This Restaurant Has Just Been Declared the Best in the World

For the first time, a South American restaurant has claimed the top honor in the annual World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The announcement was made in Valencia, Spain, on June 20.

The number one spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list belongs to Central in Lima, Peru. It is run by the husband-and-wife duo Virgilio Martinez and Pía Léon, specializing in contemporary Peruvian cuisine. Each dish features native ingredients sourced from specific altitudes (for instance, one dish incorporates elements from 10 meters below sea level while another uses only ingredients from above 3,750 meters). Recent menu highlights include “Diversity of Corn,” featuring corn, ginger, honey, and tumbo (all sourced from 2,010 meters), and “Close Fishing,” which includes octopus, seaweed, and squid.

“Central narrates the story of its nation, its produce, and its remarkable biodiversity through a menu organized by altitude, utilizing ingredients from the Pacific’s depths to the heights of the Andes, with fertile valleys and the Amazon rainforest in between,” stated William Drew of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. “Its dishes are also founded on the research conducted by its arm, Mater Iniciativa, led by Malena Martínez, which investigates indigenous ingredients, the culinary legacy of the region, and the properties of Peru's diverse plant, animal, and vegetable species. The culinary team, guided by Virgilio Martínez and Pía León, masterfully crafts these dishes with technical and artistic finesse, complemented by warm hospitality and an exceptional drinks selection.”

Disfrutar, a Mediterranean seafood eatery from Barcelona, secured the second position, marking it as the top restaurant in Europe. Two other Spanish establishments, Diverxo in Madrid and Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, followed in third and fourth place, respectively, while Alchemist from Copenhagen rounded out the top five.

This year, the United States saw a lackluster performance on the list. Atomix, a Korean tasting menu restaurant in New York City, secured the eighth spot (up from 33rd place in 2022). The only other U.S. establishment to make the top 50 was the French seafood restaurant Le Bernardin, also in New York City, which ranked 44th.

In 2019, the organization introduced a new rule that disqualifies previous winners from appearing on future lists. This is why restaurants like Noma in Copenhagen (winners in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2021), Geranium in Copenhagen (2022’s winner), and Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy (winners in 2016 and 2018) do not appear in the latest roundup.

The process of compiling its global list (as well as others like the recently announced North America’s 50 Best Bars) remains somewhat enigmatic. According to the organization, 1,080 voters—a blend of chefs, food writers, and “well-traveled gourmets”—each nominate 10 restaurants they believe are the finest they’ve experienced. This often results in a focus on fine dining establishments primarily in Europe and North America. The top-ranked restaurants from the Middle East and Asia were Tresind Studio in Dubai and Odette in Singapore, which landed at 11th and 14th places, respectively. Not a single restaurant from Africa or Australia made the list.

For travelers who revolve their journeys around tasting menus, this list is quite thrilling. If you can’t secure a reservation at Central, there are alternative choices. Léon, one of the chefs behind Central, runs a second restaurant called Kjolle in Lima, which made its debut on the list this year at 28th place. Martinez, the other half of Central, operates another restaurant, Mil, near Cusco. While it hasn’t yet appeared on the global 50 Best Restaurants list, it was recognized as the 44th best restaurant in Latin America in 2022.

The top restaurants in the world for 2023 are:

1. Central, Lima
2. Disfrutar, Barcelona
3. Diverxo, Madrid
4. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain
5. Alchemist, Copenhagen
6. Maido, Lima
7. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera, Italy
8. Atomix, New York City
9. Quintonil, Mexico City
10. Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris
11. Trèsind Studio, Dubai
12. A Casa do Porco, São Paulo
13. Pujol, Mexico City
14. Odette, Singapore
15. Le Du, Bangkok
16. Reale, Castel di Sangro, Italy
17. Gaggan Anand, Bangkok
18. Steirereck, Vienna
19. Don Julio, Buenos Aires
20. Quique Dacosta, Dénia, Spain
21. Den, Tokyo
22. Elkano, Getaria, Spain
23. Kol, London
24. Septime, Paris
25. Belcanto, Lisbon
26. Schloss Schauenstein, Furstenau, Switzerland
27. Florilège, Tokyo
28. Kjolle, Lima
29. Boragó, Santiago
30. Frantzén, Stockholm
31. Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain
32. Hiša Franko, Kobarid, Slovenia
33. El Chato, Bogota
34. Uliassi, Senigallia, Italy
35. Ikoyi, London
36. Plénitude, Paris
37. Sézanne, Tokyo
38. The Clove Club, London
39. The Jane, Antwerp
40. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin
41. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy
42. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy
43. Leo, Bogota
44. Le Bernardin, New York City
45. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin
46. Orfali Bros Bistro, Dubai
47. Mayta, Lima, Peru
48. La Grenouillėre, La Madeleine-Sous-Montreuil, France
49. Rosetta, Mexico City
50. The Chairman, Hong Kong