A new list of the best 50 restaurants in the world was announced on Wednesday night at the Municipal Theater in Lima, Peru. The 50, the media company behind the rankings (formerly known as the World’s 50 Best), has become a powerful force in global hospitality since its first list was published in 2002.
Asador Etxebarri in the Basque region of Spain, where all the cooking has been done by the chef Victor Arguinzoniz since it opened in 1990, won the top spot. The tiny restaurant has been No. 2 for the last two years, and as the ceremony began, users on the prediction-market site Kalshi were giving it a 62 percent chance of claiming the title.
Other results were more surprising. For the first time, only one American restaurant was in the top 50: Atomix in New York City rose from No. 12 to No. 11. Le Louis XV, the French chef Alain Ducasse’s temple to luxury eating in Monaco, reappeared on the list for the first time since 2009, at No. 47.
In this year’s extended list, Single Thread in Healdsburg, Calif., the only other U.S. restaurant, held on at No. 93. Celebrated stalwarts like Le Bernardin, Atelier Crenn and César all fell off. New additions included Khufu’s in Giza, the first ranked restaurant from Egypt, and Arca, the first from Tulum, Mexico.
In February, the 50 announced that Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, would be the host city for the 2026 ceremony. Although the Emirates has poured money into tourism and hospitality in recent years, its human rights record generated pushback from chefs like Dominique Crenn, who said she would not attend.
Soon after, as the United States went to war with Iran and the conflict’s effects spread through the Middle East, the event was moved to Lima, where it was underwritten by PromPerú, the well-funded trade organization that has helped bring Peruvian food into the global spotlight.
Two of the last three world No. 1 restaurants — Central in 2023 and Maido in 2025 — are in Peru, an achievement no other country has matched. Both, like all the restaurants previously ranked first, are now retired from the competition.
The chef Ana Ros, who received the group’s award for world’s best female chef in 2017, long participated in the year-round events that promote the list. She has credited the 50 for bringing diners to her restaurant in Slovenia, Hisa Franko, which had been ranked every year since 2017 and was No. 69 in 2025 list before dropping off the list this year.
On Oct. 21, Ros announced that she wouldn’t be in Lima. “For many years, I was proud to be part of 50 Best,” she wrote on Instagram. “Over time, however, success within the ranking has come to depend increasingly on visibility within the system itself.” Other prominent chefs both on and off the list, like Bruno Verjus and Leonor Espinosa, chimed in on her post to agree. Tom Colicchio wrote: “Someone said the quiet part out loud. Good for you and much respect for speaking out.”
In contrast with Michelin’s system for bestowing stars, the 50 does not pay for meals, flights and lodging; voters are allowed to accept free food and trips from tourism boards and other promotional groups. The 1,100 people who vote — a mix of food media representatives, chefs, influencers and wealthy globe trotters — are often well-known in the culinary world, but are not allowed by the organization to tell restaurants they are voters.
The List:
50. Saint Peter, Sydney, Australia (new)
49. Naar, Kasauli, India (new)
48. Ikoyi, London
47. Le Louis XV, Monaco
46. El Chato, Bogotá, Colombia
45. Mayta, Lima, Peru
44. Don Julio, Buenos Aires
43. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy
42. Bozar, Brussels (new)
41. Onjium, Seoul (new)
40. Jordnaer, Copenhagen
39. Schloss Schauenstein, Furstenau, Switzerland
38. Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler, Brunico, Italy
37. Nuema, Quito, Ecuador (new)
36. Ru Yuan, Hangzhou, China (new)
35. La Colombe, Cape Town
34. Le Coquillage, Brittany, France (new)
33. Elkano, Getaria, Spain
32. Potong, Bangkok
31. Celele, Cartagena, Colombia
30. Steirereck, Vienna
29, Enigma, Barcelona, Spain
28. Trèsind Studio, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
27. Reale, Castel de Sangro, Italy
26. Masque, Mumbai, India (new)
25. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro
24. Al Gatto Verde, Modena, Italy (new)
23. Vyn, Skillinge, Sweden
22. Boragó, Santiago, Chile
21. Meet the Bund, Shanghai (new)
20. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy
19. Jan, Munich
18. Nusara, Bangkok
17. Mingles, Seoul
16. Tuju, São Paulo, Brazil (new)
15. Odette, Singapore
14. Sühring, Bangkok
13. Mérito, Lima, Peru
12. Sorn, Bangkok
11. Atomix, New York
10. Plénitude, Paris
9. DiverXO, Madrid
8. Kadeau, Copenhagen
7. Kjolle, Lima, Peru
6. The Chairman, Hong Kong
5. Wing, Hong Kong
4. Quintonil, Mexico City
3. Alchemist, Copenhagen
2. Gaggan, Bangkok
1. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain
Dining and Cooking