The S.pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2009 Winners

Ferran Adri� holds on to number one spot whilst witnessing a host of young talent racing up the list

Thomas Keller only restaurateur with 2 restaurants in top 50 wins Acqua Panna's Best Restaurant in Americas award for PER SE.

For the fourth year in a row Ferran Adri� has topped a worldwide poll of 806 chefs, critics and other industry experts, whilst Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck retains second place. Below these perennial favourites however it's all change in the eighth annual listing of the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Copenhagen's Noma restaurant with its youthful head chef Rene Redzepi ranks third, making an exciting addition to the world's greatest chefs trinity. Noma, which rises 7 places, also takes this year's Chef's Choice Award. Last month after all of the votes had been counted and the top 50 restaurants established, the head chefs of these extraordinary establishments were asked to nominate the restaurant which they considered to be the best in the world. It is the ultimate honour Redzepi's peers can bestow.

Last year's Chef's Choice, Mugaritz, retains it's highest ever position at number 4, whilst another Spanish restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca, rises a staggering 21 places to the fifth place making it 2009's highest climber.

Thomas Keller's New York restaurant Per Se strikes the 6th position and with The French Laundry also well placed on the list, this year, Keller is the only restaurateur with two restaurants in the top 50.
Michel Bras is the highest placed French restaurant at 7. Whilst France's culinary heritage and mastery still continues to draw in a wealth of admirers from across the globe, the USA ties with France to claim the highest number of restaurants on the list, both scoring 8 establishments in the top 50. Le Bernadin (15), Jean Georges (19) and re-entry Masa (27) are joined by Daniel (41). Easily making it into the top 100, Chef Daniel's Maison Boulud (88) in Beijing proves an instant hit having opened less than 12 months ago.

A young star, who refused to let a life threatening illness stall his progress, continues to rise through the ranks. Grant Achatz of Alinea who was the highest new entry in 2007 rose 15 places in 2008 and this year rises a further 11 places to join the top 10.

The highest new entry swoops in from Italy settling at position 13. At Osteria Francescana chef Massimo Bottura introduces Italy's old guard to Spain's new wave by taking traditional Italian flavours and boldly toying with them. 2009 sees more new talent making its mark on the list than in previous years. Such rising stars, all new entries, include Steirereck of Austria (30), (restaurant missed out) Mirazur in the South of France (35), Iggy's in Singapore (45) and Quay in Australia (46).

Another new entry is New York's freewheeling, no reservations Momofuku Ssam Bar (31) which having been a darling of the American restaurant critics has made its mark internationally. Here is proof that table cloths and standing to attention are not prerequisites of excellence.

The growing influence of Japanese chefs on the global restaurant scene has also been recognised by the voters in the Nespresso Worlds 50 Best Restaurants Academy. Les Cr�ations de Narisawa in Tokyo is a new entry at 20.

Restaurant Mathias Dahlgren which opened less than two years ago, has won a clutch of awards for its interior design however the "natural cuisine" served by this renowned Swedish chef resonates just as powerfully with critics and fellow chefs the world over. Already it has gathered enough admirers to find itself awarded a position on the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list (50th).

The final new entry, charting at 4