Australia rates on list of world’s 50 best restaurants

If you’ve ever wanted to create a bucket list of restaurants to visit, now’s the time to put it together with the world’s 50 best restaurants being announced recently.

The top gong was taken by Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, pushing last year’s winner El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain into the runner-up position.

Serving contemporary Italian cuisine, 53-year-old chef-owner Massimo Bottura is highly regarded for his eccentric interpretation of Italian food. His ‘Oops! I dropped the lemon tart’ is a favourite, where the citrus dessert is literally dropped onto the plate before being served to patrons.

Congrats to Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana, the #1 restaurant in the world according to @TheWorlds50Best! pic.twitter.com/ZyYVRpttkK

— Bon Appetit Magazine (@bonappetit) June 14, 2016

This year’s top 10 has seen the biggest change since the ‘competition’ began in 2002, including the disappearance of Heston Blumenthal’s London restaurant, Dinner (was 7th and is now 45th).

While more than half of the restaurants in the top 50 are in Europe, there was some good news for Australia with Melbourne’s Attica restaurant taking 33rd place. It was the only Australian restaurant to make the list and the fourth year running that Attica has been named Australasia’s best restaurant in the prestigious list.

If you are interested in eating Australian wildlife, you’ll find it on the menu at Attica, who hasn’t served lamb, chicken, pork or beef in quite some time.

Chef-owner Ben Shewry draws heavily on native ingredients, many of which are grown at the nearby Ripponlea Estate.

“It’s been an amazing year after taking full ownership of Attica with my wife Natalia a year ago,” Shewry told the Herald Sun.

Top 10 restaurants in the world

1. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy
2. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain
3. Eleven Madison Park, New York, United States
4. Central, Lima, Peru
5. Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
6. Mirazur, Menton, France
7. Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain
8. Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan
9. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria
10. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain

Do you enjoy eating out? When was the last time you dined at a restaurant? How was the experience?