Worlds Best Restaurant

Our newly crowed Lifetime Achievement Winner, Joël Robuchon has more restaurants in our 1-100 list than anyone else. The L'Atelier  format, meaning "workshop", is a result of his extensive travels in Japan and Spain and a desire to get diners closer to the kitchen. It is no exaggeration to say Joël Robuchon has revolutionised the fine dining scene with the L'Atelier format. According to ES Magazine, "as a food worshipper, you haven't really entered culinary heaven until you've been to a Joël Robuchon restaurant."5-7 rue de Montalembert, 75007 Paris, France+33 (0)1 4222 5656http://www.joel-robuchon.com/...

Tetsuya moved to Sydney aged just 22, and under Tony Bilson he learnt the skills in just 18 months that enabled him to open his own restaurant. Today Tetsuya's speciality is fish and his menu has an abundance of Pacific Ocean gems in it's 13 course degustation menu. Signature dishes include a confit of Petuna Ocean Trout with Konbu, Daikon and Fennel. Tetsuya's is the best restaurant in Australia, a worthy title in a country with such a burgeoning restaurant scene. 529 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia+61 2 9267 2900 http://www.tetsuyas.com/...

Philippe Rochat pays strict adherence to seasonality, peerless ingredients and a conviction that three flavours on a plate are enough. That however barely begins to describe the exquisite reality and painterly presentation of Philippe Rachats' contemporary French dishes. If you crave the finest Perigord truffles, Normandy Scallops or Sicilian tomatoes, this is the place for you. L'Hôtel de Ville, Rue d'Yverdon 1, 1023 Crissier (VD), Switzerland+41 21 634 0505http://www.philippe-rochat.ch/...

American GQ recently described Le Bernadin as "the most influential seafood restaurant in America" and that's testament to Chef Eric Ripert's unflinching attitude to quality. With influences from Japan, Korea, Italy, Spain and the US, Ripert combines this with a mind boggling selection of seafood from around the world. From Scottish salmon to Black bass - but you'll never find an endangered species, Rippert is immovable on his policy of never using them.155 West 51st Street, The Equitable Building, New York City, NY 10019, USA++1 212 554 1515http://www.le-bernardin.com/...

St John has become a temple to British cooking, and has played a monumental part in it's direction in the last 15 years. St John is also a regular on the World's 50 Best Restaurants List. Fergus Henderson and his business partner Trevor Gulliver have been delighting ardent fans from around the world for 15 years with classics such as Roast Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad, or how about a stonking lemon sorbet with a slug of Polish vodka.... this is affordable, adventurous, damn good eating.26 St John Street, London EC1M 4AY, England+44 (0)20 7251 0848http://www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk/...

Thomas Keller is a culinary colossus, and The French Laundry a regular in the top end of The World's 50 Best Restaurants since it's inception.  The French Laundry successfully marries French influence with Thomas Keller's American roots. The New York Times has described part of its appeal is the "intricate preparations which are often finished table side". The French Laundry remains a once in a lifetime experience for food lovers everywhere. 6640 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599, USA+1 707 944 2380 http://www.frenchlaundry.com/...

Osteria Francescana just missed out in making the World's 50 Best Restaurants last year, so being 13thmust be particularly sweet for Massimo Bottura. This is the most cutting edge food in Italy. Buttura is a master of colour, texture and geometry, the results are quite superb looking dishes. Osteria Francescana's walls are adorned with some of the best contemporary art in the world, and Buttura matches them on the plate with his artistic skill. Take his interpretation of a New York skyline, a dish of Italian meats gently cooked sous vide, standing in for buildings and parsley foam depicting foliage.....Massimo is a welcome addition to The...

Pascal Barbot has created a forum for free flowing creativity in L'Astrance's chic and jazzy 25-seat venue. Pascal's international kitchen brigade contains Asian influences, which show through on his menu with dishes such as zingy roast lamb saddle, Egg Plant Miso and Black Curry. The only problem is, there is no Menu! You order the number of courses and Barbot decides what they are!4 rue Beethoven, 75016 Paris, France+33 (0)1 40 50 84 40...

"Alinea is a chef driven restaurant - we live and die by the work, cuisine and vision of Grant Achatz". That is the view of Grant's Business partner in Alinea. Judging by our Academy's opinions, the Chicago staff of Alinea can rest assured their lives are in safe hands with Achatz at the helm. And you'll know why if you ever get to try dishes such as the all American peanut butter and jelly sandwich, served with bread wrapped round a grape on a specially made spike.This is arguably the most cutting edge food in America.1723 North Halstead, Chicago, Ilnois 60614, USA++1 312 867 0110http://www.alinea-restaurant.com/...

