Frequently Asked Questions

Why has The World's 50 Best Restaurants changed name to The 50 Best Restaurants?

Launched on 9 September 2026, The 50 is the new unified master brand for 50 Best, bringing together its globally recognised rankings, awards, content and Discovery platform under one clear and distinctive identity. The 50 Best Restaurants' name change reflects this evolution.

Formerly known as The World's 50 Best Restaurants, The 50 Best Restaurants remains focused on recognising excellence and celebrating the very best restaurants across the globe. The new naming convention creates greater consistency across The 50's global portfolio and better reflects the scale and breadth of what we do today. This is an evolution of the brand rather than a change to the ranking itself, and the ranking's credibility, independence and methodology remain unchanged.

When will The 50 Best Restaurants 2026 awards take place?

The 50 Best Restaurants 2026 awards, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, will be hosted in Lima, Peru on Wednesday 4 November 2026.

Why have you chosen to host the awards in Peru?

As The 50 Best Restaurants is a global brand, the awards have been held all over the world – in New York in 2016, Melbourne in 2017, the Basque Country of Spain in 2018, Singapore in 2019, Antwerp in 2021, London in 2022, Valencia in 2023, Las Vegas in 2024 and Turin in 2025. Renowned for its rich heritage, refined hospitality and diverse food culture, hosting the event programme and awards ceremony in Lima, Peru, marks a significant new chapter for the influential annual celebration of the best restaurants in the world. In addition, its restaurant scene has only gone from strength to strength, with an ever-growing number of the region's finest earning their place on the list.

Having hosted The 50 Best Restaurants Latin America in Peru on multiple occasions since it launched in 2013, and with the region positioning itself as a world-class dining destination on the international stage, this provides a strong foundation for welcoming the global gastronomic community for the first time in 2026.

What will the event programme look like?
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Highlights of the programme in Peru will include the thought-leadership forum The 50 Best Talks; a Chefs' Feast showcasing the finest cooking from local chefs; the 'Meet the Chefs' media roundtable event; The 50 Signature Sessions series, and of course the awards ceremony and live countdown itself followed by a closing party the following day.

What steps can a restaurant take to be featured in The 50 Best Restaurants 2026 list?
The ranking provides an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of our experts; therefore, if diners have been experiencing the outstanding characteristics of your restaurant, then it will be reflected in future results. What constitutes 'best' is up to each voter to decide – as everyone's tastes are different, so is everyone's idea of what constitutes a great restaurant experience. Of course, the quality of food is going to be central, as is the service – but the style of both, the surroundings, atmosphere and indeed the price level are each more or less important for each different individual. We don't believe there is or should be a type of restaurant that features on The 50 lists. Restaurants do not have to fit certain criteria. We therefore urge restaurants simply to be the best they can be for their customers first and foremost and not to focus on such rankings or awards, but to see them as a welcome by-product of their hard work and talent.

Can a restaurant nominate itself to be on the list?

The 50 Best Restaurants 2026 list will reflect the best restaurant experiences and provide an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of more than 1,100 international restaurant industry experts. The list is the result of a poll of 1,120 independent experts, who each cast 10 votes for establishments where they have enjoyed their best restaurant experiences during the previous 18 months. Members of The 50 organisation do not vote and do not control the composition of the list; that is the collective role of the voting Academy. This means that restaurants cannot apply to be on the list. Equally, no partner has any influence on the voting process.

What does it mean to be included in The 50 Best Restaurants ranking?

It provides recognition of the dedication, passion and skill of the teams behind those restaurants. It also helps promote those establishments internationally to well-travelled, discerning gourmets, boosting the restaurants' profiles and business.

How does publishing a list help the restaurants?

The 50 Best Restaurants believes the list's publication is part of an overall drive to support the international restaurant scene. Moreover, the global gastronomic community sees the announcement of this list as a way to generate awareness around restaurants while also restoring confidence in the hospitality sector as a whole. Ultimately, the list can also serve as an economic stimulus for those featured restaurants by helping drive footfall and business into their establishments.

The 50 will take the opportunity in 2026 and beyond to amplify diverse voices and positive messages, foster progressive discussion and cross-border collaboration, and encourage greater gastronomic discovery and exploration. When we say The 50 is more than just a list, we truly mean it. The 50 has launched a range of initiatives using our multiple platforms including our website, social media channels and newsletter to shine a spotlight on establishments and individuals which have had a positive business and economic impact on those establishments and individuals as well as creating awareness and buzz.

Who organises The 50 Best Restaurants?

The results and the awards are organised and published by William Reed. None of the partners have any involvement with the compilation of the results or awards. None of our commercial partners, nor any William Reed employees, votes in the poll.

Does a restaurant have to fit certain criteria?

No. They do not have to sell a certain product; they do not have to have been open a certain number of years and they do not have to have won any other culinary accolades. Any style of restaurant is eligible to be voted for by our Academy so long as it has been open during the voting period, and so long as it is not planning on closing shortly after we publish the results (although we cannot always know this, of course). From 2019, members of the Best of the Best group, which is made up of former No.1 restaurants on the list, are not eligible in the annual ranking.

What is the 'Best of the Best'?

The Best of the Best group is formed of all the restaurants that have topped the annual ranking of The 50 Best Restaurants over its history, which are no longer eligible to be voted on new editions of the list. Those in the elite group of No.1 ranked restaurants have more than proved their worth and are now forever honoured as iconic dining destinations in the Best of the Best hall of fame. The chefs and restaurateurs who have led their restaurants to the pinnacle of the list have expressed their desire to invest in the future of the sector and 'give back' to the food world through new projects and initiatives, as well as making space for other talented teams and their restaurants to earn a coveted spot on The 50 lists.

How do we know the votes are valid?

The 50 Best Restaurants' voting process and results are subject to independent adjudication by world-renowned professional services consultancy Deloitte. Deloitte has been granted full and independent access to The 50 Best Restaurants voting process and data and has performed procedures to confirm the integrity and authenticity of the voting process and the resulting list. See more details on The 50 Best Restaurants voting process here.

Who are the Academy Chairs?

The Chairs are selected for their prominent position within the gastronomic sphere in their region. They are in the best position to select an appropriate panel, and their expertise is valued in developing the future strategy for The 50 brand.

Can a restaurant be taken off the list?

Not until the following year – and even then, it will only be the results of the voting that determines this, or if we are advised that it will be closed.

Why do restaurants drop on the list or fall off it?

If a restaurant falls from the top 50 or the top 100, it does not necessarily represent a decline in the standards of that restaurant. It could be an indication of shifting culinary tastes, or it could also represent that a geographical area is becoming more important.

How did the list start?

The 50 Best Restaurants list first appeared in Restaurant magazine in 2002, as a feature. Soon afterwards, an awards night was established to celebrate the results and so was born one of the most extraordinary gatherings of chefs on the planet. The results are now eagerly awaited and are published via our social media channels and on The 50 Best Restaurants website on the awards night. However, The 50 Best Restaurants is now run entirely independently of Restaurant magazine.

What does 'best' actually mean?

That is up to each voter to decide – as everyone's tastes are different, so everyone's idea of what constitutes a great restaurant experience is different. Of course, the quality of food is going to be central, as is the service – but the style of both, the surroundings, atmosphere and indeed the price level are each more or less important for each different individual. We allow those 1,120 experts to make up their own minds, and we simply collate their votes.

Do the partners help determine the recipient of the award?

No members of The 50 team nor any employee of any of the partners can be a voter. The partners have no knowledge of who is a voter, and they do not know the list in advance of the ranking being revealed to the public. The voting process and resulting list is independently adjudicated by Deloitte.