The World’s Best Restaurant is Disfrutar in Barcelona, Spain. Number two in the ranking by the World’s Best Restaurants organization is Spanish as well: Asador Etxebarri, in Atxondo, a peaceful Basque village surrounded by mountains and lush greenery.
The highly anticipated list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, was unveiled on June 5 at a glitzy ceremony held at Wynn Las Vegas that brought together the best chefs, restaurateurs and hospitality industry representatives.
ForbesRanked: 'The World's 50 Best Restaurants' 2024 Extended ListBy Cecilia Rodriguez
The 22nd edition of the annual ranking features restaurants from 26 countries, five continents and eight new and re-entries. According to the New York Tines food critic, Pete Wells, the list “is dominated by places that normal people can’t get into, where the few diners who will go to almost any length for reservations will go home feeling bloated and drunk. They are not restaurants, or not just restaurants. They are endurance tests, theatrical spectacles, monuments to ego and — the two most frightening words in dining — “immersive experiences.”
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Following Disfrutar and Asador Etxebarri on the list are Table by Bruno Verjus in Paris at #3, Diverxo in Madrid at #4 and Maido in Lima at #5.
The highest-ranking restaurants in each continent were accorded a special mention: For Europe, the trophy went again to Disfrutar in Barcelona; #6 Atomix in New York took the trophy for North America; the best in South America is #5 Maido in Lima, Peru; in Asia, #9 Gaggan in Bangkok; for Africa, the prize went to a new entry, #49 La Colombe in Cape Town.
The ranking by a panel of 1,080 independent, gender-balanced experts from the world of gastronomy and ranging from food journalists and globally-renowned chefs to traveling gastronomes, is based on strict rules that, among others, include having eaten at the establishment during the prior 19 months in order to cast a vote and to abstain if they have economic interest in any of them.
Disfrutar at the top
Disfrutar, the new Best Restaurant in the world, has long been in the sights of the competition’s judges and has figured on the list of Best 50 since 2018. Last year, it placed second on the ranking and third in 2022.
The three chefs leading the restaurant— Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas — met at the legendary El Bulli (one of the Best of the Best restaurants) in the 1990s, and went on to open Disfrutar in Barcelona’s Eixample district.
The restaurant, this year celebrating its 10th anniversary, features an “elaborate brand of molecular cuisine packed with pomp and circ*mstance.”
It is globally recognized for its imaginative dishes executed with exceptional technical skill and served in playful ways. Two parallel menus of 30 courses are on offer: The Classic and The Festival. The former features dishes such as Thai-style cuttlefish with coconut multi-spherical and squab with kombu spaghetti, almond and grape.
In the Classic appears dishes such as the famously indulgent caviar-filled Panchino doughnut and frozen gazpacho sandwich.
Best of the best
Restaurants that have previously claimed the top spot are ineligible and are listed in the elite ‘Best of the Best’ group, which includes iconic names such as Noma, Osteria Francescana, Mirazur and last year’s winner, Central in Lima.
The U.S. has two entrants in this year’s top 50: NYC’s Atomix at #6, which moved up two spots from last year, and SingleThread in Healdsburg, California, re-entered the list this year at #46, up from #68 last year.
As is the case with the extended 51 to 100 list revealed in advance of the 5o Best, it’s dominated by no less than 21 European restaurants:
#50 Uliassi in Senigallia, Italy
#48 Hiša Franko in Kobarid, Slovenia
#47 Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, Switzerland
#45 Arpège in Paris, France
#43 Nobelhart & Schmutzig in Berlin, Germany
#42 Ikoyi in London, U.K.
#39 Piazza Duomo in Alba, Italy
#36 The Jane in Antwerp, Belgium
#35 Frantzén in Stockholm, Sweden
#31 Belcanto in Lisbon, Portugal
#30 Restaurant Tim Raue, in Berlin, Germany
#28 Elkano in Getaria, Spain
#22 Steirereck in Vienna, Austria
#19 Reale in Castel di Sangro, Italy
#18 Plénitude in Paris
#17 Kol in London
#14 Quique Dacosta in Dénia, Spain
#12 Lido 84 in Gardone Riviera, Italy
#11 Septime in Paris
#8 Alchemist in Copenhagen, Denmark
#4 Diverxo in Madrid, Spain
South America, a new gastronomic mecca
South America earned 11 spots on this year’s best-in-the-world list:
#5 Maido in Lima, #7 Quintonil in Mexico City, #10 Don Julio in Buenos Aires, #16 Kjolle in Lima, #25 El Chato in Bogotá, #27 A Casa do Porco in São Paulo, #29 Boragó in Santiago de Chile, #33 Pujol in Mexico City, #34 Rosetta in Mexico City, #37 Oteque in Rio de Janeiro, #41 Mayta in Lima.
These are the restaurants placed 1-50 in 2024
1. Disfrutar, Barcelona
2. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain
3. Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris
4. Diverxo, Madrid
5. Maido, Lima
6. Atomix, New York
7. Quintonil, Mexico City
8. Alchemist, Copenhagen
9. Gaggan, Bangkok
10. Don Julio, Buenos Aires
11. Septime, Paris
12. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera
13. Trèsind Studio, Dubai
14. Quique Dacosta, Dénia
15. Sézanne, Tokyo
16. Kjolle, Lima
17. Kol, London
18. Plénitude, Paris
19. Reale, Castel di Sangro
20. Wing, Hong Kong
21. Florilège, Tokyo
22. Steirereck, Vienna
23. Sühring, Bangkok
24. Odette, Singapore
25. El Chato, Bogotá
26. The Chairman, Hong Kong
27. A Casa do Porco, São Paulo
28. Elkano, Getaria
29. Boragó, Santiago
30. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin
31. Belcanto, Lisbon
32. Den, Tokyo
33. Pujol, Mexico City
34. Rosetta, Mexico City
35. Frantzen, Stockholm
36. The Jane, Antwerp
37. Oteque, Rio
38. Sorn, Bangkok
39. Piazza Duomo, Alba
40. Le Du, Bangkok
41. Mayta, Lima
42. Ikoyi, London
43. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin
44. Mingles, Seoul
45. Arpege, Paris
46. Single Thread, Healdsburg
47. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau
48. Hisa Franko, Kobarid
49. La Colombe, Cape Town
50. Uliassi, Senigallia
You can find more information on each restaurant here.
