Dubai: Two UAE restaurants are now counted among the World's Best Restaurants after a prestigious annual list included Zuma and La Petite Maison in its top 100 on Monday.
The San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants, a list compiled by Restaurant magazine through an "academy" of more than 800 judges around the world, is seen as one of the definitive restaurant guides, and inclusion on the list can catapult a restaurant from obscurity to global fame. This year's number one restaurant is Noma, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Noma has held the title for the last three years.
"The cherry on the top is this one," said Ajaz Shaikh, operations director at Zuma, of his restaurant's inclusion in the list at number 83.
"It's absolutely phenomenal. Having two restaurants in Dubai representing the region — and both in DIFC, it's kudos. We'll focus next year, if we can, on pushing more local restaurants, but to just to start off, having us there, well, I am the happiest guy in the world today."
Zuma, a contemporary Japanese restaurant, opened in 2008 and also has locations in London and Miami (which did not make the list), while La Petite Maison — in at number 96 — began serving its Provencale dishes in 2010. Both are located in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Cedric Toussaint, the general manager at La Petite Maison, which also has an outlet in London, said the recognition was important for the restaurant, but also for Dubai's dining scene.
"People now know that some interesting restaurants are in Dubai. Before, diners were referring to all the best restaurants around the world. Now they can refer to something they have themselves in Dubai. They are part it."
Shaikh underlined the importance of the win. "I know for a fact there are people who go around the world, eating off this list. Suddenly, Dubai is on the foodie map. Before, people said Dubai is copy-paste, that nothing works here. Hopefully now our region will be taken more seriously."
Who's who of food
"This is the de facto list of who's who in the food and beverage, chef and restaurant world," said Shaikh.
The Middle East is one of 27 regions included for assessment by the Best Restaurants Academy, whose members include food critics, chefs, restaurateurs and respected experts. In the Middle East, the chairman of the 31-member panel is James Brennan, a freelance food writer who has written for Gulf News. Each panellist must select seven restaurants at which they must have eaten in the past 18 months, three of which must be outside their own region.
