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Here are the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2021

Noma takes the top spot once again

Morgan Olsen
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Morgan Olsen
Global Food & Drink Editor
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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

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