NZ eatery named in top 5 best fine dining in the world

Smoked beef with lettuce hearts, caramelised onion, tarragon, crispy potatoes, charcoal. One of the main dishes at The French Cafe in Auckland. Photo / Sarah Ivey

A New Zealand restaurant has been voted in the top five best fine-dining establishments in the world.

Auckland institution The French Cafe, run by husband and wife team Simon Wright and Creghan Molloy Wright, have placed fourth in the 2014 Travelers' Choice Restaurant Awards, based on reviews by millions of TripAdvisor users.

Its contemporary European cuisine was rated ahead of many Michelin-starred heavyweights and confirmed its place in the annals of New Zealand dining perfection.

Award-winning chef Simon Wright said he found out last week that The French Cafe was named the best in Australia and NZ on TripAdvisor, but he had no idea until today that they featured in the top five in the world.

"When I go down that list and I see all the people that are below us or with us they're all the people that I truly admire. I feel very privileged to be on it," Simon told the Herald Online.

"Sometimes you think because we're all the way down in New Zealand that we're not going to get noticed."

Our review of The French Cafe: "The decor is fabulous, the service impeccable, the food glorious"

"The Travelers' Choice restaurant winners have won over the TripAdvisor community with their outstanding food, service and ambience - the perfect ingredients for a memorable fine dining experience," said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor.

Simon said he doesn't read the TripAdvisor reviews of his own restaurant "because, as a business, you can tend to over-analyse things.

"You're not going to please everybody. We are very much a customer focused restaurant, we need our public to be happy to stay in business. But you've got to find what you're comfortable with."

French Cafe has won countless domestic awards, including the supreme award in the 2013 Restaurant of the Year Awards. This year, it took out the Best Service category.

Beverage Manager Andy Gladding took out the New Zealand Sommelier of the Year Award last month.

Top 10 Travelers' Choice Restaurants in the World

1. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain (790 reviews)

2. Midsummer House, Cambridge, England (546 reviews)

3. Maison Lameloise, Chagny, France (378 reviews)

4. The French Café, Auckland, New Zealand (421 reviews)

5. Alinea, Chicago, Illinois (543 reviews)

6. El Club Allard, Madrid, Spain (664 reviews)

7. Epicure, Paris, France (699 reviews)

8. Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons, Great Milton, England (992 reviews)

9. Le Gavroche, London, England (1,689 reviews)

10. Martin Berasategui, San Sebastian, Spain (406 reviews)

Congratulations @CanRocaCeller! 2014 TripAdvisor #TravelersChoice #1 restaurant in the world: http://t.co/X735xfAN1g pic.twitter.com/gnxk2yq8aL

— Tripadvisor (@TripAdvisor) October 7, 2014

- with Nicky Park