The best restaurant in the world right now is Disfrutar in Barcelona.
The wildly inventive spot was named No. 1 by the World’s 50 Best organization.
Set behind an unassuming entrance, the bright, plant-dotted dining room is run by chefs Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas and Eduard Xatruch — all alumni of the game-changing, modernist restaurant El Bulli. Their menu features idiosyncratic dishes like Fear: The Prawn, comprising seafood surrounded by (nonharmful) dry ice; diners have to feel through the fog to find the shrimp. There are also sandwiches stuffed with frozen gazpacho ice cream and their signature panchino — a fried doughnut that when broken open reveals a wave of caviar filling.
“One more time, a Spanish restaurant is on top, and this is incredible,” Casañas said in his first interview after the awards. “For us, it’s incredible that we can represent our region with these products, these recipes, these traditions. It’s so exciting for us to be number one, to represent around the world these ideas and concepts.”
Spain was dominant on the overall list; three of the top five are located there. Asador Etxebarri in Axpe was named No. 2, with a menu based on ingredients expertly cooked over charcoal. Diverxo in Madrid, known for over-the-top cuisine and atmosphere, came in at No. 4.
This year’s awards were staged at the Encore Theatre at the Wynn Las Vegas, the first time the event took place on the West Coast of the U.S. and the latest major event in Las Vegas this year, including Super Bowl LVIII and November’s F1 Grand Prix.
Chefs wearing the bright red scarves handed out by 50 Best packed the auditorium. As befits Vegas, dresses trended toward gold and silver, and many women took off their high heels to make the long trek from the reception to the event.
At No. 6, New York’s dynamic Korean tasting menu spot Atomix, from Junghyun and Ellia Park, was the top-ranked U.S. restaurant. “It's a big recognition for our culture and heritage, also representing both Korea and the United States together. It's very meaningful for diversity of all the cultures,” Ellia Park said. “It’s a big opportunity for us but for our country, too.”
Another big winner: Table by Bruno Verjus in Paris, at No. 3. An ingredient-driven restaurant helmed by a former food blogger, Table is the one of the few places on these kinds of lists not run by a pedigreed professional chef.
It was also a good night for Hong Kong: Wing, Vicky Cheng’s elegant regional restaurant, was the highest new entry at No. 20. The Chairman, a crowd favorite, was the highest climber of the night, moving up two dozen spots to No. 26. That announcement met with an especially loud cheer from the audience.
Last year’s No. 1, the innovative Peruvian dining room Central in Lima, now moves to the Best of the Best category, no longer eligible for the 50 Best list. That decision to force change at the top of the list has been in force since 2019; before that Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, was twice named No. 1; and Noma, which plans to close in 2025, won five times.
Restaurants ranked 51 through 100 were announced May 22. Among the prominent dining spots that fell to the second half of the list are Dubai’s Orfali Bros., which twice topped the World’s 50 Best regional list for the Middle East and North Africa. It was seen as a place that would climb up the list; instead, it fell from No. 46 to No. 64. Clove Club in London dropped more than 40 spots to 80, and New York’s venerable Le Bernardin went from No. 44 to No. 71.
Ahead of the ceremony, Los Angeles’ Kato was named the Resy One to Watch, for chef Jonathan Yao’s inventive Taiwanese-tinged menu. Janaína Torres of Sao Paulo’s a Casa do Porco won Best Female Chef.
The World’s 50 Best List is owned and operated by UK-based William Reed Business Media. The list was created in 2002. The ranking is generated based on the votes of 1,080 panelists around the world.
Here are this year’s winning restaurants. Last year’s rankings are listed in parentheses; restaurants that are new to the list this year are marked with an asterisk(*).
