Danish restaurant Noma has been crowned the world's best restaurant for the second year in a row in an annual list, beating out top eateries in Spain, Italy, Britain, the United States and elsewhere.
The S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants, produced by Britain's Restaurant Magazine, were unveiled in London after voting by a panel of more than 800 chefs, restaurateurs, journalists and food experts who rated Noma's leadership of a "new guard" of global cuisine.
Spain's El Celler de Can Roca came second followed by fellow Spanish restaurant Mugaritz, Italy's Osteria Francescana, Britain's Fat Duck and Alinea in the United States.
Noma, located in a converted dockside shipping warehouse in Copenhagen, toppled a four-year reign by Spain's El Bulli restaurant last year at the awards, often referred to as the "Oscars" of the restaurant industry.
Noma's 33-year-old chef, Rene Redzepi, serves a new kind of Nordic cuisine such as musk ox and smoked marrow, sea urchin and dill or beef cheek and pear.
"We heartily congratulate Rene Redzepi for the difficult task of maintaining his position as the number one restaurant on our list, which underscores his commitment to redefining Nordic cuisine," Restaurant Magazine editor William Drew said
Mr Drew said this year's list spanned a greater geographical spread than previous years and recognised the influence of "fledgling" culinary nations such as Peru and Russia.
El Bulli was closed this year and therefore not included on the list, allowing El Celler de Can Roca and Mugaritz to clamber in behind Noma.
El Celler de Can Roca, run by three brothers has risen two places up the list this year to number two. Also up two places is Mugaritz, which is named the third best restaurant in the world, having recovered following a devastating fire in 2010.
One of the most coveted awards of the night is the Chefs' Choice award.
Voted for by his peers, this year's winner was Massimo Bottura, whose restaurant Osteria Francescana is one of the most talked about in Italy.
Massimo is rapidly gaining an international reputation for his avant-garde cuisine which although unashamedly modern, reflects traditional techniques and always pushes the boundaries of what's new, said Britain's Restaurant Magazine.
Agencies