Thornton’s Listed In World’s Top 50 Restaurants

Thornton’s in St Stephens Green, Dublin has been listed as the 25th best restaurant in the world.by the British magazine ‘Restaurant’ .

Thornton’s is one of only two Irish restaurants to hold two Michelin stars and one of only 50 restaurants in all of Europe to hold this status . The list of ‘The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ was compiled from the opinions of over 300 restaurant critics worldwide plus a panel of top chefs, with additional input from Restaurant magazine readers and food websites.

This is a great achievement for Thornton’s and for Ireland. Thornton’s rating (25th in the world) is higher than all the British restaurants listed bar two – Shaun Hill’s Merchant House, a tiny restaurant in Ludlow, Shropshire and TV tearaway Gordon ramsey’s eponymous eatery. Thornton’s rating at number 25 is, for example, higher than such notables as Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxford and Restaurant Guy Savoy in Paris.

British restaurants make up over a fifth of the world’s best 50 establishments – double last year’s showing. The best restaurant in the world is The French Laundry, situated – ironically given current Franco-American feelings – in Napa Valley, California. Le Monde asked the unthinkable: ‘Is it possible the best French restaurant in the world is not in France?’

The Merchant House, a former Decanter Restaurant of the Year, has only seven tables, one waiter and one chef – proprietor Shaun Hill – and dinner will set you back a mere £40, a fraction of the price of other establishments. Hill believes his high placing is due mainly to diners feeling comfortable and at ease in his cosy Jacobean dining-room and his success in getting the most out of a small setup. ‘It’s nice to get a pat on the head,’ he said. ‘It’s better than a kick in the backside which is also on offer sometimes.’

The top ten restaurants in the world according to the Restaurant list are:

1 The French Laundry, California
2 El Bulli, Barcelona
3 Le Louis XV, Monaco
4 Jean Georges, New York
5 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
6 L’Arpege, Paris
7 Comme chez Soi, Brussels
8 Rockpool, Sydney
9 L’Ambroisie, Paris
10 Gramercy Tavern, New York