For most hospitality workers, the sudden onset of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year translated into prolonged venue closures and months stuck at home, away from their beloved craft. But inactivity can also be the cradle for creativity – take a photographic tasting tour through eight restaurants and bars on the 50 Best lists that have come back with fresh and innovative concepts
1. Mirazur, Menton, France
For Mauro Colagreco, the Argentine chef behind The World’s Best Restaurant 2019, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, the lockdown provided a chance to immerse himself into Mirazur’s hillside gardens on the French Riviera. As he tended his prized products with the team, the chef developed an even stronger connection with the biodynamic philosophy that guides the gardeners and further attuned himself to the cycle of nature. The result is the new Lunar Menu, which was unveiled at the restaurant at the start of summer.
“Our Lunar Menu creates an entirely new experience for guests, deeply connecting nature to the kitchen and, ultimately, the plate,” says Colagreco. The ever-changing concept is divided into four offerings – root, leaf, flower and fruit – and aims to capture the best ingredients nature is offering at an exact moment in time. Which menu you will eat depends on the biodynamic calendar, which links the four different parts of the plant to the Moon and its cycle, offering an indication of when flavour will be most concentrated.
'Chocolate' from the Mirazur Leaves Universe (image: Matteo Carassale)
'Rosace de gamberoni de San Remo' from the Mirazur Flowers Universe (image: Matteo Carassale) 
'Tomato' from the Mirazur Fruits Universe (image: Matteo Carassale)
2. Paradiso, Barcelona, Spain
Paradiso, No.20 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019, reopened on 8 June, but six weeks later, a spike in infections in Barcelona and its surrounding regions led the government to re-impose stricter restrictions on restaurants and bars. A speakeasy with a relatively small interior, Paradiso had to make the most of its outdoor space to stay open, and founder Giacomo Giannotti created a six-table terrace in front of the bar in the trendy El Born neighbourhood. To complement the terrace, he conceived a new menu focused on the Spritz – a refreshing drink that is synonymous with summer in Italy, the bartender’s home country.
“The menu includes four signature Spritz, refreshing and low ABV, all created with Spanish local products like vermouth, cider, sherry and wine,” says Giannotti. The ‘Clasico Revisitado’ features red fruits and chinotto, while the ‘Olimpo’ – the most delicate of the four – mixes Bergamot liqueur with dry vermouth and rose lemonade. ‘Campo Verde’ is a floral version of the drink, with elderflower liqueur, dry Spanish cider and matcha soda. Finally, ‘Atardecer’ is Giannotti’s highlight: “It’s the most complex version, mixing rosé vermouth with amontillado sherry and hibiscus soda,” he says. “You can taste the aromatic herbs of the vermouth with the nuttiness of the sherry and the freshness of the hibiscus soda, and it’s garnished with a shiso leaf.”
Paradiso's Spritz
The full collection of Spritz on the menu
The bar's famous pastrami sandwich
3. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy
According to chef Massimo Bottura, the three months away from Osteria Francescana – which was named The World’s Best Restaurant twice in 2016 and 2018 – were like a “chrysalis metamorphosis” for him and his team. During the lockdown, the Italian chef asked every member of the brigade to create a recipe at home inspired by The Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As well as keeping the team united, the exercise formed the basis for the new menu, which was launched at Osteria Francescana’s reopening on 2 June.
‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ is a distillation of the best recipes conceived during the closure. The dishes are playful riffs on The Beatles’ songs, such as Cellophane Flowers & Kaleidoscope Eyes (squid, squid ink, scallops, mussels and roe) or In The Sky Without Lucy (roasted peaches, blueberry sauce, birch syrup, rosemary ice cream, rose meringue, cotton candy andamaretti). As well the menu at the flagship restaurant, the chef also unveiled a new experience at his countryside hotel Casa Maria Luigia: an al fresco Sunday meal featuring homemade flat breads and focaccia, vegetables from the organic garden and classic Emilian dishes reinvented by Bottura. The 'Take it Easy' experience will be available in the late afternoon throughout August and as a brunch from September. 
Cellophane Flowers & Kaleidoscope Eyes (image: Diego Camola)
In The Sky Without Lucy (image: Diego Camola)
Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow, Green and Orange (image: Callo Albanese e Sueo)
4. Two Schmucks, Barcelona, Spain
With restrictions on international travel still widespread, there has been much talk in the last few months of restaurants and bars reconnecting to their local audiences. But while many talked, Two Schmucks – No.57 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019 – sprang into action. “We wanted to be there for our neighborhood in the only way we knew how to, by making drinks and being of service, so instead of going for a profit, we calculated what we would need just to cover all the costs of our operation,” says co-founder and owner Moe Aljaff.
The Two Schmucks team created a menu called Barrio Cocktails – ‘barrio’ meaning ‘neighbourhood’ in Spanish – which it is selling at the affordable price point of 5€ per drink. The cocktails were created by Two Schmucks’ international team of five, resulting in an eclectic mix of influences. The Strawberry Kush – a carbonated twist on a Mojito – features rum, strawberries, mint, Szechuan, citrus and soda; while the Celery + Tonic is made with tequila, roasted fennel, celery, sherry, citrus and tonic for a refreshing explosion of flavour.
