Three Spanish eateries among ‘Restaurant’ magazine’s global top 10

Osteria Francescana, from Italian chef Massimo Botura, only held onto the number-one spot for a year, and in the 2017 ranking dropped down to the second spot, albeit taking the honor of Best European Restaurant.

This year’s number-three eatery, down from number two, is El Celler de Can Roca, an avant-garde restaurant located in Girona, Spain. The Catalan establishment, which also took the prize for the Art of Hospitality at the magazine’s award ceremony, has disciples all over the world, and is still, for many, the leader in contemporary culinary creativity.

This year’s number-three eatery, down from number two, is El Celler de Can Roca, an avant-garde restaurant located in Girona, Spain

Also in the privileged top-10 group of the Best Restaurants, is the Basque magic of chef Bittor Arginzoniz, whose Etxebarri has risen to number six. And as was expected, Central, a Peruvian restaurant run by Virgilio Martínez, is now in the fifth slot. Martínez was also awarded the Chef’s Choice prize by his colleagues in the industry.

Chefs from Latin America are gradually making their presence felt on the culinary scene, and while there are some names who have slipped down the list, there are some significant climbers too, such as Enrique Olvera from Mexico, whose Pujol restaurant in Mexico City is this year number 20 on the list, and whose New York establishment Cosme appears at number 40.

Another Latino chef of note is Rodolfo Guzmán, whose Boragó celebrates the biodiversity of his home country, Chile, and whose style owes something to Mugaritz, the restaurant in Spain’s Basque Country where he once worked.

With six restaurants in the top 50, and four in the 51-100 category, Spain remains among the leading countries in terms of world cuisine, equaling the achievements of French and US restaurants on the list. The Spanish eateries include Disfrutar (55), which is headed up by three ex-kitchen bosses from the iconic, but now closed, elBulli of Ferran Adrià, and has been singled out as the restaurant with the greatest potential in 2017. Also of note is Albert Adrià’s Tickets, an experimental restaurant that has risen from 29 to 25 on the list.

And among those who have disappointingly dropped in the ranking are Mugaritz, from seven to nine, Arzak, from 21 to 20, Azurmendi, from 16 to 38, and Quique Dacosta, from 49 to 62. The Basque establishments Nerua and Martin Berasategui are in 56th and 77th spots, respectively.

English version by Simon Hunter.