Zuma Dubai has been ranked highest in the MENA on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2016 ranking.
The Japanese restaurant, which celebrates its fifth consecutive year on the list, has been placed at joint number 89 in the world along with new entrant, Benu in San Francisco.
Zuma global managing director, Ajaz Sheikh said: “It is with immense pleasure I thank and congratulate the Zuma Dubai team for the outstanding job they’re doing year after year.
“Being placed in the World’s 50 Best ranking is an incredible achievement, but to earn a place for five consecutive years is sensational. I am incredibly proud of the entire Zuma family.”
Zuma moves down one place from its ranking at number 88 in the 2015 list, and 12 places since its 2014 ranking at number 77.
La Petite Maison, which re-enters the list for the first time since 2014 when it was ranked at 81st place, came in at number 99 in the 2016 edition, which marks its fourth time on the list.
La Petite Maison general manager, Antoine Jaillet, commented: “We are extremely honoured and humbled to be recognised once again by such an esteemed group of industry leaders and win a spot in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. This is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of the La Petite Maison family to deliver a world-class culinary experience.”
Rory Duncan, head chef of La Petite Maison added: “We continue to raise the bar at La Petite Maison and we are delighted to be included on the list which is voted by industry experts from around the world. The world ranking is a great achievement indeed and we owe it all to our dedicated team.”
No restaurant in the Middle East ever broken into the top 50 of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants List.
The 51 to 100 entrants were announced ahead The World’s 50 Best Restaurants annual awards event, which takes place on 13 June at Cipriani Wall Street, Manhattan, New York.
This year’s 51 – 100 list features new entries from Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York; Burnt Ends in Singapore and Moscow’s Twins.
A number of mainstays have retained their presence on the list, including London’s St John and Paris’ L’Atelier Saint-Germain de Joël Robuchon.
Five New York restaurants have made the list, including Thomas Keller’s Per Se at No.52, Daniel Boulud’s Daniel at No.71 and newcomer, Cosme at No. 96.
Seven restaurants from Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2016 are on the 51 – 100 list, including Den (No.77) and Quintessence (No.92) in Tokyo.
France has eight restaurants in the 51-100 including two new entries: Epicure at No.69, headed by Eric Frechon and Yannick Alleno’s Pavillon Ledoyen at No.72, both of which are in Paris.
Belgium, Spain and the UK celebrate three restaurants each, with The Jane in Antwerp claiming the highest new entry spot at No.54.
Lyle’s in London enters the list for the first time at No.65 sharing its ranking with Australia’s Brae, whilst Spain’s Nerua climbs the list by 13 places to No.55.
Now in its 14th year, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, is created from the votes of The Diners Club World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of almost 1,000 international leaders in the restaurant community.
The Academy comprises 27 separate regions around the world, each of which has 36 members, including a chairperson, and each member can cast seven votes.
Of those seven, at least three votes must recognise restaurants outside of the academy member’s own region.
The panel in each region is made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded ‘gastronomes’.
Members list their choices in order of preference, based on their best restaurant experiences of the previous 18 months.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is independently adjudicated by professional services consultancy Deloitte.
