Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2015 Announced In Mexico City
The San Pellegrino-sponsored Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants were revealed in the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso museum of arts and culture in Mexico City last night. The ceremonies began at a leisurely pace as guests arrived at the site after braving the city's infamous traffic. As guests mingled sipping cocktails and Veuve Clicquot champagne behind the smiles, abrazos, and besos, there was an undercurrent of anticipation and nervousness.
In this annual musical chairs-like game, there was a shuffling of the names in the top ten, including a few real surprises. There is lot is at stake these days regarding a restaurant's placement on these lists which, besides turning the chefs into overnight international celebrities, have a huge impact on the restaurant's business and reservations.
As expected, Central in Lima, Peru held on to the top spot and for the second year in a row, chef Virgilio Martinez of Peru took the top honors. Rodolfo Guzman's Boragó in Santiago, Chile took the second spot, rising up from the 5th in 2014. Gaston Acurio's Astrid y Gastón dropped to third, followed by Alex Atala's D.O.M in São Paulo as the fourth.
Peru and Mexico both scored three restaurants each in the top ten. Argentina was an oft-repeated name, and by the end of the evening it had ten restaurants in the top 50. The sprightly Enrique Olvera of Mexico received the Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award to thunderous applause, though Pujol dropped down to the 9th place this year. Rodolfo Guzman also won the Chef's Choice award while the best Pastry Chef award went to Astrid Gutsche of Astrid y Gaston and wife of acclaimed chef Gaston Acurio. As the evening wound down guests and winners with their trophies in hand went off to the after parties all over town. The countdown to next year's awards has now officially begun!
The entire list of the top 50 Latin American restaurants:
1. Central, Lima, Peru
2. Boragó, Santiago, Chile
3. Astrid y Gastón, Lima, Peru
4. D.O.M., São Paulo, Brazil
5. Maido, Lima, Peru
6. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico
7. Tegui, Buenos Aires, Argentina
8. Maní, São Paulo, Brazil
9. Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico
10. Biko, Mexico City, Mexico
11. Parador La Huella, José Ignacio, Uruguay
12. La Mar, Lima, Peru
13. Pangea, Monterrey, Mexico
14. Roberta Sudbrack, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
15. El Baqueano, Buenos Aires, Argentina
16. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
17. Gustu, La Paz, Bolivia
18. Criterión, Bogotá, Colombia
19. La Cabrera, Buenos Aires, Argentina
20. Malabar, Lima, Peru
21. Chila, Buenos Aires, Argentina
22. Amaranta Toluca, Mexico
23. Olympe, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
24. Harry Sasson, Bogotá, Colombia
25. Osaka, Santiago, Chile
26. Epice, São Paulo, Brazil
27. Sud 777, Mexico City, Mexico
28. Aramburu, Buenos Aires, Argentina
29. Alto, Caracas, Venezuela
30. El Cielo, Bogotá Colombia
31. Fiesta, Lima, Peru
32. Ambrosía, Santiago, Chile
33. Leo Cocina y Cava, Bogotá, Colombia
34. Osso, Carnicería y Salumeria Lima, Peru (new)
35. Mocotó São Paulo, Brazil
36. La Picantería, Lima, Peru
37. Elena, Buenos Aires, Argentina
38. Remanso Do Bosque, Belém, Brazil
39. Oviedo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
40. La Bourgogne, Punta del Este, Uruguay
41. Maximo Bistrot, Mexico City (new)
42. Andrés Carne de Tres, Chia, Columbia (new)
43. Restó, Buenos Aires, Argentina (new)
44. Rosetta, Mexico City
45. Don Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina (new)
46. 99, Santiago, Chile (new)
47. Nicos, Mexico City (new)
48. Tarquino, Buenos Aires, Argentina
49. Dulce Patria, Mexico City (new)
50. Rafael, Lima, Peru