The restaurant, which was last year ranked number three on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list, claimed the title at the awards ceremony, held in Melbourne, Australia this morning (11am GMT). It becomes only the eighth restaurant to win the accolade in its 16-year history and is the first time a restaurant from New York has topped the list.
Eleven Madison Park is owned by best friends chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara and is renowned for its focus on breaking down the boundaries between the kitchen and the dining room. Last year it was named the Best Restaurant in North America and also took home the Ferrari Trento Art of Hospitality award.
It was a good night for New York’s fine dining scene with Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns climbing 37 places to sit just outside the top 10 at number 11. However, New York restaurant Estela, ranked number 44 last year, has fallen out of this year’s top 50.
Three London venues made the list once again - The Clove Club, The Ledbury and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, sitting in 26th, 27th and 36th positions respectively.
New to this year’s list are Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris, which debuted at number 31, Cosme in New York, which entered at number 40, Reale in Italy (43), Brae in Australia (44), Den in Tokyo (45) and Tegui in Argentina (49). Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, meanwhile, returned to the top 50 in impressive style, re-entering the list at number 13.
Other winners announced on the night included Heston Blumenthal, who took home The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement, Dominique Ansel, who was named Best Pastry Chef, and Virgilio Martinez, who was awarded the Chefs’ Choice award. Septime in Paris took home the Sustainable Restaurant award and Disfratur in Barcelona was named the Miele One to Watch.
Launched in 2002, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is created from the votes of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, comprising over 1,000 international restaurant industry experts. The academy is split into 26 separate regions around the world. Each region has its own voting panel of 40 members including a chairperson to head it up.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2017 list in full:
1 Eleven Madison Park, New York
2 Osteria Francescana, Modena
3 El Celler De Can Roca, Girona
4 Mirazur, Menton
5 Central, Lima
6 Asador Etxebarri, Axpe
7 Gaggan, Bangkok
8 Maido, Lima
9 Mugaritz, San Sebastian
10 Steirereck, Vienna
11 Blue Hill At Stone Barns, New York
12 Arpège, Paris
13 Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris
14 Restaurant André, Singapore
15 Piazza Duomo, Alba
16 D.O.M., São Paulo
17 Le Bernardin, New York
18 Narisawa, Tokyo
19 Geranium, Copenhagen
20 Pujol, Mexico City
21 Alinea, Chicago
22 Quintonil, Mexico City
23 White Rabbit, Moscow
24 Amber, Hong Kong
25 Tickets, Barcelona
26 The Clove Club, London
27 The Ledbury, London
28 Nahm, Bangkok
29 Le Calandre, Rubano
30 Arzak, San Sebastian
31 Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris
32 Attica, Melbourne
33 Astrid y Gastón, Lima
34 De Librije, Zwolle
35 Septime, Paris
36 Dinner By Heston Blumenthal, London
37 Saison, San Francisco
38 Azurmendi, Larrabetzu
39 Relae, Copenhagen
40 Cosme, New York
41 Ultraviolet By Paul Pairet, Shanghai
42 Boragó, Santiago
43 Reale, Castel Di Sangro
44 Brae, Birregurra
45 Den, Tokyo
46 L’Astrance, Paris
47 Vendôme, Bergisch Gladbach
48 Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin
49 Tegui, Buenos Aires
50 Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem