Noma lands best restaurant title
01 May 2014 09:07
The San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards are viewed as the Oscars of fine dining
Noma in Copenhagen has been named the best restaurant in the world once again.
The eatery, which took top spot in the prestigious San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards, serves up Nordic cuisine with a twist.
Head chef Rene Redzepi has installed a focus on ingredients foraged from the nearby forests and shores - so it's certainly not your average meal.
The award was presented at a ceremony in central London attended by some of the leading chefs in the world. Last year's winner El Celler de Can Roca came second, followed by Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy.
It is the fourth time Noma has won the culinary title, although it is still yet to match the record of Spain's El Bulli, which claimed four successive wins before head chef Ferran Adria closed its doors in 2011.
European venues dominated this year's list, occupying 28 of the 50 positions. Spain claimed seven of these, with Arzak in the Basque Autonomous Community of the country singled out for special praise in the top 10.
But there were also prizes for restaurants around the world. Nahm, a Thai restaurant in Bangkok, became Asia's first entry in the top 20 as it made it to number 13 in the esteemed list.
The biggest climber was Central in Peru, which jumped from number 50 last year to number 15.
Gaggan from Bangkok, meanwhile, was the highest debut entry at number 17.
New York's Eleven Madison Park, Spain's Mugaritz, Brazil's D.O.M. and Chicago's Alinea also featured in the top 10.
Noma's first triumph back in 2010 is credited with catapulting the restaurant to international stardom.
The day after winning it reportedly received enough online reservations to fill its 45 seats for a decade, turning it into a major travel destination in Denmark that is now extremely popular with tourists.
Holidaymakers thinking of hopping on a plane and sampling the foraged menus for themselves should remember to take out travel insurance before they leave, simply for peace of mind on their travels.