These 10 Countries Are Home to the World's Best Restaurants

A handful of restaurants around the globe were honored at the inaugural World Restaurant Awards in Paris on Monday. Designed to reward those stellar eateries and chefs that might have otherwise been overlooked, the awards were determined by a 100-member, gender-balanced panel of judges that included restaurant journalists, influencers and culinary professionals from more than three dozen different countries. Here are 10 countries that showcased winners in 2019.

Wolfgat, which won for best Off-Map Destination and overall Restaurant of the Year, is located about two hours away from Cape Town, South Africa in the fishing village of Paternoster. The tiny restaurant only seats about 20 people. "We serve a small seasonal tasting menu of seven courses, predominantly seafood, then we enhance that with indigenous pickings that we find seasonally around the village like succulents and seaweed," chef Kobus van der Merwe told CNN.

Paris' Le Clarence was awarded for Original Thinking and Lyon's 98-year-old La Mere Brazier took home honors for Enduring Classic. The former is led by chef Christophe Pelé, whose creations are described as a bold and modern take on the classics. Other French winners included Alain Ducasse and Alain Passard, who won for best Tattoo-Free Chef and Instagram Account, respectively.

Italy's Lido 84, which is located in scenic Gardone Riviera overlooking Lake Garda, received the coveted award for best House Special (Cacio e Pepe). The brainchild of Giancarlo and Riccardo Camanini, the restaurant fully capitalizes on its location in Northern Italy to procure a wide range of tantalizing ingredients, including raw mountain milk, Stracchino cheese and sardines, among others.

Tokyo, Japan's INUA won the award for Arrival of the Year. Opened last summer, this restaurant overlooks the Tokyo skyline from nine floors up and is led by German-born chef Thomas Frebel, who spent the past decade at the renowned and award-winning Danish restaurant, Noma. INUA features Japanese seasonal ingredients with a Scandinavian approach.

Sao Paulo's Mocoto, which serves traditional Brazilian dishes in a vibrant atmosphere, won the No Reservations Required category. The award-winning restaurant was founded by Jose de Almeida as a small store in 1973. His son, Rodrigo Oliveira-who has been recognized among the 100 most influential Brazilians as well as Chef of the Year-has been at the helm since 2001.

The reservations-only Vespertine in Culver City, California was recognized for its Atmosphere. The vision of chef Jordan Kahn, this buzz-worthy multi-sensory experience describes itself as the convergence of food, art, architecture, music and sculpture.

Located on the dividing line of two Basque towns, Errenteria and Astigarraga, outside of San Sebastian, Spain's Mugaritz was honored in the Forward Drinking category. Opened 21 years ago, it has been considered one of the world's best restaurants for well over a decade.

Beloved vegetarian restaurant and Cork City institution Paradiso won Collaboration of the Year for its work with Gortnanain Farm while Ballymaloe House in the East Cork countryside won for world's Trolley of the Year.

London's Noble Rot Wine Bar & Restaurant won for Best Red Wine Serving Restaurant. The Parisian-style hotspot boasts an extensive wine menu that unsurprisingly includes a plethora of memorable reds.

Easily one of the best Thai restaurants in all of Bangkok, Bo.Lan.-which is led by the husband and wife chef team of Duangporn 'Bo' Songvisava and Dylan 'Lan' Jones-was honored in the Small Plates category as the best Tweezer-Free Kitchen. The award recognizes restaurants for their hands-on style of plating.