British Expats - "London is home to six of world's top restaurants"

British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)

- rec.travel.europe (https://britishexpats.com/forum/rec-travel-europe-44/)

- - "London is home to six of world's top restaurants" (https://britishexpats.com/forum/rec-travel-europe-44/london-home-six-worlds-top-restaurants-444538/)

"London is home to six of world's top restaurants"

http://tinyurl.com/2v3ffa

London is home to six of world's best restaurants

By Patrick Sawer, Evening Standard 23.04.07

London scored a major triumph in the field of haute cuisine today after it
emerged it has six of the world's best restaurants.

The capital's international reputation for fine dining was confirmed by
the inclusion of the six on a list of 50 restaurants drawn up by a panel
of 651 judges who surveyed more than 70 countries.

France had the largest number on the list, with the US second and Britain
third with seven. Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck was the only British
restaurant on the list outside London.

The six were Le Gavroche, St John's, Nobu, Hakkasan, Restaurant Gordon
Ramsay and the River CafÃ©.

The Fat Duck, in Bray, Berkshire, is set to go head to head against
Spain's internationally-renown El Bulli for the top prize at the S
Pellegrino awards in London tonight.

Blumenthal, who has previously won the S Pellegrino award for top
restaurant, said British restaurants are benefiting from a greater
interest in food from the UK public. "What's happened is that we used to
consider going to a restaurant on a special occasion, and when we went it
was all candelabras and fancy waiters in dickie-bow ties.

"More recently we have seen more of a going out culture. People in Britain
are much more aware and interested in food," he said.

Britain has retained its third place spot for the third year running, but
London's dominance is a reflection of the strength of the economy and the
wealth of its restaurant-going public.

Joe Warwick, editor of Restaurant magazine, which organises the awards,
said: "There are some lovely restaurants outside London, but to make it
work on this level you need to be able to fill it Monday through to Friday
and that doesn't happen outside London.

"A decade ago, if you had presented a list of the UK having seven
restaurants in the top 50, people would have laughed. But we have become
very good at being multi-cultural. It is interesting to consider that on
this list, St John's is the only restaurant serving British food. The rest
are all in the modern style of cookery."

France still has the highest number of top restaurants with 12 entries in
the top 50 - up from 10 last year. The USA has eight - the second highest
number for any single country.

Spain and Italy tie in fourth place with six entries each. The full list
of restaurants and their positions in the top 50 will be revealed at the
Science Museum ceremony tonight.

Gordon Ramsay's self-named restaurant has made the top 50 again this year
while The River CafÃ© has re-entered the list. Maze, which is part of the
Gordon Ramsay stable of restaurants, came in at number 55 and scooped the
" breakthrough award" for best restaurant under five years old.

Pied a Terre in London was voted Restaurant Magazine readers' choice. Mr
Warwick said: "There's a consensus among people who know about restaurants
that France is definitely the strongest country and probably deserves to
be top of the list.

"I think the UK's position as third nation is very good. This is about
highend restaurants and we have got that."

The panellists were divided into 22 regional groups, each of which was
headed by a chairman picked for their knowledge of that region.

Each panel member was allowed five votes, of which a maximum of two were
for restaurants within their own region.

Best of British

Le Gavroche
St John's
Nobu
Hakkasan Restaurant
Gordon Ramsay
River CafÃš
Fat Duck, Bray

Ian

--