The S.Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants.

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El Bulli

Not since Geoff Hurst won England the World Cup in 1966 has there been a hat-trick as impressive as this: El Bulli crowned the best restaurant in the world for the third consecutive year, once more pipping The Fat Duck to the golden prize. Were it not for the fact that Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adrià are such good friends you might have expected Blumenthal to sink his teeth into Adrià when the awards were announced at the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in London.

It's not hard to see why El Bulli, which also topped the poll in 2002, remains our judges' favourite. The dazzling dishes that Adrià continues to conjure are by now the stuff of legend. El Bulli has built its reputation on its astonishing inventions, on pioneering techniques that yield results on the table that surprise, provoke, engage your sense of humour and taste divine. It's a cuisine that differs from others, according to Adrià, in that "it demands psychological reflection". In other words, you don't come to El Bulli for a feed, you come for an experience.

With an approach to food as avant-garde as Adrià's, it's understandable that so much that is written about El Bulli centres on the kitchen. But food, as in any other restaurant, is just one part of the equation. The contribution the front-of-house team makes to the success of El Bulli is immense. You won't find better service than this anywhere in the world. The staff are absolutely top-notch, professional, knowledgeable, charming and, in an environment in which you're being presented with food the likes of which you'll never have seen before, they put you instantly at ease.

And then there's the location. A small bay on the Costa Brava, with wooded hills all around. Scenery that thrills the senses almost as much as the food does.

With such ingredients, it's small wonder that El Bulli remains number one. The question is: can anyone topple it?

Behind the stove:

Chef-patron Ferran Adrià

What they say:

"El Bulli is the very home - the gleaming apex - of culinary innovation. The unexpected is to be expected, and only a fool (or an unsophisticate) would arrive here anticipating anything less. Yes, this is incredibly cool. Magical, even." Rachel Cook, The Guardian

New dish this year:

Tomato cookies

Not a lot of people know that:

There are currently 42 chefs working in the El Bulli kitchen

Apartado 30, 17480 Roses en Cala Montjol, Spain
+34 97215 04 57 (after 3pm during the season)
www.elbulli.com