New York City

Eleven Madison Park Tops List of World's Best Restaurants

This is the first time since 2004 that a U.S. establishment has won the top spot on the list

What to Know

  • Eleven Madison Park, owned by chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, has scored the top spot on the annual World's 50 Best Restaurants list
  • The ranking is compiled by an academy comprising 1,000 experts on the international restaurant scene
  • Dishes on the seven-course tasting menu include celery root cooked in a pig's bladder, which Humm has said is a career-defining creation

A New York City restaurant has been named the world's best. 

Eleven Madison Park, owned by chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, has scored the top spot on the annual World's 50 Best Restaurants list. The ranking is compiled by an academy comprising 1,000 experts on the international restaurant scene. 

"It's the perfect partnership of outstanding hospitality and exquisite food in an iconic setting in New York City that makes Eleven Madison Park the No. 1 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants," the World's 50 Best Restaurants Academy says.

This is the first time since 2004 that a U.S. establishment has won the top spot on the list, which was created in 2002, according to Bloomberg News. Last year, Eleven Madison Park was No. 3. 

Typical dishes include Humm's signature roasted duck, which includes iterations of classic honey and lavender to honey-glazed with turnips and huckleberries. 

Dishes on the seven-course tasting menu include celery root cooked in a pig's bladder, which Humm has said is a career-defining creation.

Diners hoping to eat at the world's best restaurant of 2017 have a limited time to do so, though: it's closing for renovation in June, and will reopen in September with a new kitchen and refurbished dining room.

Until then, the 11-course retrospective tasting menu with classics from the last 11 years will be available. And then during the summer, Humm and Guidara will open a pop-up restaurant in the Hamptons. 

The only other New York City restaurants on the list are Le Bernardin (no. 17) and Cosme (no. 40). Le Bernardin, headed up by Eric Ripert, is touted as one of the world's premier destinations for seafood lovers in a sleek, modern space. Cosme is praised for its "combination of stunningly plated modern Mexican dishes and a stylish interior with a long bar serving a variety of mezcals." 

The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards started informally to promote U.K.-based Restaurant magazine, but quickly exploded in popularity and became a global phenomenon, according to Bloomberg News. When Copenhagen restaurant Noma first won in 2010, 100,000 people tried to book online the following day. 

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