The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

words by ben stephens

The table cloths have been pulled, the wine glasses polished and the cutlery has been laid to rest.

It’s that time of year, the grey area, when the judging has taken place and the wait for the awards night is all that matters. From Michelin to Gourmet Traveller and Gault Millau, the feeling is all the same. The trepidation and the nerves all build the same.

With the week of April 5 almost upon us, those nominees that are up for the prestigious The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards are almost out of that grey area and we will soon know who is the numero uno restaurant of the year.

This year the awards will take place in the Australian food capital, right here in Melbourne; ridding us of any annoying timezone live streams.

With the majority of the nominees in town for the awards, we thought we would go through the list and spotlight a handful of restaurants vying to wrestle that top spot from Osteria Francescana’s, Massimo Bottura.

Attica
Ben Shewery heads up the team and you know the rest. One of Australia’s most awarded restaurants in recent years, the focus here is on native flavours. Take for example the King Gorge Whiting; smoked in paper bark and then topped with Attica made lemon myrtle and pearl meat butter.

The Ledbury
Australian-born culinary conjurer, Brett Graham is at the helm of one of London’s favourite spots in town. The Michelin awarded it two stars earlier this year, putting Graham and his team in good step to better themselves from last years standing of number 14 in the world.

The Test Kitchen
When it comes to Cape Town, South Africa, there is one place in town producing chow better than anyone else. English born, European trained, Asian refined, Luke Dale-Roberts heads up The Test Kitchen, a restaurant that is constantly pushing new boundaries. Since 2012, Luke and his team have been steadily climbing The 50 Best list, entering at 74 and last year taking out the 22^nd place.