This is masterful French food - Pierre Gagnaire's Paris restaurant is a homage to art in cooking, literature and design. Gagnaire's focus and determination are summed up in a comment made on his journey to the UK when opening Sketch in 2003. Gagnaire admitted a lack of knowledge of the British restaurant scene. "I don't have enough time to look at what other people are doing" he said, and why should he when he is this good.6 Rue Balzac, 75008 Paris, France+33 (0)1 5836 1250 http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/...

Juan Mari Arzak serves dishes to amaze and amuse the senses. His family have occupied the same site in San Sebastian since 1897, and it remains a family affair with his talented daughter Elena at his side now. Together they offer a modern interpretation of classic Basque cuisine, including such delights as Lobster with white olive oil and smoked white tuna with figs and pine nuts. 273 Avenida Alcalde Elosegui, 20015 Donostia/San Sebastian+34 943 278 465http://www.arzak.es/...

In Per Se, Thomas Keller and Jonathan Benno have successfully created an urban interpretation of The French Laundry for New York. Salmon Cornet and signature Oysters and Pearls open the meal at both. Daily menus offer nine petite courses of perfectly wrought modern US cuisine.Snake River Farm beef with crispy bone marrow or spring lamb with butter poached morels deliver an experience that have earnt Per Se the recognition of our academy, and the title of Best Restaurant in the Americas.10 Columbus Circle (at 60th Street), 4th Floor, New York, NY 10019, USA++1 212 823 9335http://www.perseny.com/...

Michel Bras shows yet again what a perfect culinary marriage Japanese and French traditional cuisines can make.  This modern restaurant in the Massif Central is where Bras pioneered the "go out and pick it" movement. The results are the finest herbs and local wild plants are used in perfect balance. A lagoustine arrives split open and garnished with Aubrac style combination of finely chopped broad beans and country sausage, laid out on a rectangular block of volcanic stone...superbe!Route de l'Aubrac, 12 210 Laguiole, France+33 (0)5 65 51 18 20 http://www.michel-bras.com/...

El Celler de Can Roca is the work of three brothers: head chef Joan Roca, maitre d' and head sommelier Josep and pastry chef Jordi. Such a meteroric climb into the top 10 might be attributed to their move and new state-of-the-art kitchen-cum-lab, a wine cellar that offers customers an audio-visual journey through five key wine regions and a breathtaking dining space created with natural, organic materials and an abundance of natural light. Spain has yet another top 10 masterpiece restaurant in El Celler De Can Roca.Ctra. Taialà, 40, 17007 Girona, Spain+34 972 222 157http://www.cellercanroca.com/PORTADA/intro.htm...

Andoni Luis Aduriz is often portrayed as the quiet man of Nueva Cocina. His food is less flamboyant than that of many modern Spanish chefs, and, ostensibly, he is less driven by new technology and kitchen science. But it is all a matter of degree. Aduriz spent two years studying the chemistry of coagulation in order to produce the perfect poached egg. Clearly, he is a chef in possession of a fathomless curiosity and a razor-sharp cutting-edge. "I encourage my team to make an individual effort to explore the origin of everything they touch and transform over fire."Where Aduriz veers away from molecular gastronomy, however, is that this learning...

For those in the know, Rene's colossal achievement of moving up seven places inside the top 10 is no surprise. But just look at the legends he has leapfrogged and you cannot help but think something truly significant is taking place at Rene's Copenhagen restaurant. Noma is a homage to soil and sea, a reminder of the source of our food.  Take his starter of crunchy baby carrots from the fertile Lammefjorden region of Denmark, served with edible "soil" made from malt, hazelnuts and beer, with a cream herb emulsion beneath - you are literally eating the earth! Great restaurants are a blend of sophisticated cooking, imaginative ideas and...

Well what a year 2009 has been for Heston and The Fat Duck. Heston's brand of wizardry and fun have been witnessed on UK screens in his spellbinding series - Feast. For viewers it has been plain to see what makes The Fat Duck such a unique dining experience - it is Heston's love of science and research into the molecular make up of ingredients behind many of his creations, the results of which are invariably fun, and delicious. Who else could create the theatre in the service of his now famous nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice cream? The ice cream custard has been injected into an empty egg shell, which is then cracked at your table and ‘cooked'...

This man is going to be hard to beat, we knew that four years ago, but he has continued to raise the bar. Ferran's generous willingness to share his knowledge means his influence now spans the globe. Many of those who have worked with him have taken his techniques and ideas back to their part of the world. Maybe this is what drives Adria to surpass himself each year, in the knowledge that the people who have worked for him are one day capable of topping this list themselves. Ferran Adria continues to tear up the fine dining rule book, presenting customers with food that often defies description, and maybe even defies the laws of physics...