Dubai: Two UAE restaurants are now counted among the World’s Best Restaurants after a prestigious annual list included Zuma and La Petite Maison in its top 100 on Monday.
The San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants, a list compiled by Restaurant Magazine through an “academy” of over 800 judges around the world, is seen as one of the definitive restaurant guides, and inclusion on the list can catapult a restaurant from obscurity to global fame.
This year’s No 1 restaurant is Noma, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Noma has held the title for the last three years.
It’s the first time that two UAE restaurants have made the list; Reflets Par Pierre Gagnaire, at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City, was on the list in 2009.
“The cherry on the top is this one,” said Ajaz Shaikh, operations director at Zuma, of his restaurant’s inclusion in the list at No 83.
“It’s absolutely phenomenal. Having two restaurants in Dubai representing the region — and both in DIFC, it’s kudos. We’ll focus next year, if we can, on pushing more local restaurants, but to just to start off, having us there, well, I am the happiest guy in the world today.”
Zuma, a contemporary Japanese restaurant opened in 2008, and also has locations in London and Miami (which did not make the list), while La Petite Maison — in at No 96 — began serving its Provencale dishes in 2010. Both are located at Dubai International Financial Centre.
Cedric Toussaint, the general manager at La Petite Maison, which also has an outlet in London, said the recognition was important for the restaurant, but also for Dubai’s dining scene.
“People now know that some interesting restaurants are in Dubai. Before, diners were referring to all the best restaurants around the world. Now they can refer to something they have themselves in Dubai. They are part it.”
Shaikh underlined the importance of the win. “I know for a fact here are people who go around the world, eating off this list. Suddenly, Dubai is on the foodie map. Before, people said Dubai is copy-paste, that nothing works here. Hopefully now our region will be taken more seriously.”
“This is the defacto list of who’s who in the food and beverage chef and restaurant world,” said Sheikh.
How the list is compiled
The Middle East is one of 27 regions included for assessment by the Best Restaurants Academy, whose members include food critics, chefs, restaurateurs and respected foodies.
In the Middle East, the chairman of the 31-member panel is James Brennan, a freelancer food writer who has written for Gulf News.
Each panellist must select seven restaurants at which they must have eaten in the past 18 months, three of which must be outside their own region. There are no restrictions on price or location.
“The list is a snapshot of global dining trends, so the restaurants that make it reflect people’s dining preferences around the world. It isn’t a definitive list, and doesn’t pretend to be, but it does get people talking about restaurants, which is a good thing,” said Brennan.
“I’m hoping it will inspire more local chefs to up their game in pursuit of a place on the list. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has made it possible for UAE restaurants to get global recognition, so that’s what they should be striving for.
“The UAE is a young market when it comes to restaurants, but it’s showing signs of growing up. We have a lot of franchises and chain restaurants from overseas, but we’re beginning to see more homegrown concepts emerging and I think that will be reflected in future lists as the market matures. All the great food cities have innovative restaurants that draw on local culture, cuisines and ingredients, and this is where the UAE needs to be before it can be ranked among the very best. It would be great to see Middle Eastern cuisine taken to the next level.”
