[imagesource: Facebook / FYN Restaurant]
South Africa’s top eateries have done fairly well on this year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
When the best 51–100 global restaurant ranking was revealed earlier this month, Wolfgat came in at 90th and La Colombe landed in 56th, which despite being a bit of a knock for the Paternoster pearl from last year to this, is still a fantastic achievement.
Now the top 50 best restaurants have been announced, and besides the usual culprits right at the top, we are over the moon to celebrate another local gem at number 37 on the list.
FYN Restaurant is making us proud, having stepped up from 92nd on last year’s list.
With chef Peter Tempelhoff and partners Ashley Moss and Jennifer Huge heading the team, diners are taken on “a journey of flavours, textures, techniques, and visual wonders” writes Eat Out, which has also awarded the Cape Town CBD spot a few awards:
The kaiseki-style menu, consisting of five waves of courses, is a fusion of South African ingredients and Japanese cooking techniques, the likes of which have clearly impressed the World’s 50 Best academy.
FYN has proven itself to be truly world-class:
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After opening in late 2018, it made it through the country’s hard COVID-19 lockdowns:
…FYN soldiered on, being one of the first fine dining restaurants to offer its food for home delivery.
Then came the launch of their dark kitchen, ‘Stickman By FYN’, which served up yakitori to those eager for a taste of FYN that they could only get at home.
As for the other exceptional eateries from all corners of the globe that were highlighted on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, CNN reports that it was another good year for Copenhagen.
The Danish capital’s Geranium, which serves a meat-free, seasonally based Scandi menu from the eighth floor of Denmark’s national football stadium, has been named the best on the planet.
Last year, Geranium’s Copenhagen neighbour Noma took top spot:
Restaurants are only permitted to scoop the awards’ top prize once, after which they’re entered into a separate “Best of the Best” program.
Members of that elite group include Geranium’s Copenhagen neighbor Noma, as well as New York’s Eleven Madison Park, The Fat Duck near London, Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, and Mirazur in Menton, France.
Here’s the full top 10 from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list:
- Geranium (Copenhagen, Denmark)
- Central (Lima, Peru) *Best Restaurant in South America*
- Disfrutar (Barcelona, Spain)
- Diverxo (Madrid, Spain)
- Pujol (Mexico City, Mexico) *Best Restaurant in North America*
- Asador Etxebarri (Axpe, Spain)
- A Casa do Porco (São Paulo, Brazil)
- Lido 84 (Gardone Riviera, Italy)
- Quintonil (Mexico City, Mexico)
- Le Calandre (Rubano, Italy)
You can explore all that and more here.
Typically, restaurants outside Europe or North America don’t win the World’s 50 Best prizes. This year, the entries have come from mostly Spain, Denmark, Italy, and France, with some from the US and the UK, too.
Only at number 20 does an Asia-based restaurant makes an appearance, with Den in Tokyo earning the highest place on this year’s list.
As for the whole entirety of the African continent?
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