Quay named 26th best restaurant in the world
It was the only Australian restaurant to make the list.
For Gilmore, his rise to worldwide recognition started “from the soil up.”
The chef has traveled the country sourcing rare ingredients: samfire from Kangaroo Island, cultivated sea kale from the highlands and white raspberries from the Blue Mountains.
This journey ends on dining tables at the harborside restaurant, where patrons have five different choices for each of four courses in a set menu.
Gilmore’s specialties include a roasted loin of South Australian Suffolk lamb with baby carrots, Arbequina olives, nasturtiums, capers, calendula and sheep’s milk fromage.
His signature dish – the pork belly – has been updated with a braise of green lipped abalone, cuttlefish, hand made tofu, Japanese mushrooms and chive flowers.
Such dishes have seen Gilmore’s menu maintain three-hat status over the last nine years. In 2010, Quay was awarded Best Restaurant by “The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide” and “The Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide.”
Owner Leon Fink -- who also bought Woolloomooloo restaurant, Otto’s, from John Laws -- said Gilmore’s food was the best in Australia.
“The man is a legend,” Fink said. “Our customers are always our most important judges, but it’s fantastic to get the nod from the experts.”
Denmark’s Noma was named best restaurant for the second year running. Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca was second and Mugaritz third.
The full list and additional reporting is here.
This was the award’s tenth year and voting was carried out by a 837-member panel.
It is one of the world’s most prestigious restaurant awards.
Quay, Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks, +61 (0)2 9251 5600, Lunch Tuesday to Friday, noon-3 p.m., Dinner daily, 6 p.m.-10 p.m.
