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Update, Tuesday June 19 3:50 pm EST: The 2018 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list has been announced.
Next week in Bilbao, Spain, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants will publish its annual listicle of overpriced restaurants largely run by men. But today, the guide revealed its honorable mentions: The 51-100 guide, a sturdy blend of newer venues that might make the proper list next year, and older venues that have fallen in stature.
These consolation prizes, however, are just as important for their omissions — high-profile establishments that are likely to debut on the full list next week. Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, ranked 83 last year, appears to be a candidate to join the proper list, as it is absent from the back 50.
Chef Dominique Crenn, one of the most prominent practitioners of avant-garde cuisine in the U.S., has blasted the organizers of the list for gender inequality. There were just three female head chefs on last year’s list, with all three of those venues co-run by men. Of course it’s also possible that Crenn has dropped from the 50 Best rankings entirely, though that rarely happens to high-profile U.S. venues the year after they join the list, especially following a period of positive press and accolades.
Perhaps the most notable absence on this year’s 51-100 rankings is Rene Redzepi’s Noma in Copenhagen. The groundbreaking New Nordic restaurant closed in early 2017 before re-opening in a new space at the beginning of 2018 — too late for consideration in this year’s list, a spokesperson for 50 Best tells Eater.
Noma occupied the No. 1 position, a rank currently held by New York’s Eleven Madison Park, from 2010-2012, and then again in 2014.
The U.S. saw two restaurants join the 51-100 list: Le Coucou, Daniel Rose and Stephen Starr’s fancy French hotspot, debuting at 85, and Single Thread, Kyle Connaughton’s ambitious tasting-menu spot in Healdsburg, joining the list at 91.
Other prominent stateside moves included Corey Lee’s Benu in San Francisco, moving up 14 spots to 53, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare in New York, which leapt 13 spots to 69, and David Chang’s Momofuku Ko, which fell to 62. Thomas Keller’s French Laundry, which occupied the No. 1 spot in 2003, continued its slow decline, now ranking at 86, while his Per Se in New York, helmed by a new chef, Corey Chow, rose to 81.
Internationally, one of the biggest debuts was Enigma, the whimsical Barcelona tasting-menu spot by Albert Adria. It joins the list at 95, far below the top spot once perennially occupied by El Bulli, where Adria worked alongside his brother, Ferran.
Elsewhere in the world, notable absentees include London’s Lyle’s and Core by Clare Smyth. Last year Lyle’s was placed at 54. Core, by the longtime chef of three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, might have been a candidate to register high up, particular since Smyth herself was named the “best female chef” in the world by the same organization in April.
Leonor Espinosa’s Leo in Bogota, ranked at 99, became the first restaurant from Colombia to join the extended list.
[This post has been updated to reflect that Noma will not be included in this year’s 50 Best list.]
World’s 50 Best List 2018: 51 - 100
51. De Librije Zwolle, Netherlands
52. L’Astrance Paris, France
53. Benu, San Francisco, USA
54. Sühring, Bangkok, Thailand
55. Don Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina
56. Amber, Hong Kong, China
57. Nerua, Bilbao, Spain
58. Brae Birregurra, Australia
59. Florilège, Tokyo, Japan
60. Tegui, Buenos Aires, Argentina
61. Burnt Ends, Singapore
62. Momofuku Ko, New York, USA
63. Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium
64. Sud 777, Mexico City, Mexico
65. Frantzén, Stockholm, Sweden
66. Vendôme, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
67. Fäviken, Järpen, Sweden
68. Quique Dacosta, Denia, Spain
69. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York, USA
70. Selfie, Moscow, Russia
71. Relae, Copenhagen, Denmark
72. Twins Garden, Moscow, Russia
73. Aqua, Wolfsburg, Germany
74. The Fat Duck, Bray, England
75. Belcanto, Lisbon, Portugal
76. Martin Berasategui, Lasarte-Oria, Spain
77. Elkano, Getaria, Spain
78. Mingles, Seoul, Korea
79. A Casa do Porco, São Paulo, Brazil
80. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong, China
81. Per Se, New York, USA
82. Hedone, London, UK
83. Estela, New York, USA
84. St John, London, UK
85. Le Coucou, New York, USA
86. The French Laundry, Yountville, USA
87. Maní, São Paulo, Brazil
88. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin, Germany
89. The Jane, Antwerp, Belgium
90. Indian Accent, New Delhi, India
91. SingleThread, Healdsburg, USA
92. L’Effervescence, Tokyo, Japan
93. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo, Bombana Hong Kong, China
94. Alo, Toronto, Canada
95. Enigma, Barcelona, Spain
96. Diverxo, Madrid, Spain
97. Atelier, Munich, Germany
98. 108, Copenhagen, Denmark
99. Leo, Bogotá, Colombia
100. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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