New York Chefs Boulud, Momofuku’s Chang Pick London Restaurants (Bloomberg) -- Chefs converged on London this week for the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants. We asked some of them where they ate and where they liked in the U.K.

A total of 10 U.K. venues were on the long list of 100: The Fat Duck (2), St. John (14), Nobu (34), Hakkasan (36), Marcus Wareing (52), Hibiscus (56), Le Gavroche (58), River Cafe (71), Maze (91) and Zuma (92). Neither the Waterside Inn nor Gordon Ramsay, both with three Michelin stars, made the cut.

Here’s what the chefs had to say.

Daniel Boulud (Daniel, New York): “I visited Tom’s Kitchen, where we had a wonderful liver parfait. I also went to l’Autre Pied, which was very good. Then Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley. He’s starting high and going higher. Excellent.”

David Chang (Momofuku): “We ate at St. John. I like it. I came to London around 1995 and things have certainly changed since then. I had an amazing meal at the Fat Duck. It was magic. I’ve also been trying to get to Claude Bosi’s place, Hibiscus. He’s an amazing guy.”

Carlo Cracco (Ristorante Cracco, Milan): “I like Zaika because it’s very unusual to have Indian restaurants in Italy. It’s beautiful to see the high standards here and to have lovely Indian restaurants.”

Rene Redzepi (Noma, Copenhagen): “I like Claude Bosi’s Hibiscus and also St. John. I haven’t been to Texture yet but I have heard it is good. I’ve been to London four times but only for a about a day, so I can’t judge the restaurant scene but the places I’ve been to have been great.”

Stephen Terry (The Hardwick, Abergavenny, Wales): “It’s got to be River Cafe because it’s the epitome of seasonality and simplicity.”

If you’re interested in trying restaurants that featured on the Top 100 list, the charity Action Against Hunger is running an online auction of special meals; http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/actionagainsthungeruk. Happy eating.

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.

<< Back