Central restaurant in Peru maintains title of best restaurant in Latin America

For the third year in a row, Central restaurant in Lima, Peru has been named Latin America's best restaurant, cementing its reputation as one of the world's hottest dining destinations.

For attendees of Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants awards on Monday night in Mexico City, it was a scene of déjà vu, with Chef Virgilio Martinez returning to the stage to claim the top honor.

At Central, diners are taken on a vertical tour of Peru that spans the oceans, Peruvian Amazon and the Andes mountains with a tasting menu that travels from 20 meters below to 4,100 meters above sea level.

Dishes are labeled by the altitude at which ingredients are found. For a taste of Peru at 20 meters below sea level, diners are introduced to the dish “Marine Soil” featuring clams, pepino melons and sweet lemon.

At the other end of the spectrum, the dish “Aija High Mountain” is meant to embody the country at 4,100 meters above sea level with huacatay (also known as Peruvian black mint), “pamper petals and moraya.”

Overall, Brazil, Peru and Argentina tied for boasting the largest number of restaurants on the top 50 ranking with nine addresses each.

For the first time this year, Panama and Paraguay managed to crack the top 50 list for Maito (36) and Tierra Colorada Gastro (47) respectively.

Enrique Olvera's Mexico City restaurant Pujol also nabbed the inaugural Art of Hospitality Award introduced this year, while the Chefs' Choice Award, voted for by the 50 best chefs themselves, went to Guillermo Gonzalez Beristain of Pangea in Monterrey, Mexico.

The ranking itself is based on the votes of 252 members of Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants Academy, who come from four geographical regions.

Here are the top 10 restaurants on the Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list:

1. Central, Lima, Peru
2. Maido, Lima, Peru
3. D.O.M. Sao Paulo, Brazil
4. Borago, Santiago, Chile
5. Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico
6. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico
7. Astrid y Gaston, Lima, Peru
8. Mani, Sao Paulo, Brazil
9. Tegui, Buenos Aires, Argentina
10. Biko, Mexico City, Mexico