Charlie Trotter's

Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago, which opened in 1987, was named as the 30th-best restaurant in the world


Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago, which opened in 1987, was named as the 30th-best restaurant in the world, and 5th-best in the USA in 2007 by the well-respected "Restaurant Magazine". It has received awards and praise from other publications and travel guides. Trotter owns Trotter's To Go, a high-end delicatessen and catering store in Lincoln Park, Chicago. In 2006 he opened Trotter's To Go Express, a simplified delicatessen located in Chicago's downtown Equinox Fitness Club selling fast food to carry away. In February 2004, C, a seafood restaurant, opened in Los Cabos, Mexico under the direction of Charlie Trotter. Trotter announced in 2006 that he would open a new restaurant, as yet unnamed, in the new Elysian tower near Michigan Avenue in Chicago to open in late 2008. Trotter is scheduled to open a seafood restaurant at the Palazzo casino in Las Vegas. The hotel is scheduled to open in December 2007.
Behind the stove:
Owner and Chef Charlie Trotter and Chef de Cuisine, Matthias Merges
Always on the menu:
The menu is seasonal and constantly changes
Random fact:
When Trotter left college he worked at 40 restaurants over four years, learning all he could about food
Wine list: $22 - $12,000 (£11 - £5,994)
Menu: The $125 Vegetable Menu to the Grand Menu at $145
816 West Armitage Chicago, Illinois 60614, USA
+1 773 248 6228
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Hakkasan

Only Alan Yau could take an unlovely car park in a skanky alleyway at the wrong end of London's Oxford Street and turn it into a breathtakingly beautiful and unstoppably popular restaurant. And only Alan Yau could make a table at his high-end restaurant as desirable to the hardcore foodie as it is to the fashion crowd. When Yau opened Hakkasan back in 2001, he brought Chef Tong Chee Hwee over from Singapore with a promise of a suitably stylish venue in which his gorgeous creations, like Silver Cod in Chinese Honey and Champagne or Jasmine Tea-Smoked Chicken, would shine

Only Alan Yau could take an unlovely car park in a skanky alleyway at the wrong end of London's Oxford Street and turn it into a breathtakingly beautiful and unstoppably popular restaurant. And only Alan Yau could make a table at his high-end restaurant as desirable to the hardcore foodie as it is to the fashion crowd. When Yau opened Hakkasan back in 2001, he brought Chef Tong Chee Hwee over from Singapore with a promise of a suitably stylish venue in which his gorgeous creations, like Silver Cod in Chinese Honey and Champagne or Jasmine Tea-Smoked Chicken, would shine. What's remarkable is that even on London's fickle dining scene, Hakkasan is still the favourite of the beautiful people. The Christian Liaigre-designed interior and refurbished Ling Ling Bar contribute in no small part to its success. With over 300 guests coming through the doors each night, it's hardly a boutique operation, yet standards have remained consistently high since day one. Yau hopes to emulate the achievement in Istanbul where his second Hakkasan opens this year. Meanwhile, in London, his dim sum restaurant Yauatcha continues to perform as well as ever. We eagerly await Yau's new restaurant Cha Cha No Hana, slated to open in London later this year.

Behind the stove:
Tong Chee Hwee

Always on the menu:
Pipa Duck; Stir-fry Black Pepper Rib Eye Beef in Merlot

Random fact:
A master of Feng Shui visits the restaurant three times a year to check that everything is in good order

Wine list:
£24 - £1,722

Menu:
Dim sum is available at lunch, from £3.50. From the à la carte menu, try the Peking Duck with Royal Beluga Caviar, £140, for two to three people, served over three courses

8 Hanway Place, London W1T 1HD, England
+44 (0)20 7927 7000
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Le Bernardin

