The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, one of the most influential restaurant awards in the world, announced its 2024 winners this afternoon on Thursday, June 6. This year, the awards ceremony was held in Las Vegas, and it was an extravagant affair with more than 1000 people in attendance.
Spain claimed the top two spots, with the top gong awarded to Barcelona’s Disfrutar, a regular on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in recent years. Second place was awarded to the Basque region’s Asador Extebarri, which placed 2nd last year.
Australian restaurants fell short on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list this year, but acclaimed Sydney chef Neil Perry (Margaret) received the most prestigious individual accolade, the Woodford Reserve Icon Award. The honour is voted for by the Academy, formed of 1,080 independent restaurant industry experts. Perry follows previous Icon winners Andoni Luis Aduriz in 2023, Wawira Njiru in 2022, Dominique Crenn in 2021 and José Andrés in 2019, with the Australian chef giving a heartfelt speech to much applause.
“Receiving the Icon Award in recognition of my 40-year career as a chef and restaurateur is an incredible honour,” says Perry. “Having peers and diners from around the world recognise my place and achievements in this amazing industry, which has so many distinguished and worthy personalities, is truly humbling and something I never anticipated.”
Perry’s win joins fellow Sydney-based chef Josh Niland’s Saint Peter as the only Australian restaurant to receive a nod from the global awards and place 98th in the awards’ long list. In the top 50, Australian-born chef Daniel Garwood can claim a win as sous chef at New York restaurant Atomix, which placed 6th and claimed the Best Restaurant in North America title. Plus, Australian expats James Henry and Shaun Kelly also made an appearance on the long list, with their Australian-owned French farmhouse restaurant Le Doyenné placing at number 70.
The rest of this year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list includes Table by Bruno Verjus in Paris placed 3rd; Madrid’s Diverxo placed 4th; Septime in Paris placed just shy of the top 10 in 11th place; and Italy’s Lido 84 in 12th place. Hong Kong’s The Chairman rose 24 places to rank 26th this year and claim the inaugural Highest Climber Award, while the highest-ranking new entry also went to a Hong Kong restaurant — Wing from self-taught chef Vicky Cheng, placing 20th. Both Wing and The Chairman come highly recommended by Sydney’s own Dan Hong as mentioned in a recent interview with Gourmet Traveller.
Meanwhile, La Colombe placed 49th in its first-ever entry, and was also named Africa’s Best Restaurant; Mingles in Seoul also placed on the list for the first time, placing 44th; and Gaggan in Bangkok took home Asia’s Best Restaurant. As for restaurants re-entering the list this year, notable venues include Arpège in Paris, Rio De Janeiro’s Oteque, and Bangkok’s Sorn and Sühring restaurants.
As for the program’s individual awards, Brazilian chef Janaína Torres won The World’s Best Female Chef 2024 award, with her São Paulo restaurant A Casa do Porco placing 27th; the World’s Best Pastry Chef title went to Paris’ Nina Métaye; Plénitude, also in Paris, claimed the Gin Mare Art Hospitality Award 2024 title and placed 18th; Berlin’s Nobelhart & Schmutzig took home the Sustainable Restaurant Award as well as placed 43rd; Pablo Rivero won World’s Best Sommelier Award; Brazil’s João Diamante (Diamante Gastrobar) and Modena-based Caroline Caporossi and Jessica Rosval (Roots culinary school and restaurant) were named the Champions of Change for 2024; and Asian-American restaurant Kato in LA took home the Resy One to Watch Award.
See the full list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2024 via the World’s 50 Best Restaurants website.
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