Spanish restaurant named best in the world by TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor has long proven the go-to platform for honest reviews of hotels, restaurants and resorts, so much so that it has become something of an authority on the world’s best – and worst – places to visit…

So it was with not a little fanfare that the proprietors of the three-Michelin star Lasarte restaurant near San Sebastián, Spain, welcomed the news that TripAdvisor had ranked the establishment the best in the world in the 2016 annual Traveller’s Choice awards.

While Michelin stars are still the de facto hallmark of quality, placing top of a global, annual, peer-reviewed survey takes some beating, and so it is little wonder that the restaurant’s top chef, and owner Martín Berasategui, has been beaming at the news.

It is actually the second year in a row that Lasarte has won the award, and evidence that the restaurant’s modern twist on classic Spanish cuisine has proven supremely popular the world over.

Lasarte was joined in the TripAdvisor top ten by Azurmendi Gastronómico, which is located just a few kilometres away in Larrabetzu. Hence, Spain joined France in having two restaurants in the global top ten.

The north of Spain has long been a hotbed for excellence and innovation in haute cuisine, with the famous El Bulli restaurant – now closed, unfortunately – drawing crowds and famous faces to the otherwise indistinct Catalan town of Roses for many years.

The Travellers Choice Awards are based on the reviews of millions of TripAdvisor users, and were determined according to the quantity and quality of feedback over a period of 12 months.

In addition to a global top 10, the ten best restaurants in Europe were also identified – a list that included a third Spanish restaurant, El Cellar de Can Roca in Girona.

Somewhat surprisingly – particularly for those who still believe food in the UK is all about boiled vegetables and dry beef – there were three British restaurants in the global top 10, more than any other country.