Le Bernardin, New York's internationally acclaimed four star seafood restaurant, was born in Paris in 1972 by sibling duo Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze. Dedicated entirely to the cuisine of Gilbert Le Coze, the self-taught seafood wizard, it only served fish: Fresh, simple and prepared with respect. Le Bernardin was named after an order of monks who liked to eat and drink and a song about the monks that Gabriel Le Coze, Maguy's and Gilbert's father, kept singing to them.
Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze were born and raised in a small village called Port Navalo in Brittany, France. Le Coze's parents owned and operated a small restaurant and inn, the Hotel de Rhuys. Gilbert received his cooking lessons by helping his grandfather and father in the kitchen and on the fishing boat while Maguy Le Coze worked alongside her mother in the dining room
Le Bernardin, New York's internationally acclaimed four star seafood restaurant, was born in Paris in 1972 by sibling duo Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze. Dedicated entirely to the cuisine of Gilbert Le Coze, the self-taught seafood wizard, it only served fish: Fresh, simple and prepared with respect. Le Bernardin was named after an order of monks who liked to eat and drink and a song about the monks that Gabriel Le Coze, Maguy's and Gilbert's father, kept singing to them.
Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze were born and raised in a small village called Port Navalo in Brittany, France. Le Coze's parents owned and operated a small restaurant and inn, the Hotel de Rhuys. Gilbert received his cooking lessons by helping his grandfather and father in the kitchen and on the fishing boat while Maguy Le Coze worked alongside her mother in the dining room.
The dual combination of Gilbert's new cooking techniques — unheard of in the Haute Cuisine-obsessed salons of Paris' better restaurants in the early seventies—with Maguy's energy and drive in the dining room propelled Le Bernardin to one Michelin star in 1976. Considering that Le Bernardin was opened on a shoestring budget with Maguy's and Gilbert's parents helping out in the kitchen as the only employees on opening night, the Michelin accolades were an incredible accomplishment.
Continuing its success story, in 1980 the restaurant moved to a larger location garnering two coveted Michelin stars. This was the highest acclaim for a seafood-only restaurant since the powerful Michelin organization reserves the right to bestow three stars to restaurants with menus that also offer meat, games, poultry and fish to its diners. Le Bernardin insisted on only serving the best fish, carving out a niche in the competitive restaurant world of Paris and establishing an international reputation.
Inspired by the triumph of Le Bernardin in Paris and its many American clients, the Le Coze's sought to open a Le Bernardin in New York in 1986. By again employing the technique of "divide and conquer", Maguy commanded the functions of the dining room and décor, while seafood virtuoso Gilbert took control of the kitchen.
In no time, Le Bernardin became a four star restaurant which is renown for setting standards in the cooking of seafood in America. The restaurant holds several records in New York: it received its four star review from the New York Times only three months after opening—that's how much Gilbert's unconventional cooking had taken New Yorkers—and is the only New York four star restaurant that has maintained its status of excellence for more than 10 years. Reviews have come in 1986, 1989 and 1995 with the same verdict: Four stars.
After the unexpected death of her brother Gilbert in 1994, Maguy Le Coze is now working closely with her partner/chef Eric Ripert. Ripert, one of the brightest talents in the kitchens of the world, and Le Coze continue to uphold Le Bernardin's position as one of the world's premier restaurants. In 1998, Maguy Le Coze won the coveted James Beard Award for "Outstanding Restaurant" in America, and in May 2003 Eric Ripert was named "Outstanding Chef" by the James Beard Foundation. The 2004 Zagat's Guide rated Le Bernardin number one for food in New York.

Behind the stove:
Executive Chef/Co-Owner Eric Ripert

Always on the menu:
Layers of Thinly Pounded Yellowfin Tuna, Foie Gras and Toasted Baguette, Shaved Chives and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Random fact:
The LeCozes got their first big break in their father's seaside disco

Wine list:
$45 - $8,000 (£22 - £3,989)

Menu:
City Harvest Menu $40 (£20) for three courses; $5 (£2.50) is donated to food rescue organization City Harvest. Six-course Chef's Tasting Menu with wine, $320 (£160) per person

155 West 51st Street, The Equitable Building, New York City, NY 10019, USA
++1 212 554 1515
www.le-bernardin.com
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Pierre Gagnaire

