The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023: The List So Far

June 20, 2023

The Geranium team on stage at the 2022 World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony. Having won the No. 1 slot last year, the restaurant is no longer eligible to place on the list. Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for 50 Best

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The World’s 50 Best Restaurants List is being announced now at an awards ceremony in Valencia, Spain. As ever, the list aims to evaluate and subsequently rank the entire world’s global culinary output.

This year, as like last year, we’re guaranteed to see a restaurant achieve No. 1 status for the first time. In 2019, the organization announced a rule change that after a restaurant ascends to the No. 1 spot, it becomes ineligible and is removed from the list in future years. The contenders most likely to assume the mantle are those that were the highest ranked in the 2022 list. Keep an eye on Central, last year’s number two, Disfrutar (No 3. in 2022), Diverxo (No 4. in 2022), Pujol (No 5. in 2022), and Asador Etxebarri (No. 6 in 2022, but has been ranked in previous lists as high as No. 3). Only one of the restaurants above has a woman at the helm or co-credited as the chef: Central, in Lima, is run by married chefs Virgilio Martínez and Pia León.

Ranking the best restaurants in the world is a wild premise. What does best mean? Best to whom? As such, the list doesn’t really live up to that task. Instead, the list focuses primarily on fine-dining establishments around Europe, the United States, though in recent years more restaurants from east Asia, South America, and Central America have appeared on the list with more frequency. Last year there were no restaurants from India, a country of over 1.4 billion people, or from the Middle East, at all; the only restaurant in the Top 50 from the entire African continent was a South African fine dining restaurant that is inspired by local ingredients and Japanese technique. The organization previously revealed the “back 50,” as its sometimes known, a ranking of 51 – 100. Some restaurants from last year’s top 50 have slid back, making room for new entries to the main list.

The organization still continues to award a “best female chef.” This year, the winner is Elena Reygadas (Rosetta, Mexico City) – her restaurant ranked at No. 37 on the Latin America’s 50 Best list last year and makes her main list debut this year at No. 49. The award has been the subject of intense criticism over the years (including from chefs who have won the award), but the organization and its voters (a gender-balanced mix of chefs and food experts) can’t seem to figure out how to honor the culinary output of women in the world without it.

Among the other awards awards, Kwame Onwuachi took home the one to watch award for his work at Tatianna in New York City and Pía Salazar earned best pastry chef for her desserts at Nuema, Quito.

We’ll be updating this list in real time as winners are announced, so stay tuned and refresh often. Head here to watch and for more on what to expect this year.