Charlie Smith
SPAIN has again dominated the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List with three Spanish kitchens in the top 10.
Pipping the Spanish to the post this year though was Argentinian-Italian chef Mauro Colagreco’s Mirazur in Menton, France.
The country equalled its record haul of 2018, with seven restaurants Spanish restaurants handed gongs at the event dubbed the ‘Oscars of fine dining’.
Spain’s highest entry Victor Arguinzoniz’s Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, the Basque Country, rose to third best in the world after coming 10th last year.
Another Basque star, Andoni Luis Aduriz’s rural restaurant, Mugaritz in San Sebastian, also climbed to seventh.
Meanwhile ninth place went to last year’s highest new entry, the avant-garde Disfrutar in Barcelona, which shot up from 18th.
The Basque Country shone at the glitzy ceremony at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands hotel, with five restaurants in total in the top 50, while Barcelona had two.
Azurmendi in Larrabetzu came in at 14, Barcelona’s Tickets 20th, Elkano in Getaria in 30, while 32nd place went to Bilbao’s Nerua.
Conspicuous by their absence from the list were the famous Roca brothers of El Celler de Can Roca, whose Catalan kitchen had previously been the best on the top 50 list.
That is because this year’s awards, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, sees restaurants previously crowned ‘best in the world’, elevated to a ‘Best of the Best’ list.
Since its inception in 2002 the illustrious parade of global gastronomy has put a Spanish restaurant top seven times: El Bulli five, and El Cellar de Can Roca twice.