There's been a lot of flowery prose describing Pierre Gagnaire's cooking. The generally accepted view is that he personifies the romantic idea of 'the chef as artist' better than anyone in France today - and there's a lot of competition for that title. This is understandable, his approach to cooking is most definitely of the cerebral school. He frequently collaborates with friend, the famous French physical chemist Hervé This, his menus often read like Rive Gauche poetry and there's a section on his website entitled Mon Universe.
There's been a lot of flowery prose describing Pierre Gagnaire's cooking. The generally accepted view is that he personifies the romantic idea of 'the chef as artist' better than anyone in France today - and there's a lot of competition for that title. This is understandable, his approach to cooking is most definitely of the cerebral school. He frequently collaborates with friend, the famous French physical chemist Hervé This, his menus often read like Rive Gauche poetry and there's a section on his website entitled Mon Universe. Looking like the suave Gallic answer to Kris Kristofferson, until recently, Gagnaire's image did nothing to discourage the notion that he was all tortured culinary jazz daddy chained to his stove.
But since 2003, when he started consulting on the ambitious Sketch in London, Gagnaire has both opened up and opened more restaurants, including the casual experimental Gaya, on gay Paris' Left Bank, and international operations in Tokyo and Hong Kong, with a Dubai outpost about to open. Nevertheless, it's at his eponymous Paris flagship that his creativity still flows most fluently, the kitchen throwing out the sort of combinations that seem insane on paper but look like works of art on the plate and feel like them on the palate.
What you're left with at the end is an overwhelming sense that he simply wants to feed and please his customers.

Behind the stove:
Pierre Gagnaire and Michel Nave

Always on the menu:
Le Grand Dessert Pierre Gagnaire

Random fact:
Gagnaire served as an Admiral Chef in the French navy

Wine list:
€55 - €8,500 (£37 - £5,755)

Menus:
From lunch for €95 (£64) to €245 (£166) for the dégustation menu

6 Rue Balzac, 75008 Paris, France
+33 (0)1 58 36 12 50
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El Bulli

For the second year in a row, el Bulli has topped our poll. Including its triumph in our inaugural 2002 list, it's now been voted Best Restaurant in the World an unprecedented three times.There's not a lot that hasn't been written about el Bulli and - to give him his full name - Fernando Adrià Acosta. This magazine has talked about his food as "21st Century tapas made by an eccentric scientist with an artistic bent" (2002); we've pointed out that "no other restaurant in the world concentrates more on what's in front of you on the plate" (2003); we've noted that when visiting, "the only thing customers know to expect is the unexpected" (2004) and - clearly written by a member of the Restaurant team with a shoe fetish - that in the kitchen Adria "paces the sections in his orange Prada sneakers and is always tasting, tasting, tasting" (2005).
For the second year in a row, el Bulli has topped our poll. Including its triumph in our inaugural 2002 list, it's now been voted Best Restaurant in the World an unprecedented three times.There's not a lot that hasn't been written about el Bulli and - to give him his full name - Fernando Adrià Acosta. This magazine has talked about his food as "21st Century tapas made by an eccentric scientist with an artistic bent" (2002); we've pointed out that "no other restaurant in the world concentrates more on what's in front of you on the plate" (2003); we've noted that when visiting, "the only thing customers know to expect is the unexpected" (2004) and - clearly written by a member of the Restaurant team with a shoe fetish - that in the kitchen Adria "paces the sections in his orange Prada sneakers and is always tasting, tasting, tasting" (2005).
This year, our spies tell us that some of the dishes that made their debut earlier this month include Fried Brioche Shanghai; Pita of Iberian Ham Fat and Veal Bone Marrow; Crab Marrakech; and The Sea.The last point to be made - and yes, we've made this one before too - is that, aside from what's coming out of the kitchen, the whole experience, from the setting to the service and the wine list, is world class.
Behind the stove:
Ferran Adrià and his two Executive Chefs Albert Raurich and Oriol Castro
Always on the menu:
New cooking techniques developed in the six months the restaurant is closed each year at the el Bulli Taller (lab/workshop) in Barcelona
Random fact:
Adrià took his first job in a restaurant as a pot wash to pay for a summer holiday raving in Ibiza
Wine list:

€15 - €3,500 (£10 - £2,377)
Menus:
The tasting menu is €185 (£125)
www.theworlds50best.com
Apartado 30, 17480 Roses en Cala Montjol, Spain
+34 97215 04 57 (after 3pm during the season)

