Brussels is home to five of the best restaurants in the world, according to the latest ranking of the world's top 1,000 by La Liste.
The top-scoring Brussels restaurant is the fine-dining establishment La Villa Lorraine by Chef Yves Mattagne, with 83.5 points out of 100. The venue has been a staple of the Brussels gastronomic scene since 1953.
The restaurant is closely followed in Brussels by Uccle's Le Chalet de la Forêt (81.5), the City of Brussels’ Bozar restaurant (78.5), La Paix (78.5) in Anderlecht, and the fine dining venue Comme Chez Soi (76).
The scores reflect the restaurants’ quality, consistency, and reputation, which are determined based on 1,100 international sources, including online ratings, reviews, and gastronomic guides.
Belgium's gastronomic gems
In addition to the capital's five restaurants, 19 other eateries in Belgium were also featured in the list.
The top-rated Belgian restaurant is Boury, one of the few restaurants in the country with three Michelin stars. The West Flanders fine dining venue scored 97.5 out of 100.
Boury is followed by Hof van Cleve (93.5) in East Flanders and two Antwerp restaurants, the Zilte (92.0) and The Jane (90.5).
Other Belgian restaurants on the list include Nuance (89), L’Air du Temps (87.5), Slagmolen (82.5), Hertog Jan at Botanic Antwerp (82), De Jonkman (81), and L’Eau Vive (80.5).
These were followed by Belgium's D’Eugénie à Emillie by Eric Fernez (79.5), Maison Colette (79.5), Vrijmoed (78.5), Castor (78), Arabelle Meirlaen (77), Bartholomeus (77), La Table de Maxime (77), Cuchara (76), and Sir Kwinten (76).
Eight countries at the top
For the first time since the annual list was published in 2015, the top position of the global ranking was occupied by 10 restaurants from eight countries.
The list of restaurants that earned first place, with over 99.0 points, includes the riverside restaurant Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Switzerland, the Italian gourmet eatery Da Vittorio, the French restaurant Guy Savoy, New York's refined seafood restaurant Le Bernadin, and Hong Kong's Lung King Heen in the Four Seasons Hotel.
Among the top restaurants are also the Spanish Martín Berasategui restaurant, the Matsukawa restaurant in Japan, the Robuchon au Dome in Macau, the German Schwarzwaldstube, and the US restaurant SingleThread.
“This shared podium demonstrates the global distribution of excellence, shifting centres of influence, and the emergence of a new international balance of taste,” the La Liste team noted in a statement.
Over 40,000 restaurants in 200 countries were evaluated to compile the top 1,000 list.
The ranking rates a variety of establishments, from Michelin-starred fine dining venues to more traditional eateries.
