Will Alinea Be Named the No. 1 Restaurant in the World?

In 2010, Alinea was named the No. 7 restaurant in the world on the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants' list, making it the No. 1 spot in North America. The restaurant, owned by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas, had already enjoyed huge success and accolades, but this distinction pushed Alinea up even higher.

The 2011 S. Pellegrino list, which is organized by Restaurant magazine, is set to be announced later today during a ceremony in London, where the awards are held each year. We heard that last year's No. 2 spot, elBulli, which will close in July, will bump down a few notches and that last year's top restaurant, Rene Redzepi's Noma in Copenhagen may have serious competition with Alinea for No. 1.

This, of course, is all rumor at this point. We have no idea where Alinea will land, but if it makes it into the top three, good luck getting an already virtually impossible reservation. We'll bring you the news as it breaks early afternoon.
· World's 50 Best Restaurants [website]
· S. Pellegrino's World's 50 Best Restaurants [~E~]
· All Alinea Coverage on Eater Chicago [~EChi~]

Alinea [Photo: AustinVines]