Celery + Tonic
Pastek
Strawberry Kush
5. Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen was one of the first cities to reopen in Europe, which provided a chance for chef Rasmus Kofoed to restart his restaurant with an entirely new concept. Angelika, named in tribute to Kofoed’s mother, is a plant-based temporary restaurant located inside Geranium’s ‘inspiration kitchen’, while the flagship has also resumed normal operations in the main dining room. Its creation was fuelled by the time Kofoed spent on the remote Danish island of Samsø during the lockdown, foraging and cooking with his wife and children.
“For many years I have dreamed of opening a vegetarian restaurant,” says Kofoed. “My mother is vegetarian and since I was a little boy, she has taught me how nutritious and delicious plant-based food can be.” The menu includes Kofoed family favourites such as freshly boiled new potatoes with olives, pickled lemon and black pepper; creamy butter beans with pumpkin seeds and vegetables; and toasted bread with seeds, caramelised onions and aromatic herbs. Angelika will remain open for the rest of the summer.
Creamy butter beans with pumpkin seeds and vegetables (image: Claes Bech-Poulsen)
Toasted bread with seeds, caramelised onions and aromatic herbs
Freshly boiled new potatoes with olives, pickled lemon and black pepper (image: Claes Bech-Poulsen)
6. Dante, New York, US
At the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, The World’s Best Bar 2019, sponsored by Perrier, had to apply creativity and adaptability to its concept to find novel ways to survive the pandemic. This meant re-looking not only at the bar’s menu, but also at its entire business model. Starting from the second week of lockdown in New York, Dante was transformed into a pick-up and delivery venue, with the team doubling down to create a series of drink concepts that could work under the new conditions. A loosening of New York’s alcohol licencing laws saw bars across the city able to serve to-go cocktails for the first time.
Initially, the team turned their best-selling drinks into single serves to go, growing from a list of eight to a full menu with 18 cocktails. Served in branded coffee cups personalised with special stickers and garnishes, the cocktails include Dante’s classics such as Watermelon Slushie Margarita, Moscow Mule and the signature Garibaldi. A second idea was the creation of 2.25-litre shelf-stable bottled cocktails, which were then made into ‘party packs’ including, for instance, four different versions of the bar’s Negronis and Martinis. Complete with coasters, matches, post cards, ice cube trays and Dante playlists, they provided the chance to recreate the Dante experience at home.
The Dante Martini
Negroni Sessions
Watermelon Slushie Margarita
7. Mugaritz, Errenteria, Spain
Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz’s visionary restaurant Mugaritz – No.7 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019 – was one of the last ones to reopen in Spain, delaying its comeback until 31 July. With up to 80% of his clientele usually coming from abroad, Aduriz didn’t know what to expect from the reopening. “The surprise is that I have found an extremely motivated team and a loyal customer – this whole situation has helped people understand that restaurants form part of the culture a city and a country, and that they need support,” he reflects.
This year, Mugaritz will stay open only until October with a special menu that was conceived during the lockdown. It does away with the concept of starters, mains and desserts to instead focus on the restaurant experience as a story. “We have our own way of classifying dishes,” says Aduriz. “We say: this dish is challenging, this one is a landscape, this one is pure technique. Like in a film or a novel, the elements form an equilibrium and they tell a story through their sequence.” Some of the poetically named creations include ‘Cover to Discover’, ‘Crab’s Caress’ and ‘Textures Below Zero’.
Goxoa – Cover to Discover (image: Jose Luis Lopez De Zubiria)
Forest (image: Jose Luis Lopez De Zubiria)
Immersion – Textures Below Zero (image: Jose Luis Lopez De Zubiria)
8. Jerry Thomas Speakeasy, Rome, Italy
In Rome, bars and restaurants were able to reopen at the end of May following a three-month lockdown. Jerry Thomas Speakeasy, No.50 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019, did so with an increased focus on affordability and sustainability, condensing the menu from 40 to 18 cocktails. “After the reopening, we felt the need to abandon the large distribution companies and to rely on small, local producers for the purchase of ingredients,” reports the team. “For example, the honey in our Bee’s Knees [gin, lemon juice and honey] comes from an organic farm in the Roman countryside, and the coffee of Café Lucania [amaro, rum, coffee, citrus mix, cocoa bitters and gum syrup] comes from a small roaster in the city.”
The team also came up with a new concept launched on 1 July called Twist on Fifty, aiming to “take you around the best bars in the world while sitting comfortably on the sofas of Jerry Thomas”. After reaching out to The World’s 50 Best Bars community, they are featuring two signature drinks from their peers each week, allowing customers to travel to Athens with Baba au Rum’s Love the Sunshine, to Tokyo with The SG Club’s Old Oak, or to Sydney with Maybe Sammy’s Espresso Martiki, among others.
Bee's Knees
Fox River
Café Lucania
Visit the Restaurant Recovery Hub and the Bar Recovery Hub to explore useful resources and read the stories of chefs and bartenders around the world during the pandemic. Follow 50 Best on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for the latest news and videos.
