Disfrutar, the restaurant in Barcelona that is famed for its creative approach to gastronomy, can now add one more accolade to its long list of awards: the title of the World’s Best Restaurant, and the Best Restaurant in Europe. The title was conferred at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 ceremony on June 5 at Wynn Las Vegas, which also ranked Atxondo’s Asador Etxebarri and Paris’ Table by Bruno Verjus at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively.
Disfrutar, helmed by chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, was previously the No. 2 in the 2023 list. With three Michelin stars also under its belt, the restaurant is world-famous for its subversion of fine dining with avant-garde techniques and presentations, all the while preserving a Mediterranean sensibility. Describing the restaurant as “iconoclastic”, William Drew, the director of content for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said that Disfrutar “ha[d] shown extraordinary dedication to its craft, amazing and delighting diners with every dish on its extensive menu”.
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Chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas accepting the title of the Best Restaurant in the World 2024 at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony
A truly global list
Drew also pointed to the “truly global list” that had been compiled this year with restaurants across 26 territories—including many from Asia. Gaggan in Bangkok, which was only recently earned its title as the Best Restaurant in Asia for 2023 this past March, entered the global list at No. 9. Other Bangkok restaurants also made the list, including Sühring (No. 23), Sorn (No. 38), and Le Du (No. 40).
Over in Hong Kong, Vicky Cheng’s Chinese restaurant Wing was given the Highest New Entry Award at No. 20, while fine dining mainstay The Chairman earned the Highest Climber Award, moving up from No. 50 in 2023 to No. 26 in 2024. Mingles in Seoul, also recently crowned the Best Restaurant in Korea for 2024 in March, made its debut the global list this year with a No. 44 ranking.
Read more: Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024: Which restaurants made it into this prestigious ranking?
Kombu-steamed kinki fish at Odette, which ranked No. 24 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2024
Odette was the only restaurant from Singapore to make the World‘s 50 Best Restaurants list this year, albeit dropping 10 spots from last year’s list from No. 14 to No. 24. Julien Royer’s modern French restaurant was previously the Best Restaurant in Asia at last year’s awards.
Elsewhere, other restaurants re-entered the list. La Colombe in Cape Town (No. 49) was one such restaurant; it was accompanied by SingleThread in Healdsburg (No. 46) and Oteque in Rio de Janeiro (No. 37).
Special awards
Plenty of special awards were also given out this year, starting with the Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award, which went to Mitsuharu “Micha” Tsumara of Lima’s Maido. Australian restaurateur Neil Perry, whose career has spanned over 45 years, was also awarded the Woodford Reserve Icon Award. Meanwhile, the title of the World’s Best Pastry Chef went to Nina Métayer, who impressed with her sculptural creations.
As for the Beronia World’s Best Sommelier Award, the recognition went to Pablo Rivero, sommelier and owner of Don Julio in Buenos Aeries (No. 10). The Sustainable Restaurant Award went to Nobelhart & Schmutzig (No. 43) for its “unerring advocacy for better agricultural policies and the voices of producers”.
This year, World’s 50 Best Restaurants also announced a “Best of the Best” list, honouring an exclusive list of restaurants that have managed to clinch the No. 1 spot over the years and were thus ineligible for voting in 2024. A hall of fame of sorts, World’s 50 Best Restaurants said that the restaurants in 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 innovation.” Some iconic restaurants in the list include El Bulli (2002, 2006–2009), Noma’s original location (2010–2012, 2014), The French Laundry (2003–2004), and Eleven Madison Park (2017).
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list the result of votes from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, which consists of 1,080 restaurant industry experts and gourmands.
Here is the complete list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024:
- Disfrutar, Barcelona
- Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo,
- Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris
- Diverxo, Madrid
- Maido, Lima
- Atomix, New York
- Quintonil, Mexico City
- Alchemist, Copenhagen
- Gaggan, Bangkok
- Don Julio, Buenos Aires
- Septime, Paris
- Lido 84, Gardone Riviera
- Trèsind Studio, Dubai
- Quique Dacosta, Dénia
- Sézanne, Tokyo
- Kjolle, Lima
- Kol, London
- Plénitude, Paris
- Reale, Castel di Sangro
- Wing, Hong Kong
- Florilège, Tokyo
- Steirereck, Vienna
- Sühring, Bangkok
- Odette, Singapore
- El Chato, Bogotá
- The Chairman, Hong Kong
- A Casa do Porco, São Paulo
- Elkano, Getaria
- Boragó, Santiago
- Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin
- Belcanto, Lisbon
- Den, Tokyo
- Pujol, Mexico City
- Rosetta, Mexico City
- Frantzen, Stockholm
- The Jane, Antwerp
- Oteque, Rio
- Sorn, Bangkok
- Piazza Duomo, Alba
- Le Du, Bangkok
- Mayta, Lima
- Ikoyi, London
- Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin
- Mingles, Seoul
- Arpege, Paris
- Single Thread, Healdsburg
- Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau
- Hisa Franko, Kobarid
- La Colombe, Cape Town
- Uliassi, Senigallia
Here is the Best of the Best list:
- El Bulli (2002, 2006-2009)
- The French Laundry (2003-2004)
- The Fat Duck (2005)
- Noma – original location (2010-2012, 2014)
- El Celler de Can Roca (2013, 2015)
- Osteria Francescana (2016, 2018)
- Eleven Madison Park (2017)
- Mirazur (2019)
- Noma – current location (2021)
- Geranium (2022)
- Central (2023)
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