Once a year, the food industry pauses its boils and stir-fries to eagerly await the reveal of the list of the 50 best restaurants in the world. This tradition, which began in 2002 thanks to an initiative of the british magazineRestaurant”, aims to reflect and celebrate the richness and diversity of the global culinary landscape. And what began with 150 experts today adds a panel of 1,080 whose selection and voting process is lengthy and rigorous, and whose greatest support is that of the its sponsor, S. Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. The intention? Offering a map of some of the best gastronomic destinations in the world, as well as being a barometer for trends in this market. Next, a screenshot of what this 2023 edition left behind.
In Spanish
The Latino presence is so strong this year that it even ranks first. it does Central, the haute cuisine restaurant in Lima run by Virgilio Martínez and Pía León. Very committed to local production, the couple often travels around Peru to discover new ingredients with which to surprise their dishes, and thus their menu invites them to visit 15 Peruvian ecosystems categorized by altitude. In 2013, Central was ranked number 50 on the list. 10 years later it reaches the first and becomes the first Latin American restaurant to do so. How much does the experience cost in your salon in Lima? An average of US$300 per person.
In second place was Enjoy, from Barcelona. It can be defined as one of the most experimental restaurants in the world. The chefs in charge are Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, who met while working at ElBulli. Here the menu changes a few times a year, but always keeps the surprise. A great example is their shrimp dish, which presents a kind of dry ice pool in which the diner must blindly fish for their own food. Eating here costs €1000 if you go alone, it goes down to €500 in groups of two and €400 if you are three.
Also Spanish, the Madrid restaurant Diverxo took third place. Highly unpredictable, it is the brainchild of chef Dabiz Muñoz, who likes to push gastronomic boundaries. The proposal is a 12-course menu that the award defines as “pure theater”, alluding to its stage magic. The Asian influence is ever-present, as is the quirky art and pig theme, which belies an anecdote. When Muñoz told his father that when he grew up he would have a restaurant where people would line up around the block, he replied “yes, and pigs can fly.” Today, eating at his project, with a waiting list and everything, costs between €365 and €600, depending on the menu.
Of tradition and surprise
Fourth place was also left for Spain. He took it Etxebarri Grill, a restaurant located in a quiet Basque town between Bilbao and San Sebastián, with just 1,300 inhabitants. A gastronomic destination where chef Víctor Arguinzoniz uses fire to give new life to traditional ingredients such as milk and meat. Here everything goes through the grill, from the anchovies on toast, to the milk ice cream with beetroot with which the meal ends. The most recommended is their 14-course menu, which costs €264.
In the next place, the map moves within Europe: fifth place went to Alchemist, from Copenhagen, Denmark. Eating here is like entering a mystical world, almost in Narnia. It is that the food goes through different locations and types of art, all created by the mind of chef Rasmus Munk in pursuit of a holistic gastronomic experience. The cuisine, meanwhile, is rooted in classical techniques and modern research, as well as high-quality ingredients. There are delicacies such as different types of caviar and pigeon meat aged in beeswax, just to name a few. The cost? About €660 if the main menu is chosen.
The local representative
And yes, the Argentines also have a place on this list. Although in previous years there were more representatives, on this occasion only Don Julio’s grill maintained his presence. She does so in 19th place, highlighted -according to the organization- for her careful selection of meat, stored in controlled temperature chambers for at least 21 days to achieve optimum maturity. The combination with its extensive wine list is another of its strengths, especially considering that its owner, Pablo Rivero, won the award for Best Sommelier in Latin America in 2022.
When we asked him what he thinks this award rewards, he pointed to the fact of bringing a culture to the world. “What the consumer is looking for is to find the uniqueness of each of the territories. Our differential has to do with the appreciation of Argentine culture ”, she maintains. For this reason, Rivero recommends ordering cuts such as rump steak and entraña, as well as cheese empanadas and artisan offal such as chorizo, black pudding and grill sausage, indisputable successes of the Argentine identity.
Why aren’t there other Argentines on the list? “It is a pity. We understand that the difficulty of reaching the southern hemisphere for most of the judges is a factor that Argentina plays against, because there is more than one restaurant that can be on this list -Rivero replies-. I am hopeful that at some point we can agree to make those distances easier to overcome.
The Don Julio experience has an average price per person of $20,000, including wine. For now, the geographical distances may well be shortened with an advantageous change for the judges. We will have to see in 2024.
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