The Top 5 European Restaurants

When dining out, most everyone prefers good food, good service, good drinks, and great fun, as well as a memorable dining experience. There are many great restaurants all over the world that provide just that, but 5 of the best ones are in Europe. Guest restaurant pr contributors, Sauce Comms have compiled a list of the top five, which are found in France, Spain, Great Britain, and Denmark:

1) El Bulli, Catalonia Spain

This restaurant is operated by head chef, Ferran Adria and has been in existence since 1964. The season at El Bulli is limited to 6 months and reservations are taken for only one day after the restaurant closes for the season. The average season sees about 2 million requests for dining service, but no more than 8,000 reservations are accepted. The average meal costs 250 British pounds. It has led the top 5O list 5 different times.

2) The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire, England

This restaurant is known for its experimentation with dishes and its creation of the unusual. Some of these include snail porridge, sardine on toast sorbet, bacon and egg ice cream, and liquorice poached salmon. It has been around since 1995 and is run by chef Heston Blumenthal.

3) El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Catalonia, Spain

This restaurant was the brain child of three brothers, Joan, Josep, and Jordi who built the original next to the family's traditional restaurant. In 2007, it moved to a new building where the use of natural light and the restaurant’s amazing wine cellar are believed to be what brought it near the top of the restaurant top 50 list.

4) Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain

The head chef, Andoni Aduriz served as an apprentice chef at El Bulli. The restaurant itself is just south of town on the hillside. Dining at Mugaritz is considered an experience. Chef Aduriz is known for his ceramic potatoes which are potatoes coated in an edible thin ceramic coat.

5) Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark

This restaurant opened in 2004 and is listed as the world's top restaurant for 2010, according to Restaurant magazine. The head chef and owner, Rene Redzepi has created a menu of modern Nordic cuisine, including vegetables in edible soil.

Photo by: Haynes