It has finally arrived. It has taken and it has taken many years of speculation and attempts and, finally, the forecasts have been fulfilled, and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 have crowned Disfrutar, the restaurant of Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, as the best restaurant in the world.
The restaurant, heir to El Bulli and an example of how a project can break new ground in the hospitality industry (with iconic dishes such as its Chinese bread with caviar or proposals such as its transformable dessert table or its non-alcoholic wines), has won the award for Best Restaurant in the World 2024 at the 50 Best gala held in Las Vegas, United States.
From barcelonese restaurant which also takes the award for Best Restaurant in Europe, the 50 Best says it offers “Imaginative dishes executed with exceptional technical skill and served in the most entertaining way possible” and states that, “no matter what menu you choose, one thing is certain: you will have the dining experience of a lifetime”.
3 Spanish restaurants among the 4 best in the world
The pools for the award hesitated between Disfrutar and Diverxo (Madrid), the restaurant of the media chef David Muñoz. The Madrid restaurant, which won bronze last year, finally came in fourth.
But there is another Spanish restaurant on the podium. The Asador Etxebarri (Axpe, Vizcaya), Bittor Arginzoniz ‘s famous Basque grill restaurant, is the second best restaurant in the world. The podium was completed by Table by Bruno Verjus (Paris), third.
In addition to these, there are four other restaurants among the 100 best in the world: Quique Dacosta, in Dènia, from chef Quique Dacosta (14th), Enigma, from Barcelona (59th), Aponiente (72nd) and Mugaritz (81st). With them, there are seven Spanish restaurants among the 100 best in the world.
Best of The Best, the olympus of the best restaurants in history
The 22nd edition of the award was chosen with the vote of 1,080 culinary experts from 27 regions of the world, among writers, critics and restaurateurs.
These experts cannot vote for star restaurants such as Noma, El Cellerde Can Roca, Osteria Francescana, The Fat Duck, Mirazur, Geranium or Central, which have already been winners in the past, and therefore become part of Best of The Best, a sort of Olympus whose members no longer compete to lift the title. Now, Disfrutar will become part of this Olympus. What happens to them if they get worse, it is not known.
In addition to the awards to the best, the 50 Best presented other awards, such as Best Female Chef in the World for the Brazilian Janaína Torres (A Casa do Porco, Sao Paulo); Best Sustainable Restaurant for Nobelhart & Schmutzig (Berlin); Best Pastry Chef for Nina Métayer (Paris), who becomes the first woman to win the title; Best Sommelier for Pablo Rivero (Don Julio, Buenos Aires); One to Watch (something like the restaurant to watch) for Kato (Los Angeles)…
The complete list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 honorees can be found at the awards website.