Chef Mavro restaurant made it onto Gayot's list of "Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. 2008," the only Hawai'i restaurant to do so.

Other members of the Top 40 include The French Laundry and Gary Danko in California, Per Se and Eleven Madison Park in New York, Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas, and Alinea and Charlie Trotter's in Chicago.

The complete list is available at www.gayot.com/best-restaurants/finestrestaurantsusa.html.

"As a chef, a Gayot rating is huge because food is their focus. And I'm always proud for the state of Hawai'i when my restaurant earns national recognition," said George "Chef Mavro" Mavrothalassitis, the restaurant's chef and owner.

Gayot praised Mavrothalassitis, saying he "continues to impress us with his commitment to Hawaiian regional cuisine, unwavering devotion to island ingredients and a stalwart belief in his dedicated team, helmed by chef de cuisine Kevin Chong."