50 Best for 2015

Interesting changes and motivating to say the least.

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Some on that list I fully agree with, others make it very obvious that the ballet box is stuffed by locals who favor their friends. For example Dinner by Heston Blumenthal is very good - but it is in no way top 10 world wide. The Ledberry, also in London, is outstanding but it is not worthy of top 20 status - there are so many better restaurants in the top 100. I was shocked the Cory Lee's Benu was snubbed, and that Albert Adria's Tickets barely made the top 50 - meanwhile his Patka was overlooked. Meanwhile the top 5 looks fairly accurate, and would match my top 5 most desirable visits.

Of course I understand that the list if very subjective and highly political, and overall I applaud the accomplishment - but there are some glaring issues without a doubt.

tshewman

Having only been to a few and most in the US (except for Quay and Mani), I find it hard to tell who should be where. I wonder about some of the ones that were once on top and have slid down a ways.......if the ones that judge are looking for more change from them, a completely different experience, different foods etc. If the same judges or set of judges go to the same places and have essentially the same experience, I can sort of see how the new experiences of other establishments would be............new and exciting (almost like a first date). That said, I simply have no idea how everything is done and judged. The climb up seems allot easier (not easy obviously) than to be able to maintain the top spots. I think the representation from different parts of the world was perhaps better than in the past. Personally, I selfishly look to many of these for inspiration and ideas (just wish I had more time to do something with it :-)..).

ttpoker

A good example of "some of the ones that were once on top and have slid down a ways" is the Fat Duck. Its a very small restaurant, with a menu that rarely changes. Its extremely hard to get into because of it's size and demand, therefore a typical gourmand can only experience the Fat Duck 1-2x in their life. By contrast Dinner by Heston Blumenthal is a restaurant that is much easier to get into, and doesn't require travel for London locals or tourists (you have to plan your night around a Fat Duck dinner - travel to this location requires a car service that is well coordinated to take you back into the city). On any given week you may be able to score a last minute rezo at Dinner by Heston, but that is almost impossible at Fat Duck. Dinner is very good, but its also fairly safe and approachable in comparison to Fat Duck. Fat Duck is a world class tasting menu dining experience with service that is on par with the best of the world, whereas Dinner is a standard restaurant with a 3 course menu and the service is far more relaxed. In isolation, The Fat Duck should be higher rated than Dinner yet the rankings for both of these restaurants, from the same chef/owners, couldn't be more opposite.

tshewman

The Fat Duck placement stood out to me as well and in part the reason for my pondering of change. From the outside, it seems that the judges almost get bored of the same menu, similar experience or simply aren't as love struck. I don't know if this is incentive for them to change or..........if maybe the move to Melbourne (in this case) had an impact, I don't know. I've never had dinner there but is on my bucket list. The chef's table at Dinner by Heston might be a bit closer to TFD experience, however, like you, I kinda don't get it. That's not to take anything away from either. Alinea is another. Rated 26 (yet #1 by the public vote). I think they should rotate the judges and/or give each a fixed time period (like presidents :-).

Matthew_Snyder_68770

I was not overly impressed by Pakta. Don't get me wrong, the meal was outstanding, but there's no way I'd say "Yes, this was clearly one of the 100 best restaurants in the entire world." Frankly, if we're just looking at the micro-world of 1 Michelin-starred restaurants, our meal at Kokotxa in San Sebastián was much better. I want to go back to Kokotxa every time I'm Donostia, but I don't really see a need to revisit Pakta.

The big surprise for me was seeing Arzak drop from number 8 to 17. They had spent something like 8 or 9 consecutive years in the top ten.

Then again, these things are always subjective. But it's fun to talk about.

Brendan_Lee_56950

If it really were the objective "Top 50" then the judging criteria and scores would be transparent and publicly available. It's a fun list to look at but we all know this is no different than FIFA and the IOC folks.

tshewman

Though the largest challeng might be to make it objective. :-)

Brendan_Lee_56950

Well objective in the criteria they're observing. Like in figure skating, it's very subjective but St least we know what the judges are looking for.

ttpoker

I disagree, transparency is not needed - and in fact would partially discredit the list, and encourage chefs to cater to the voters when they dine. Anonymity is better in this situation. I would like to see how the voting process works, my understanding is that it is highly subjective and up to the whims of the voters much like a critic's review would be highly subjective without a predefined list of qualifications.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Oh i don't mean that we should know who the voters are but we should at least know what the results look like (i.e. Did #2 lose by 1 point or 20 points and in which areas) that would make the list more legitimate and much more interesting to talk about.

Samuel_68313

I can only really talk about UK restaurants, but I agree that it is crazy The Fat Duck is so low. For L'Enclume to be missing from the list (best meal I have ever had) and also Restaurant Story (another outrageously brilliant dining experience) strikes me as bizarre.

I like the list though, I think it is fun in a lot of ways, I am really bored of the annual criticism of it.