Elite Traveler May-June 2016

elite traveler MAY/JUNE 2016 79

5 Girona, Spain EL CELLER DE CAN ROCA Head chef: Joan Roca The three Roca brothers have created a sensation in northern Spain with their innovative and progressive cuisine that continues to surprise and delight diners. Together head chef Joan, pastry chef Jordi and sommelier Josep make one of the most creative teams in the restaurant world. cellercanroca.com

44 Copenhagen, Denmark GERANIUM Head chef: Rasmus Kofoed You probably wouldn't expect a Top 100, three-Michelin- starred restaurant on the eighth floor of the National Football Stadium, but this is where you will find Denmark's first top-rated restaurant. With a mission to create meals that involve all the senses, world chef champion Kofoed's food is light, delicate and inspired by nature and the changing seasons. geranium.dk

8 Modena, Italy OSTERIA FRANCESCANA Head chef: Massimo Bottura After stints at Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo and elBulli in Spain, Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in 1995. The Italian fare is a celebration of the chef’s home region in northern Italy – Emilia-Romagna. With three Michelin stars, Bottura is renowned for his twists on Italian cooking – for example, the Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano sees the region’s famed cheese served in forms and textures most diners will never have experienced. osteriafrancescana.it

16 Vienna, Austria STEIRERECK

Head chef: Heinz Reitbauer Behind the giant glass exterior, Reitbauer is writing an exciting new chapter in Austrian cooking. Having trained under Joël Robuchon and Anton Mosimann in an apprenticeship that spanned Europe, Reitbauer's signature dish is char, cooked in beeswax with yellow carrot, pollen and sour cream. steirereck.at

10 Paris, France RESTAURANT GUY SAVOY Head chef: Guy Savoy Located in the Monnaie de Paris – which is the former French mint – right on the banks of the river Seine, Guy Savoy sticks with serving the classics that have earned him his three Michelin stars. Dishes include artichoke with black truffle soup served with toasted mushroom brioche and truffle butter, and a “club sandwich” amuse-bouche of foie gras and crisp toast served on a silver pin. guysavoy.com

13 London, England DINNER BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL Head chef: Ashley Palmer-Watts "The main meal of the day, taken either around midday or in the evening" is how dinner is defined on the restaurant's website. The eponymous chef is a guiding presence, with long-term right-hand-man, Palmer-Watts in charge of the kitchen at this two-Michelin- starred establishment. Embracing 600 years of British cooking, Dinner has such gems as tipsy cake – brioche soaked in Sauternes and brandy served with vanilla cream and spit-roast pineapple. dinnerbyheston.com

20 Tokyo, Japan NIHONRYORI RYUGIN Head chef: Seiji Yamamoto Through its traditional kaiseki menu, the daily changing selection of small dishes is shaped by what is available from the city’s premier markets each morning. Creating dishes that are grounded in Japanese culinary traditions, RyuGin also breaks new ground. Yamamoto's signature dessert of candied fruit, frozen to -196°C using liquid nitrogen and filled with a hot liquid fruit, makes for a very theatrical finale. nihonryori-ryugin.com