These Are the World’s Best Restaurants

TripAdvisor (our parent company) announced its annual Travelers Choice award winners for best restaurants worldwide. In total, 353 eateries were identified as among the world’s greatest, based on the number of reviews and ratings over a 12-month period. 

You won’t be seeing your local pizza joint on this list: The winners skew high-end, with many glittering Michelin stars among them. These are truly restaurants worth traveling for, destinations in and of themselves.

Alinea, the Grant Achatz-helmed restaurant in Chicago, takes first place in the U.S. and fifth place in the world (the only stateside restaurant to make the global list). No surprise there: Alinea is one of the most decorated restaurants in the world already, counting among its honors three Michelin stars, a AAA Five Diamond Award, and a spot on S. Pellegrino’s annual list. The other U.S. restaurants hail from all over the country: New York City, San Francisco, Charleston, Seattle, Dallas, and Austin.

Getting a nod as the best restaurant in the world is El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, where diners eat tasting menus made with local Catalan produce, sherry, and wine. Number two on the list, Midsummer House, puts to rest many (false) myths about the poor quality of English food: the Cambridge restaurant in its cozy townhouse has two Michelin stars and gets many rave reviews from TripAdvisor reviewers. (In fact, England gets three restaurants in the worldwide top 10).

See both lists below. Readers, have you been to any of these best restaurants in the world? Worth a visit?

Top 10 Travelers’ Choice Restaurants in the U.S.

1. Alinea, Chicago, Illinois
2. Eleven Madison Park, New York City, New York
3. Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco, California
4. Halls Chophouse, Charleston, South Carolina
5. Victoria & Albert’s, Orlando, Florida
6. Uchi, Austin, Texas
7. Bouley, New York City, New York
8. Canlis Restaurant, Seattle, Washington
9. Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Dallas, Texas
10. Daniel, New York City, New York

Top 10 Travelers’ Choice Restaurants in the World

1. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain
2. Midsummer House, Cambridge, England
3. Maison Lameloise, Chagny, France
4. The French Café, Auckland, New Zealand
5. Alinea, Chicago, Illinois
6. El Club Allard, Madrid, Spain
7. Epicure, Paris, France
8. Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton, England
9. Le Gavroche, London, England
10. Martin Berasategui, San Sebastian, Spain

(Photo: El Celler de Can Roca, TripAdvisor, LLC)