Delicious by Design: The World's Best Restaurant Design

For design lovers, presentation is nearly everything. So when looking at Restaurant magazine's 2012 list of the world's best restaurant design, it only makes sense to compare the plates with the restaurant in which they're served. 

For three years in a row, Copenhagen's Noma tops the list (above). Who would expect anything other than restaurant design perfection from this Danish icon? Noma's cuisine (below) is a colorfully chic take on Nordic cuisine utilizing foraged flowers, fungi and sea vegetables, but the design is fundamentally Scandinavian in it's functionalism. In a fun nod to the past, faux pelts drape over the modern chairs of the dining room (above).

At the number two spot for the best restaurant design is El Celler de Can Roca, Barcelona, where the wine list reigns supreme as evidenced by the modern cellar design (below).

At El Celler de Can Roca, landscape design and plate design have a funny way of mimicking one another (below).

Ranked third in the world is another Spanish restaurant, Mugaritz. Housed in a rustic farmhouse. It flaunts some adventurous cuisine and design details, such as this towel station outside the restrooms (below).

With a dark wooded ceiling, contemporary wall lamps cantilevered from the beams, and modern sculptures on the table, the dining room (below) is elegant yet restrained. Try one of these contemporary wall lamps to ge the look.

Dishes at Mugaritz show similar sculptural restraint, as with this plate of violet ice cream (below).

Put the world's top three restaurants together and you've got some unforgettable flavors set amid some great design. 

Set of 2 Laine Wood and Faux Leather Dining Chairs, Sonneman Contra Perno Satin Nickel Boom Arm Floor Lamp, Silver Ribbon Twist Sculpture On Stand

Now we might not all be Michelin star chefs, but at least it's possible with the help of a few simple modern designs to re-create the look of the world's best restaurants at home.

Images: Unravel Travel, Fine Dining Lovers, Fifth Floor Cooking, Travel Takeaway, Barcelona.com, Pursuitist, el Pais, Wallpaper*