The U.S. was second to France, which had 17 restaurant represented, while the U.K. also had 12.
New York’s Eleven Madison comes in as the fourth best restaurant in the world, a dramatic rise from its position at No. 13 on the 2013 list. Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin sees a similar rise, coming in at fifth place, up from No. 12 in 2013.
Acknowledging this recognition, Chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison notes how his approach to menu development has changed over the years.
“Earlier in my career my food was defined by intricacy and by techniques, with ingredients sourced from all over the world,” he says. “But as I worked more, gained confidence, and developed perspective, my food changed, becoming increasingly focused, and more geared towards simplicity and the goal of using the best possible ingredients. Today, I try to emphasize seasonality, on what’s growing around me, and on letting those ingredients shine, and also telling a story with them.”
New York boasts six restaurants in the Elite 100 Restaurants 2014, with three restaurants making it into the top 10. California has four restaurants, and Chicago has two. Chef Thomas Keller’s Per Se and The French Laundry both made the Elite list of top 100 restaurants.
The U.S. restaurants are (ranking on the list in parenthesis):
- Alinea, Chicago (1)
- Restaurant DANIEL, New York (2)
- Eleven Madison, New York (4)
- Le Bernardin, New York (5)
- Per Se, New York (11)
- Jean-Georgesat Trump Hotel Central Park, New York (20)
- The Restaurant at Meadowood, Napa Valley, California (41)
- The French Laundry, Yountville, California (55)
- L20, Chicago (67)
- Nobu, Los Angeles (83)
- Mélisse, Santa Monica, California (89)
- Momofuku Ko, New York (97)
The top 10 on the Elite Top 100 Restaurants are:
- Alinea, Chicago
- DANIEL, New York
- Fat Duck, Bray, U.K.
- Eleven Madison, New York
- Le Bernardin, New York
- El Celler Can Roca, Gerona, Spain
- Azurmendi, Vizcaya, Spain
- La Pergola, Rome, Italy
- The Ledbury, London
- Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy