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Le Louis XV

Chef Alain Ducasse is a busy man, so he's installed trusty cohorts at each of his outposts. Executive Chef Franck Cerruti of Le Louis XV in the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo is one such colleague, a local whose heart is in cuisine at its most pure, simple and seasonal.
The four-course Les Jardins de Provence - mainly vegetarian- is a fitting introduction to the locale. Dishes like Fraises des Bois in their Natural Juice, Mascarpone Sorbet, Veal cooked 'en cocotte', Baked Potatoes and Braised Lettuce,
Chef Alain Ducasse is a busy man, so he's installed trusty cohorts at each of his outposts. Executive Chef Franck Cerruti of Le Louis XV in the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo is one such colleague, a local whose heart is in cuisine at its most pure, simple and seasonal.
The four-course Les Jardins de Provence - mainly vegetarian- is a fitting introduction to the locale. Dishes like Fraises des Bois in their Natural Juice, Mascarpone Sorbet, Veal cooked 'en cocotte', Baked Potatoes and Braised Lettuce, or Risotto with Artichokes are perfect examples of Riviera cuisine.
The setting, however, is sheer extravagance. The dining room, decorated in the style of 17th Century Versailles, sparkles with gold and mirrors, mixed with the bright light flooding in through French windows. For the lucky few, there's the magnificent Aquarium, a smaller dining room in the heart of the kitchen where six video screens stream in the action. The two marble clocks in the dining room have stopped at midday. This is no accident: the point is clear. The guest is there for the sole purpose of enjoying a magnificent repast. Nothing else matters, at least in that moment.

Behind the stove:
Alain Ducasse and Franck Cerruti

Always on the menu:
Provence Garden Vegetables cooked with Black Truffles, Terre Bormane Taggiasche Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar and top-quality salt

Random fact:
So devoted is Franck Cerrutti that he's often spotted selecting food for the restaurant at the market on his days off

Wine list:
€50 - €11,560 (£34 - £7,827)

Menu:
Two-course 'Club Déjeuner de Saison' at €125 (£85) to a four-course 'Pour les Gourmets' tasting menu, €225 (£152), both including cheese and desserts

Hôtel de Paris, Place du Casino,MC 98000, Monaco
+377 98 06 88 64 www.theworlds50best.com

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Hof van Cleve

From 1914 to 1970, this idyllic Flemish farmhouse, built in 1870 in Kruishoutem, close to Ghent, was home to one solitary hermit, a certain Mr van Cleve. Since 1992, when chef Peter Goossens took it on as a gastronomic restaurant, it's enjoyed an altogether different existence.
It still resembles the humble Ardennes farmhouse of its former life, but its previously sparse rooms have been filled with 100 types of handmade cigars (a collection of 10,000 in total), 200 spirits, 70 types of tea, 50 types of whisky, not to mention eight exclusive paintings by contemporary Belgian artists. But that's allso much background detail to the main event.

From 1914 to 1970, this idyllic Flemish farmhouse, built in 1870 in Kruishoutem, close to Ghent, was home to one solitary hermit, a certain Mr van Cleve. Since 1992, when chef Peter Goossens took it on as a gastronomic restaurant, it's enjoyed an altogether different existence.
It still resembles the humble Ardennes farmhouse of its former life, but its previously sparse rooms have been filled with 100 types of handmade cigars (a collection of 10,000 in total), 200 spirits, 70 types of tea, 50 types of whisky, not to mention eight exclusive paintings by contemporary Belgian artists. But that's all so much background detail to the main event.
In the foreground, you have Goossens' precise, luxurious cuisine, seen in the indulgent Simmenthal Entrecôte under a Crust of Salt with Truffles, Young Cabbage, Celeriac Cream, Panisse for two, or Crunchy Veal Sweetbreads with Penne au Gratin, Melted Foie Gras, Spinach and Whelks. Lunch is a simpler affair, themed on 'a walk around the market', with ingredients chosen in tune with the seasons. The wine cellar stores some 1,250 wines, the bulk of which are from France, Italy and Spain.
This year, Goossens and restaurant designer Antoine Pinto launched the Museum Food project, a brasserie, coffee bar and café at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.

Behind the stove:
Peter Goossens and Michael Vrijmoed

Always on the menu:
Turbot with Belgian Sevruga, Leek Stoemp, Lager Beer Sauce, Broccoli, Prawns

Random fact:
Goossens' food may be classy, but there's nothing the chef likes more than a good filthy joke

Wine list:
€45 - €8,200 (£30 - £5,550)

Menu:
€80 (£54) for three courses to €175 (£118) for eight

Riemegemstraat 1, 9770 Kruishoutem, Belgium
+32 (0)9 3838 584 www.hofvancleve.com
www.theworlds50best.com

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