Azurmendi Named Europe's Number One Restaurant

NEW YORK, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Opinionated About Dining (OAD), the leading source of global restaurant rankings for devout diners, unveils the fourth edition of its Top 100 European Restaurants. Champion of sustainability and pioneer of modern Basque cuisine, Azurmendi (Larrabetzu, Spain), dethroned In de Wulf (Dranouter, Belgium) by climbing 18 ranks to the number one spot this year.

OAD's expert members carefully selected the list and covered vast territory to discover the finest restaurants across the continent with 13 countries represented. Seasoned destinations led by highly revered chefs grace the list as well as unexpected gems off the beaten path. Eateries from Spain, France, Belgium, Monaco, Italy and Denmark top the list with Troisgros (Roanne, France) maintaining its position at second and L'Arpege (Paris, France) catapulted to third, much to the delight of OAD's founder, Steve Plotnicki.

"It was a big year for Spanish restaurants with Spain taking four out of the top 10 spots," says Plotnicki. "Along with Azurmendi's remarkable ascendancy to the top spot from number 18 in 2014, Diverxo leapt from 88 last year to number 7 this year marking the single highest jump for a restaurant in the history of the list. Newcomers like Paris's David Toutain, Restaurant A.T., and Nicolai Norregaard of Copenhagen's Kadeau are a good indication of the direction that dining is heading. There are also five restaurants that feature Asian cuisine, a high for the list."

The leading 10 destinations on OAD's Top 100+ European Restaurants list:

Last year, OAD published a "Just Missed" list highlighting the 2014 European restaurants ranked from 101-150. This year, entries 101-200 were published under 100+. To view the full list, please click here.

About Opinionated About Dining
OAD is the premier restaurant rating system compiled by an expert membership of highly literate connoisseurs of the culinary arts who travel the world to experience the art of food. By relying on statistical accuracy, transparency, discerning palates and weighted votes of members, the Opinionated About Dining survey provides a more distinctive approach to rating restaurants.

The OAD algorithm generates a ranking system that classifies restaurants based on the reviews of the membership community. Each member influences the results based on the number of restaurants he/she has visited and the current ranking of those restaurants.

About Steve Plotnicki
Plotnicki's passion for food has long been an intrinsic part of his life, if not always his career. A native New Yorker, he was a successful guitarist and songwriter before co-founding Profile Records in 1981. In 2003, he launched a discussion forum, which morphed into his "Opinionated About Dining" blog, a project that established him as one of the most prolific early food bloggers. Initially conceived as a way to share information about his dining experiences with other enthusiasts, "Opinionated About Dining" continued to evolve and attract readers. In 2007, Plotnicki developed a formal survey for readers and fellow diners and published a 56-page booklet in 2008 featuring the 100 best restaurants in North America and Europe. Since then, Plotnicki has further refined the survey process authored and published Opinionated About U.S. Restaurants in 2011, and continually publishes the rankings of the top restaurants around the world.

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