The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2016: Wondering Why Italian Food is Trending?

^{Image credit: www.theworlds50best.com}It is that time of the year again when the culinary world and food enthusiasts across the globe eagerly look forward to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. And the results are out! (It’s never short of surprises). This year, winning the prestigious top spot was Italy’s Ostera Francescana, a quirky restaurant in Modena run by Chef Massimo Bottura, where food is a sensory experience with fantastic creations such as Five Stages of Parmigiano Reggiano or Tribute to Thelonius Monk, that will leave you awestruck.

Last year's winner, El Celler de Can Roca in Spain, slid down to the second spot this year, and New York City's Eleven Madison Park, which had transformed itself into a lavish and celebrated tasting menu restaurant, jumped up to win the third spot.

The four time winner of World's 50 Best Restaurants - Denmark's Noma - fell to the fifth spot in 2016, which also happens to be the restaurant's last year of service as it will be relocating to a new site with a new concept. One can trust Chef Rene Redzepi to come up with delicious and spectacular creations to woo the food world once again!

In a major upset, the original wizard of inventive cuisine, Chef Heston Blumenthal, couldn't keep his restaurant in the top 10 this year, plummeting from No 7 to No 45. It is a disappointment for his patrons, but we hope he pulls put more magic from his cauldron soon. Renowned Chef Thomas Keller too failed to keep both his restaurants - Per Se and French Laundry in the top 50 list.

^{Image credit: www.youtube.com}In India, food enthusiasts were eagerly anticipating Chef Gaggan Anand to take Indian food to a whole new level and climb up the ladder yet again, but it was not to be, as his namesake Indian restaurant, Gaggan, in Bangkok, tumbled down to No. 23. Chef Anand has been the talk of the town in the recent years for his inventive Indian food, which has also won his restaurant many prestigious awards, including the No. 10 spot in last year's World's 50 Best Restaurants list and No.1 slot in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. But, Gaggan is still among the seven Asian restaurants that made it to the prestigious list this year, beaten in score by World No. 8 Narisawa in Tokyo and World No. 20 Amber in Hong Kong.

Here's a quick round-up of the Top 10 from 2016's World's 50 Best Restaurants list -

1. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy

2. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain

3. Eleven Madison Park, New York City

4. Central, Lima, Peru

5. Noma, Copenhagen

6. Mirazur, Menton, France

7. Mugaritz, Errenteria, Spain

8. Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan

9. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria

10. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain

Time to book your tickets, we reckon? Do make your reservations ahead of time though, they get booked out months in advance!