There\u2019s one thing in life you\u00a0literally\u00a0can\u2019t survive without that never gets boring: food. No matter how many brilliant meals you\u2019ve eaten in the past, properly good food never disappoints, and luckily a lot of people\u00a0have\u00a0dedicated their entire lives to perfecting the craft.<\/p>\n
The World Culinary Awards \u2013 aka the restaurant Oscars \u2013 has a mission to \u2018celebrate and reward\u2019 those people and their projects. It\u2019s the sister of the broader World Travel Awards<\/a>, which\u00a0has been going since 1994 and\u00a0does the exact same thing\u00a0but for the travel and tourism industries, and is now in its sixth year of life.<\/p>\n \u2018The culinary community, industry experts and consumers\u2019 are all welcome to vote in the awards, and the winners are announced at a glitzy annual ceremony. There are dozens of categories ranging from standard things like \u2018World\u2019s Best Indian Restaurant\u2019 to more esoteric\u00a0awards like \u2018World\u2019s Best Underwater Restaurant\u2019. Of course, the big one is \u2018World’s Best Restaurant\u2019.<\/p>\n This year, the top prize went to Le Calandre<\/strong><\/a>. This fine-dining spot is one of several restaurants created by Max Alajmo, who was at one point the youngest chef ever to earn three Michelin stars. According to Calandre\u2019s website, \u2018lightness, depth of flavor and fluidity make up the foundation of Max’s cuisine\u2019, principles which are present in all three of its tasting menus.<\/p>\n You can choose between a three, four, or five-course experience when you dine in La Calandre, and pick either the standard menu, which remains constant, or one of two seasonal options called \u2018Max\u2019 and \u2018Raf\u2019.<\/p>\n The easiest way to describe the food here is as \u2018modern Italian\u2019, but that really doesn\u2019t do it justice. Your meal won\u2019t just be tasty, it will be an entire experience paired with wine and a \u2018multisensory\u2019 dining room. Tasting menus start at \u20ac300, but you can also order \u00e0 la carte, starting at \u20ac120 for three dishes per person and going up to five for \u20ac250.<\/p>\n La Calandre is one of three Alajmo restaurants in Padua, an underrated city in northern Italy<\/a>. It\u2019s not far from Venice, and is home to some gorgeous architecture as well as a thirteenth-century basilica, but is often overlooked by tourists. If you do end up stopping by to try out La Calandre, make sure to put a couple of days aside to explore its hometown too.<\/p>\n You can have a look at the rest of the winners from the World Culinary Awards on its website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n These are officially Europe\u2019s happiest cities in 2025, according to locals<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Plus:\u00a0Here\u00a0are the European Christmas markets most likely to see snow this year<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n