Atelier Crenn May Crack the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List

Tis the season for reading tea leaves. Next week in Bilbao, Spain, the leading lights of the restaurant industry will gather to crown the World’s 50 Best restaurants. But the hype starts today, as the organization behind the exceedingly flawed—but nonetheless important—ranking of restaurants around the globe, released its runners-up. Looking at the list of places slotted 51-100 opens up speculation about which restaurants will crack the coveted 50 Best this year.

One of the most notable omissions from 51-100 is last year’s No. 83 entry, Dominque Crenn’s acclaimed avant-garde restaurant Atelier Crenn. Exclusion could mean that she’s been dropped entirely, but it’s more than likely that she has graduated to the head of the class. This would make her one of the rare women featured in the top 50, which has been rightly criticized for failing to recognize female chefs over the years.

The United States leads the way in total restaurants on the runners-up list with eight, including newcomers SingleThread in Healdsburg, Calif. and Daniel Rose’s classic French stunner in New York, Le Coucou. Benu, the three-Michelin-Star restaurant by French Laundry alum Corey Lee, shot up 14 spots on the list this year, settling in at No. 53. However, there may be unease at Manresa (No. 90 in 2017) and Meadowood (No. 84 last year), as they were not included on this list this year, meaning the pair of three-star wine country restaurants may have dropped out.

Another way to look at this list is to note the restaurants that have definitely fallen from the ranks of the 50 Best. Eight places—De Librije, L’Astrance, Amber, Brae, Tegui, Hof van Cleve, Vendôme, and Relae—all dropped out of the 50 Best, with the Copenhagen trailblazer Relae plummeting to 71. Check out the full list below.

51. De Librije, Zwolle, Netherlands
52. L’Astrance, Paris, France
53. Benu, San Francisco, USA
54. Sühring, Bangkok, Thailand
55. Don Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina
56. Amber, Hong Kong, China
57. Nerua, Bilbao, Spain
58. Brae, Birregurra, Australia
59. Florilège, Tokyo, Japan
60. Tegui, Buenos Aires, Argentina
61. Burnt Ends, Singapore
62. Momofuku Ko, New York, USA
63. Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium
64. Sud 777, Mexico City, Mexico
65. Frantzén, Stockholm, Sweden
66. Vendôme, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
67. Fäviken, Järpen, Sweden
68. Quique Dacosta, Denia, Spain
69. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York, USA
70. Selfie, Moscow, Russia
71. Relae, Copenhagen, Denmark
72. Twins Garden, Moscow, Russia
73. Aqua, Wolfsburg, Germany
74. The Fat Duck, Bray, England
75. Belcanto, Lisbon, Portugal
76. Martin Berasategui, Lasarte-Oria, Spain
77. Elkano, Getaria, Spain
78. Mingles, Seoul, Korea
79. A Casa do Porco, São Paulo, Brazil
80. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong, China
81. Per Se, New York, USA
82. Hedone, London, UK
83. Estela, New York, USA
84. St John, London, UK
85. Le Coucou, New York, USA
86. The French Laundry, Yountville, USA
87. Maní, São Paulo, Brazil
88. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin, Germany
89. The Jane, Antwerp, Belgium
90. Indian Accent, New Delhi, India
91. SingleThread, Healdsburg, USA
92. L’Effervescence, Tokyo, Japan
93. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo, Bombana Hong Kong, China
94. Alo, Toronto, Canada
95. Enigma, Barcelona, Spain
96. Diverxo, Madrid, Spain
97. Atelier, Munich, Germany
98. 108, Copenhagen, Denmark
99. Leo, Bogotá, Colombia
100. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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