Alinea #9 On Latest 'World’s 50 Best Restaurants' List

By Melissa McEwen in Food on Apr 29, 2014 3:00PM

Alinea rose on The San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list from number 15 to number 9. The top spot is once again held by Denmark's Noma, who took it back from Spain's El Celler de Can Roca.

Not just any list, this list is known for highlighting influential (and expensive) restaurants around the world. You may not have heard of chefs like Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz in Spain, but there is a good chance your favorite chef has his cookbook on his or her bookshelf.

Seven restaurants from the United States made the top fifty, but Alinea is the only one in Chicago:

#4 Eleven Madison Park, New York City
#9 Alinea, Chicago
#21 Le Bernardin, New York City
#30 Per Se, New York City
#40 Daniel, New York City
#44 The French Laundry, Yountville, CA
#49 Coi, San Francisco

There is no doubt there are certainly far more innovative and delicious restaurants in Chicago than just Alinea, but making the list requires having truly original cuisine that can draw world travelers and a global influence on other restaurants. The list is chosen by 900 international members of the restaurant industry- from chefs to food critics and is divided into geographical regions, each other their own chair. The chair of our region is food reporter Steve Dolinsky.