World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards are coming to Spain in 2018

AFTER 13 years in London The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards embarked on a global tour that started in 2016 in  New York and moved to Melbourne for the 2017 event. Now the Oscars of the food world returns to Europe for its 2018 edition.

Spain’s Basque Country has long been known as one of the most gastronomically blessed regions of the world, with the highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants per capita and a strong and enduring representation of restaurants in the 50 Best list.

With everything from fine dining to abundant pintxos, it’s the ideal next location for the biggest culinary party on the planet.

With the support of the regional government the 2018 awards programme will include the Chefs’ Feast, an intimate celebration exclusively for the cooks of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants; the awards ceremony, where the list itself is announced; and a special #50BestTalks live event featuring top chef speakers.

The awards night will take place next June in Bilbao, the capital of the Biscay province in northern Spain, famous for its food culture, while other events will take place in nearby San Sebastian.

The Basque region of Spain is home to four of the restaurants on this year’s 50 Best list, with Victor Arguinzoniz’s Asador Etxebarri in Axpe at No.6, Mugaritz and Arzak in San Sebastian at No.9 and No.30, respectively, and Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, near Bilbao, at No.38.
Nerua, located inside Bilbao’s iconic Guggenheim Museum, sits just outside the main list at No.56, and there are a further five Spanish restaurants within the top 100, the highest being El Celler de Can Roca in Girona at No.3.