Noma takes back the top spot at World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2014 awards

The who’s who of  the food world gathered at the London’s Guildhall for the announcement of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2014. As always there were ups, downs and some real surprises but ultimately the night was a success. There was a celebratory mood in the air from the get go, as lots of hugs and kisses were passed from chef to chef as we interviewed them and that continued well into the awards themselves.

Noma stole the show (interview below), along with the top spot from El Cellar de Can Roca who came in second. Representing the UK were two restaurants, Dinner by Heston at number five and The Ledbury at number ten. There was a strong North American performance, with Alinea who were awarded number nine and Eleven Madison Park who moved up one spot to number four. A few special awards were handed out, most notably Alex Atala of D.O.M, with Chef’s Choice of the Year. Here’s the full list:

1. Noma Copenhagen Denmark Up 1 Rene Redzepi
2. El Celler de Can Roca Girona Spain Down 1 Roca brothers
3. Osteria Francescana Modena Italy Non-moving Massimo Bottura
4. Eleven Madison Park New York USA Up 1 Daniel Humm
5. Dinner by Heston London UK Up 2 Ashley Palmer-Watts
6. Mugaritz San sebastian Spain Down 2 Andoni Luis Aduriz
7. D.O.M. Sao Paulo Brazil Down 1 Alex Atala
8. Arzak San Sebastian Spain Non-moving Juan Mari Arzak, Elena Arzak Espina
9. Alinea Chicago USA Up 6 Grant Achatz
10. The Ledbury London UK Up 3 Brett Graham
11. Mirazur Menton France Up 17 Mauro Colagreco
12. Vendome Bergisch Gladbach Germany Down 2 Joachim Wissler
13. Nahm Bangkok Thailand Up 18 David Thompson
14. Narisawa Tokyo Japan Up 6 Yoshihiro Narisawa
15. Central Lima Peru Up 35 Virgilio Martinez
16. Steirereck Vienna Austria Down 7 Heinz Reitbauer
17. Gaggan Bangkok Thailand Up 49 Gaggan Anand
18. Astrid y Gaston Lima Peru Down 4 Gastón Acurio
19. Faviken Jarpen Sweden Up 15 Magnus Nilsson
20. Pujol Mexico City Mexico Down 3 Enrique Olvera
21. Le Bernardin New York USA Down 2 Eric Ripert
22. Vila Joya Albufeira Portugal Up 15 Dieter Koschina
23. Frantzen Stockholm Sweden Down 11 Björn Frantzén
24. Amber Hong Kong Hong Kong Up 12 Richard Ekkebus
25. L’Arpege Paris France Down 9 Alain Passard
26. Azurmendi Larrabetzu Spain New entry Eneko Atxa
27. Chateaubriand Paris France Down 9 Inaki Aizpitarte
28. Aqua Wolfsburg Germany Up 2 Sven Elverfeld
29. De Librije Zwolle Netherlands Up 28 Jonnie Boer and Thérèse Boer
30. Per Se New York USA Down 19 Thomas Keller
31. L’atelier de Joel Robuchon Paris Paris France Down 7 Joël Robuchon
32. Attica Melbourne Australia Down 11 Ben Shewry
33. Nihonryori RyuGin Tokyo Japan Up 11 Seiji Yamamoto
34. Asador Etxebarri AXPE Spain Up 10 Victor Arguinzoniz
35. Martin Berasategui Lasarte-Oria Spain Up 29 Martin Berasategui
36. Mani Sao Paulo Brasil Up 10 Helena Rizzo, Daniel Redondo
37. Restaurant Andre Singapore Singapore Down 1 André Chiang
38. L’Astrance Paris France Down 15 Pascal Barbot
39. Piazza Duomo Alba Italy Up 2 Enrico Crippa
40. Daniel New York USA Down 11 Daniel Boulud
41. Quique Dacosta Spain Spain Down 15 Quique Dacosta
42. Geranium Copenhagen Denmark Up 3 Rasmus Kofoed
43. Schloss Schauenstein Frstenau Switzerland Down 1 Andreas Caminada
44. French Laundry Yountville USA Up 3 Thomas Keller
45. Hof Van Cleve Kruishoutem Belgium Down 20 Peter Goossens
46. Le Calandre Padua Italy Down 19 Massimiliano Alajmo
47. Fat Duck Bray UK Down 14 Heston Blumenthal
48. Test Kitchen Cape Town South Africa Up 13 Luke Dale-Robertson
49. Coi San Francisco USA Up 9 Daniel Patterson
50. Waku Ghin Singapore Singapore Up 18 Tetsuya Wakuda

Jess Spiro
Photos: Filippo L’Astorina

Interview with René Redzepi of winning restaurant Noma: