Six US restaurants, including four in Manhattan, made the list of the world’s top restaurants.
But only one broke into the top 10 — Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park in the Flatiron District was No. 5, up from 10th place last year, in Restaurant magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s 50 best restaurants.
Thomas Keller’s Per Se at Columbus Circle fell from sixth to 11th, and his Yountville, Calif., restaurant, The French Laundry, came in at No. 47, down from 43rd. The French Laundry held the top spot in 2003 and 2004.
Grant Achatz’s ultra-modernist Alinea in Chicago fell from seventh to 15th this year. Eric Ripert’s seafood-focused Le Bernardin in Midtown held fast at No. 19, while Daniel Boulud’s Daniel on the Upper East Side slipped from 25th to 29th.
Avant-garde eatery El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, was named to the No. 1 spot during a ceremony in London yesterday. Rene Redzepi’s Danish restaurant Noma had held the honor for the past three years, after ousting renowned Spanish restaurant elBulli from the top spot in 2010.
The three-Michelin-starred El Celler is known for dishes that blend innovative cooking techniques with traditional ingredients, such as lobster parmentier with black trumpets and Iberian suckling pig with pepper sauce and garlic and quince terrine.
Noma, which has a meticulous focus on indigenous ingredients, fell to No. 2 on this year’s list. In third place is Modena, Italy’s, Osteria Francescana, which has placed in the top 10 since 2010.