The number one restaurant in the world is once again in Spain. Asador Etxebarri, a celebrated restaurant tucked away in the Basque Country, has just been named The World’s Best Restaurant 2026 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, held in Lima, Peru, on 4 November. Led by chef-owner Victor Arguinzoniz, the restaurant climbed from second place in 2025 to claim the coveted top spot, beating Bangkok’s Gaggan, Copenhagen’s Alchemist and Mexico City’s Quintonil. It’s another impressive achievement for the country, competing alongside culinary powerhouses like France and Denmark and sheer giants like the United States.
And this is hardly a one-off. In 2024, Barcelona’s Disfrutar took the number one spot, with three Spanish restaurants making the top five. Two years later, Spain has four restaurants in the world’s top 50, including two in the top 10. (Disfrutar is now part of the permanent Best of the Best list and is no longer eligible for the annual competition.)
For much of the 20th century, French cuisine dominated the global fine dining stage. When the trailblazing Spanish restaurant El Bulli closed in 2011 after five number-one wins, new Nordic cuisine took its place as the dominant darling. But Spanish cuisine, it seems, is having its second act. And with another Spanish restaurant now crowned the world’s best, the latest rankings suggest that Spain’s culinary influence is as strong as ever.
“Spanish cuisine has been having its moment for years,” says Ángel León, chef of Aponiente, Andalucía’s first-ever three-star restaurant – currently ranked at number 100 by The World’s 50 Best. “Spanish cuisine is all about product and roots – there is not just one style of Spanish cuisine. Spanish chefs aren’t new to the scene or positioning themselves according to passing trends. They are veterans.”
Dining and Cooking