With new restaurants opening left and right, it can be hard to break through the noise and find the ones that are truly the best of the best.
We combined five noteworthy lists compiled by food critics, experts, and diners to come up with a definitive ranking of the best restaurants in the country.
We gave each restaurant a numerical rating based on how many lists the restaurant appeared on and how high it appeared on lists that were ranked. Restaurants that appeared on multiple lists ranked higher on our list, while restaurants that ranked on only one of these lists ended up closer to the bottom. You can read our complete methodology and see numerical scores here.
The lists we used were The Daily Meal's 101 Best Restaurants in America 2015, OpenTable's 2015 Top 100 Hot Spot Restaurants in America, The World's 50 Best Restaurants, the James Beard Foundation's 2015 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists, and TripAdvisor's Travelers' Favorite Fine Dining Restaurants.
44. The Bazaar – Los Angeles, California
Chef: José Andrés
The Bazaar is known for its contemporary renditions of classic Spanish dishes — like the Spanish tortilla with potato foam or the fried farm egg and jamón Ibérico with egg truffle butter — which are artistically executed by chef de cuisine Holly Jivin.
The Bazaar slipped a couple of spots from last year's list, from 42 to 44, but it made No. 24 on The Daily Meal's list.
43. Masa – New York, New York
Chef: Masayoshi Takayama
New to the list, Chef Masayoshi "Masa" Takayama's eponymous restaurant Masa provides a sushi counter experience that's as cultural as it is sensory.
Guests dine on high-grade fish and the freshest of ingredients, but quality comes at a premium: Expect to pay close to $600 a head for the meal.
42. Jean-Georges – New York, New York
Chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Located in The Trump Hotel on Central Park West, Jean-Georges blends French, American, and Asian influences to craft an ever-changing menu. It has four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars, and it landed on the World's Best restaurant list.
Executive chef Mark Lapico offers a few different prix fixe menus, depending on the season, but the cost per person typically averages about $166.
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