1. Disfrutar, Barcelona, Spain (2)
2. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain (4)
3. Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris, France (10)
4. Diverxo, Madrid, Spain (3)
5. Maido, Lima, Peru (6)
6. Atomix, New York, US (8)
7. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico (9)
8. Alchemist, Copenhagen, Denmark (5)
9. Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand (17)
10. Don Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina (19)
11. Septime, Paris, France (24)
12. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera, Italy (7)
13. Trèsind Studio, Dubai, UAE (11)
14. Quique Dacosta, Denia, Spain (20)
15. Sézanne, Tokyo, Japan (37)
16. Kjolle, Lima, Peru (28)
17. Kol, London, UK (23)
18. Plénitude, Paris, France (36)
19. Reale, Castel di Sangro, Italy (16)
20. Wing, Hong Kong (90)
21. Florilège, Tokyo, Japan (27)
22. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria (18)
23. Sühring, Bangkok (72)
24. Odette, Singapore (14)
25. El Chato, Bogotá, Colombia (33)
26. The Chairman, Hong Kong (50)
27. A Casa do Porco, São Paulo, Brazil (12)
28. Elkano, Getaria, Spain (22)
29. Boragó, Santiago, Chile (29)
30. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin, Germany (40)
31. Belcanto, Lisbon, Portugal (25)
32. Den, Tokyo, Japan (21)
33. Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico (13)
34. Rosetta, Mexico City, Mexico (49)
35. Frantzén, Stockholm, Sweden (30)
36. The Jane, Antwerp, Belgium (39)
37. Oteque, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (76)
38. Sorn, Bangkok , Thailand (56)
39. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy (42)
40. Le Du, Bangkok , Thailand (15)
41. Mayta, Lima, Peru (47)
42. Ikoyi, London, UK (35)
43. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin, Germany (45)
44. Mingles, Seoul (89)
45. Arpège, Paris (62)
46. SingleThread, Healdsburg (68)
47. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau, Switzerland (26)
48. Hiša Franko, Kobarid, Slovenia (32)
49. La Colombe, Cape Town (94)
50. Uliassi, Senigallia, Italy (34)
Here are the previously announced winners, from 51 to 100
51. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy (41)
52. Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler, Brunico, Italy *
53. Leo, Bogotá, Colombia (43)
54. Kadeau, Copenhagen, Denmark (91)
55. Mérito, Lima, Peru (59)
56. Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan (51)
57. Potong, Bangkok, Thailand (88)
58. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (58)
59. Enigma, Barcelona, Spain (82)
60. Fyn, Cape Town, South Africa (75)
61. Nuema, Quito, Ecuador (79)
62. Coda, Berlin, Germany *
63. Bozar, Brussels, Belgium *
64. Orfali Bros Bistro, Dubai, UAE (46)
65. Brat, London, UK (53)
66. La Cime, Osaka, Japan (60)
67. Alcalde, Guadalajara, Mexico
68. Burnt Ends, Singapore (65)
69. Fu He Hui, Shanghai, China (99)
70. Le Doyenné, Saint-Vrain, France *
71. Le Bernardin, New York, USA (44)
72. Aponiente, El Puerto de Santa María, Spain (64)
73. Mil, Cusco, Peru
74. Nusara, Bangkok, Thailand (74)
75. Ernst, Berlin, Germany (55)
76. Flocons de Sel, Megève, France (80)
77. La Grenouillère, La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France (48)
78. Masque, Mumbai, India *
79. Alléno Paris Au Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris, France (78)
80. The Clove Club, London, UK (38)
81. Mugaritz, San Sebastián, Spain (31)
82. Sud 777, Mexico City, Mexico (70)
83. Willem Hiele, Oudenburg, Belgium
84. Restaurant Jan, Munich, Germany
85. Ceto, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (95)
86. Mosu, Seoul, South Korea *
87. Lyle's, London, UK (86)
88. Tantris, Munich, Germany (77)
89. Indian Accent, New Delhi, India
90. Smyth, Chicago, USA *
91. Neolokal, Istanbul, Turkey (63)
92. Labyrinth, Singapore (97)
93. Sazenka, Tokyo, Japan
94. Mountain, London, UK *
95. Meta, Singapore (84)
96. Onjium, Seoul, South Korea *
97. Core by Clare Smyth, London, UK (71)
98. Saint Peter, Sydney, Australia *
99. Cosme, New York, USA (73)
100. Fauna, Valle De Guadalupe, Mexico *