50 Best restaurants list shelved by virus

50 Best will not publish its annual ranking of the world's top restaurants this year because of the coronavirus, it said Tuesday.

The British-based list was due to announce its latest league table of global haute cuisine in June in the Belgian city of Antwerp.

But with half of the planet under coronavirus lockdown, and most top establishments shuttered, its organisers said they would postpone the announcement until next year. "There is a time to celebrate and a time to act," they said.

"We stand united with the restaurant sector at this unprecedented time," said 50 Best chief William Drew, who praised chefs who had been cooking for health care workers and supporting their communities.

Mirazur, a restaurant perched over the Mediterranean at Menton in the south of France run by the Argentinian-born chef Mauro Colagreco took the top spot last year, followed by the reborn Noma in Copenhagen.

50 Best has criticised for the opacity of its judging in recent years with the rival French ranking La Liste -- a guide of guides -- claiming to be more scientific. One of 50 Best's founders also set up the alternative World Restaurant Awards last year, which was won by the South African beachside restaurant, Wolfgat.