Anantara Kihavah Villas’ executive chef Gaspare Greco and senior wine guru Nilesh Bootun celebrate the award

For the second consecutive year, Anantara Kihavah Villas’ acclaimed underwater restaurant Sea has received the prestigious three star accolade from World of Fine Wines Magazine.

In the publication’s World’s Best Wine Lists, over 4,000 restaurants from around the globe were considered for the awards, with just 896 restaurants bestowed a one, two, or three-star accolade, and only 300 wine lists making it into the top three-star category.

Now in its second year, the wine awards are quickly becoming some of the most prestigious awards within the restaurant community.

According to World Sommelier Champion Gerard Bassett, the awards are the pinnacle for a restaurant wine list.

He said: “These exciting new global awards are rapidly becoming as coveted as Michelin Stars.”

The esteemed panel of senior judges this year included some of the world’s greatest experts, including Alder Yarrow, Elin McCoy, Ch’ng Poh Tiong, Andrew Jefford, Andreas Larsson, Francis Percival, Tom Stevenson and The World of Fine Wine editor Neil Beckett.

The World of Fine Wines publication commented: “Few restaurants in the world can claim to offer its guests a view as distractingly gorgeous as that offered by Sea Underwater Wine Cellar and Restaurant.

“In such a setting, the food and wine needs to be special if it’s to be anything more than a supporting player.

“But a glance at the fine international cuisine and extensive collection of bottles suggests a remarkable gastronomic as well as visual spectacle - a spectacle where Michel Picard Puligny-Montrachet 2010 is matched with Atlantic salmon mi-cuit, crisp potatoes galette, snow peas trendrils, and an orange and miso reduction.”

Open for lunch and dinner, patrons to Sea are seated amid a 360-degree view of the Indian Ocean’s mesmerising marine life.

Anantara’s Wine Guru, Nilesh Bootun, takes great pride and pleasure sharing his passion for wines said: “Our Wine List enables oenophiles to embark in a journey with amazing adventures from Old World to New World by discovering some prestigious selection among 360 labels, handpicked from 20 renowned wine producing countries including the new horizons such as India, China, Thailand and Turkey.

“Personal taste always varies from each individual but the preference of enjoying young wines (ready to drink) to vintage treasures (at their peak) would be definitely possible with the 90 year of wine history (from 1924 to 2014) having a selection from each decade.”

Anantara Kihavah Villas is also considered Maldives’ Leading Villa Resort by World Travel Awards.