Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca reclaims top spot to be named world's best restaurant

Heston Blumenthal's Dinner also features in the top 10

Spanish Restaurant ElCeller de Can Roca owners and brothers, Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca receive their award for best restaurant (Leon Neal/ AFP)

The Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca has reclaimed the top spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

While the avant-garde Spanish restaurant was judged to be the best, last year’s winner Noma, the Danish restaurant famous for dishes like deep-fried moss, slipped to third after Osteria Francescana won second place.

The highest-placed British entry was Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner in seventh place, while The Ledbury in London also placed highly at 20th, although it was down 10 places since last year.

There is a notable absence of any French restaurants in the top 10.

Rating Dinner, the World’s Best Restaurant described it as “a modern-day celebration of 600 years of British cooking”. The two restaurants had moved down two and 10 places respectively.

The list is made up of votes of more than 900 international leaders in the restaurant industry, who each cast seven votes, but has come under criticism for the way that it is assembled.

French chef Joël Robuchon told the New York Times: “Voters are supposed to have eaten in the restaurants they vote for at least once in the preceding 18 months. But no proof of their visit, no expense bill is required, and I know for a fact that this is a major loophole in the process.

William Drew, group editor of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, said: "It has been a hugely exciting year with such a variety of culinary talents celebrated here tonight.

"As the appetite for reaching new gastronomic heights continues to grow we feel privileged to play a part in this journey of discovery and are proud to bring together this unique community of extraordinary talent within the industry.

“We take our responsibility very seriously and strive to make the voting system as robust as possible.

“The list is created from the votes of almost 1,000 independent experts from across the world. Neither the organizers, nor any of the sponsors, can vote or influence the voting or the results."