Europe-based Restaurant Magazine recently revealed the 50 Best Restaurants in the World for 2004, chosen by an international panel of more than 300 hard-to-please restaurateurs, chefs and critics. The winner of the coveted number one spot was The French Laundry in California, famed for combining exceptional ingredients and wonderful surroundings with a fanatical attention to detail. This is the second year running that chef Thomas Keller has scooped the award and he even found the time to open a second restaurant, Per Se, In New York. The 50 Best rankings and a full list of award winners are shown below. British restaurants had their strongest showing yet with The Fat Duck in Bray ranking at number two, and picking up awards for 'Best Newcomer to the List' and 'Best European Restaurant.' London restaurants dominated this year's list. Entrants included classic fine-dining restaurants such as Le Gavroche and The Square, fashionable haunts with comfort food such as The Ivy and The Wolseley, winner of the 'Editors Choice' award, and quirky modern classics such as cult eatery St John. The latter restaurant won the 'Most improved Restaurant on the list' award and is famed for its signature dishes of 'Roasted bone marrow' and 'Squirrel with offal on toast.' Thom Hetherington, Marketing Director for Restaurant Magazine said, "This has been the year of the big boys, with the world's recognized 'super-chefs' and major dining cities like London, New York and Paris all reasserting themselves. That said, it's great to see that such a variety of British restaurants made the list. Their styles range from fine dining to casual; quirky to classic and their cuisines include British, French, Italian and Japanese. It is this eclectic yet outstanding offering which makes London such a fabulous city to eat out in." Data: Restaurant Mag./World Press.

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