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After taking a year off due to the pandemic, the World's 50 Best Restaurants list is back with picks for 2021. The notoriously high-end ranking has long faced criticism for its penchant for Eurocentrism and its habit of favoring expensive, male-dominated restaurants.
This year's list offers a handful of surprises, but it's mostly business as usual – including the No. 1 pick. René Redzepi’s three-Michelin-starred Noma takes the first-place spot, marking the fifth time the Copenhagen restaurant has topped the list.
If you follow the World's 50 Best Restaurants list annually, you might remember that back in 2019, organizers announced that previous No. 1 winners would be ineligible for future nomination, a move that was supposed to promote diversity.
So how'd Noma skirt the rules? The judges behind the ranking note that Noma's new location and rotating tasting menu warranted a fresh look.
Like previous years, the list is largely dominated by European and North American restaurants with fewer picks from Asia, South America and Russia. The 2021 lineup does not include any entries from the Middle East, and only one spot on the list is located in Africa (No. 50, Wolfgat in Paternoster). Eater reports that just four of the top 50 spots are run by women chefs.
Take a look at the full list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants below:
1. Noma in Copenhagen
2. Geranium in Copenhagen
3. Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain
4. Central in Lima, Peru
5. Disfrutar in Barcelona
6. Frantzén in Stockholm
7. Maido in Lima, Peru
8. Odette in Singapore
9. Pujol in Mexico City
10. The Chairman in Hong Kong
11. Den in Tokyo
12. Steirereck in Vienna
13. Don Julio in Buenos Aires
14. Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain
15. Lido 84 in Gardone Riviera, Italy
16. Elkano in Getaria, Spain
17. A Casa do Porco in São Paulo
18. Piazza Duomo in Alba, Italy
19. Narisawa in Tokyo
20. Diverxo in Madrid
21. Hiša Franko in Kobarid, Slovenia
22. Cosme in New York City
23. Arpège in Paris
24. Septime in Paris
25. White Rabbit in Moscow, Russia
26. Le Calandre in Rubano, Italy
27. Quintonil in Mexico City
28. Benu in San Francisco
29. Reale in Castel di Sangre, Italy
30. Twins Garden in Moscow, Russia
31. Restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin
32. The Clove Club in London
33. Lyle’s in London
34. Burnt Ends in Singapore
35. Ultraviolet in Shanghai
36. Hof Van Cleve in Belgium
37. SingleThread in Healdsburg, California
38. Borago in Santiago, Chile
39. Florilège in Tokyo
40. Suhring in Bangkok
41. Alléno in Paris
42. Belcanto in Lisbon
43. Atomix in New York City
44. Le Bernardin in New York City
45. Nobelhart & Schmutzig in Berlin
46. Leo in Bogotá, Colombia
47. Maaemo in Oslo, Norway
48. Atelier Crenn in San Francisco
49. Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, Spain
50. Wolfgat in Paternoster, South Africa