The winners of the inaugural World Restaurant Awards have been announced.
On Monday, top chefs from across the globe — including Alex Atala, Alain Ducasse, Dan Barber, Hélène Darroze, Ana Roš, and Clare Smyth — descended on Paris' Palais Brongniart for the glamorous awards ceremony.
Winners across 18 categories were announced over the course of the night, from "Best Off-Map Destination" to "Best Atmosphere."
The awards were divided into "Big Plates" for the more formal categories, and the more tongue-in-cheek "Small Plates," recognising more lighthearted categories such as "Tattoo-Free Chef of the Year" and "Instagram Account of the Year."
The decisions were made by a gender-balanced panel of 100 judges including Yannick Alléno, Elena Arzak, Alex Atala, Massimo Bottura, David Chang, Dominique Crenn, Hélène Darroze, Daniel Humm, René Redzepi, Ana Roš, and Clare Smyth, as well as the world's top restaurant critics.
The overall winner, Restaurant of the Year, Wolfgat in Paternoster, South Africa, was also the winner of the "Off-Map Destination" category.
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Scroll down to see the winners, alongside the category they came out on top in.
A coastal spot, Wolfgat is a 20-seat fine-dining restaurant tucked away in a 130-year-old ocean-side cottage on the historic Wolfgat cave, which has huge archaeological and geological significance. The menu specialises in local seafood and indigenous plants foraged from the Western Cape such as dune spinach and soutslaai.
The classic French restaurant won the award for having the best Original Thinking.
Mocotó is a family-run restaurant serving sertaneja cuisine, from traditional dishes such as baião de dois (a mix of rice and beans) to more innovative creations like dadinhos de tapioca (consecrated tapioca cheese cubes).
