Asador Etxebarri was named the world’s best restaurant in the 2026 World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking

Asador Etxebarri, the fire-focused restaurant in Atxondo in Spain’s Basque Country, was named the world’s best restaurant in the 2026 edition of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, giving Spain the top spot in one of the food industry’s most closely watched annual rankings.

The result was announced at a ceremony at the Teatro Municipal de Lima in Peru. The restaurant is led by chef Bittor Arginzoniz, who is widely known for cooking over open flame and for building much of his kitchen equipment around grilling techniques. Gaggan in Bangkok, led by chef Gaggan Anand, ranked No. 2, and Alchemist in Copenhagen, led by chef Rasmus Munk, placed No. 3.

The rest of the top 10 showed the broad geographic spread that now defines the list. Quintonil in Mexico City ranked No. 4, followed by Wing in Hong Kong at No. 5 and The Chairman, also in Hong Kong, at No. 6. Kjolle in Lima took No. 7, Kadeau in Copenhagen was No. 8, Diverxo in Madrid placed No. 9, and Plénitude in Paris rounded out the top 10 at No. 10.

Italy again had a strong presence in the ranking, though none of its restaurants placed in the top 10. Five Italian restaurants made the top 50, and a sixth appeared in the broader top 100. Piazza Duomo in Alba, led by chef Enrico Crippa, was the highest-ranked Italian restaurant at No. 20, up from No. 32 in 2025. Al Gatto Verde in Modena entered the top 50 at No. 24. The restaurant is part of the Francescana family created by Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore, and is led by chef Jessica Rosval. Reale in Castel di Sangro, led by Niko Romito, ranked No. 27. Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico was No. 38, and Le Calandre in Rubano, run by the Alajmo brothers, came in at No. 43. Uliassi in Senigallia ranked No. 51.

Rosval also received the 2026 Best Female Chef Award. The organization said she was recognized for her grilling technique and for her work on sustainability and social inclusion. It also pointed to Roots, a social restaurant she co-founded to give migrant women culinary training and job opportunities.

The ranking is compiled from votes cast by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, which the organizers said includes more than 1,100 international restaurant industry experts. The academy is structured with a 50/50 gender balance, and at least 25% of its members are replaced each year. This year’s list included restaurants from 28 countries across six continents, with 11 new entries and five returning restaurants.

Among the special awards, Tuju in São Paulo, ranked No. 16, received the Highest New Entry Award, and its executive chef, Ivan Ralston, was singled out by the organizers. Kadeau in Copenhagen received the Highest Climber Award after rising 33 places from the 2025 ranking to No. 8. Ferran Adrià, the chef behind the former El Bulli, received the SevenRooms Icon Award for his influence on culinary research and education through the El Bulli Foundation.

Junghyun Park of Atomix in New York, which ranked No. 11, received the Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award, the only prize voted on by fellow chefs. The award cited his role in advancing fine dining through Korean cuisine. Dej Kewkacha received the Best Pastry Chef Award. The organization described her as a self-taught chef whose dessert work draws on local flavors and omakase-style pastry menus, building on the recognition she had already received as Asia’s Best Pastry Chef in 2025.

Other awards went to Doris Lam, who received The 50 Best Restaurants Scholarship in partnership with Parmigiano Reggiano. A former food and wine journalist, Lam will take part in paid internships at The Fat Duck in Bray in the United Kingdom and at Salsify at the Roundhouse in Cape Town, South Africa. Lesley Liu of Odette in Singapore received the Best Sommelier Award. Naar in Kasauli, ranked No. 49, won the Sustainable Restaurant Award for a model centered on Himalayan regional ingredients, a six-season menu cycle, waste reduction, and traditional preservation methods.

The ceremony also highlighted several previously announced honors. The Champions of Change Award, supported by illycaffè, went to the Ghana Food Movement, which works on food education, local ingredients, and community engagement. Tuju also received the Art of Hospitality Award, and Yiaga in Melbourne was named the recipient of the Visa One to Watch Award.

The full ranking reflected strong showings from Asia and Latin America as well as Europe. Bangkok placed four restaurants in the top 20, with Gaggan at No. 2, Sorn at No. 12, Sühring at No. 14, and Nusara at No. 18. Lima had three restaurants in the top 15, with Kjolle at No. 7, Mérito at No. 13, and Mayta later in the list at No. 45. Copenhagen placed three restaurants in the top 10 through Alchemist, Kadeau, and additional visibility further down the ranking with Jordnær at No. 40 and Koan at No. 57. Hong Kong placed Wing and The Chairman in the top six, while New York’s Atomix remained the highest-ranked U.S. restaurant at No. 11.

Further down the list, several well-known restaurants remained in the top 50, including Boragó in Santiago at No. 22, Lasai in Rio de Janeiro at No. 25, Enigma in Barcelona at No. 29, Steirereck in Vienna at No. 30, Potong in Bangkok at No. 32, Elkano in Getaria at No. 33, La Colombe in Cape Town at No. 35, Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau at No. 39, and Don Julio in Buenos Aires at No. 44. The final spots in the top 50 went to Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse in Monte Carlo at No. 47, Ikoyi in London at No. 48, Naar at No. 49, and Saint Peter in Sydney at No. 50.

The expanded top 100 also included restaurants from Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, London, Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Cape Town, Mexico City, and California wine country, underscoring how widely the ranking now stretches across global fine dining. U.S. representation beyond Atomix included SingleThread in Healdsburg at No. 93, while restaurants in Spain, France, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, and Singapore again had some of the deepest representation across the full list.