About Us
Since 2002, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has reflected the diversity of the world's culinary landscape. Thanks to its panel of 1,080 culinary experts, as well as its structured and audited voting procedure, the annual list of the world's finest restaurants provides a snapshot of some of the best destinations for unique culinary experiences, in addition to being a barometer for global gastronomic trends.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, was unveiled in London at a live awards ceremony on Monday 18th July. The celebration marked the 20th year of the list, creating a fantastic opportunity to bring an incredible community of chefs together from around the world.
The annual awards ceremony was held in London from 2003 to 2015 before starting a global tour with stops in New York in 2016, Melbourne in 2017, the Basque Country in 2018, Singapore in 2019 and Flanders in 2021. The awards programme returned to London for its 20th anniversary edition in 2022.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants is more than just a list. It is a celebration of the universality and diversity of cuisines, which is also explored in the #50BestTalks series of live culinary conferences and demonstrations, as well as the events that focus on the gastronomic strengths of a particular region, namely Asia's 50 Best Restaurants and Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants (launched in 2013) and the new list of Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants (launched in 2022). With a social media following of more than two million food lovers, the brand has an extraordinary reach into the global gastronomic community through its digital channels.
In April 2021, the brand launched the first edition of 50 Next, a new annual list of young people shaping the future of gastronomy. Formed through robust research and analysis by 50 Best in partnership with the internationally renowned Basque Culinary Center, 50 Next showcases a diverse global selection of bright young minds who have turned their ideas into reality. The unranked list aims to inspire, empower and connect young people who are truly pushing boundaries and tackling challenges from fresh perspectives.
In 2020, 50 Best pivoted from publishing its annual ranking and hosting live events to focus on fund-raising and supporting the hospitality sector through its 50 Best for Recovery programme, which included raising $1.29m with the support of its partners. 50 Best for Recovery distributed grants to more than 200 restaurants and bars during the pandemic and donated to a series of non-profits organisations in the food and drink sector. Read more about our response to the Covid-19 crisis and visit our Recovery Hub.
In November 2019, the organisation also launched 50 Best Discovery, a platform comprising thousands of restaurants and bars across the globe that have all received votes from the voting Academy. Each venue is geo-tagged and comes with a bite-size review to give guests a taste of the experience on offer, as well as contact details, imagery and average price. This has allowed The World’s 50 Best Restaurants to further widen its scope and reinforce its position as one of the world’s most respected restaurant and bar guides.
When gastro-tourism began to rise in popularity, The World's 50 Best Restaurants earned its legitimacy as a compass for fledgling gourmets, unveiling up-and-coming chefs and culinary trends and showcasing the subtlety and complexity of various cuisines from around the world – with many more still to discover.
