the World's 100 Best Restaurants list.
Per Se has perhaps seen the most egregious fall from grace. In 2013 Thomas Keller's New York restaurant received a coveted top 10 spot, while this year it stands at No. 87. Of course, being placed anywhere on the list of the World's 100 Best Restaurants is nothing to sneeze at, but Per Se's fall reflects the multiple negative "What happened?" reviews the restaurant has received from notable publications.
A notable newcomer to the list is Disfrutar in Barcelona, which is run by a few familiar names: elBulli's Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, and Mateu Casañas, who together also own Compartir in Cadaqués.