The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2023 have been named – and it’s an eatery in Peru that claims the top spot.
‘Central’ restaurant in Lima has earned the title of the World’s Best Restaurant 2023, rising from second place in last year’s ranking. The flagship restaurant of chefs Virgilio Martinez and Pia Leon, its dishes are crafted using 180 ingredients, with around half of them unknown outside Peru. How much will dinner at the eatery, set you back? Tasting menus are priced from £226 ($288/1045 Peruvian Soles).
One previous dish to appear on the restaurant’s menu was named ‘Mil Centro’ and was comprised of native potato, chaco – a type of edible clay – and ‘high altitude’ leaves. Another dish, named ‘sea brain algae’, featured octopus, sea lettuce and codium – a type of algae.Â
The gold-medal-winning eatery is followed by Disfrutar in Barcelona in second place and Madrid restaurant Diverxo in third. Britain’s top entry, meanwhile, is Kol, a Mexican restaurant in London that ranks 23rd. Two more London restaurants make it into the top 50 – the two-Michelin-starred West African restaurant Ikoyi (35th) and modern British eatery The Clove Club (38th).
The U.S claims a top 10 spot with New York restaurant Atomix (eighth), an intimate 14-seat restaurant serving ‘distinctive Korean food’ that’s run by husband-and-wife team Junghyun’ JP’ and Ellia Park. Climbing 25 places from its position in last year’s ranking, the restaurant also wins the Villa Massa Highest Climber Award. Manhattan’s fish-focused Le Bernardin restaurant also makes it on the list, ranking 44th.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2023 have been named, and it’s ‘Central’ restaurant (above) in Peru that claims the top spot
The flagship restaurant of chefs Virgilio Martinez and Pia Leon (pictured), Central’s dishes are crafted using 180 ingredients, with around half of them unknown outside Peru
Disfrutar restaurant in Barcelona, pictured above, ranks in second place
The competition, which is in its 21st year, revealed this year’s ranking in a ceremony hosted in Valencia, Spain, on Tuesday evening.
Commenting on the awards, William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, says: ‘It gives me great pleasure to share the list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 and celebrate the fantastic achievement of Central as the new No.1. Virgilio Martinez, Pia Leon and the whole Central team have truly paved the way in celebrating indigenous ingredients through their innovative dishes and warm hospitality.
‘Their commitment to research, respect for their country’s heritage and promotion of Peru’s unique biodiversity is unmatched… this year’s list continues to show the breadth of culinary talent across the globe, and we look forward to seeing how it evolves even further in 2024 and beyond.’
In general, South America has won big this year, with the continent boasting nine restaurants overall in the top 50, including two new entries: Pia Leon’s Kjolle (28th) in Lima and El Chato (33rd) in Bogota, Colombia.
Madrid restaurant Diverxo is third. The Beronia World’s Best Sommelier Award goes to Miguel Angel Millan, the restaurant’s sommelier
Britain’s top entry is Kol, a Mexican restaurant in London that ranks 23rd
The U.S claims a top 10 spot with New York restaurant Atomix (eighth, above), an intimate 14-seat restaurant serving ‘distinctive Korean food’ that’s run by husband-and-wife team Junghyun ‘JP’ and Ellia Park
Asia follows with seven restaurants on the list, including Singapore’s Odette (14th) – also named The Best Restaurant in Asia – along with new entries Le Du (15th) and Gaggan Anand (17th) in Bangkok, Thailand, and Sezanne in Tokyo (37th).
Two Dubai restaurants make the list for the very first time, with Tresind Studio (11th globally) named The Best Restaurant in the Middle East and Africa, ahead of Orfali Bros Bistro (46th).
Looking at how restaurants manage environmental and social responsibility, the Flor de Cana Sustainable Restaurant Award is this year bestowed on Cape Town’s Fyn (75th), where founding chef Peter Tempelhoff’s mission is to ‘blur boundaries by interpreting South Africa through techniques largely rooted in Japanese cooking’.
Fourth place goes to Asador Etxebarri in the Spanish region of Atxondo
Maido in Lima, Peru, swoops into sixth place in the global rankingÂ
Pictured is the dining room at Lido 84 (seventh) in the Italian town of Gardone RivieraÂ
There are seven restaurants in Asia on the list, including new entry Gaggan Anand (17th) in Bangkok, Thailand
Dubai restaurant Tresind Studio (11th globally) has been named The Best Restaurant in the Middle East and Africa
The winner of the Highest New Entry Award, sponsored by Aspire Lifestyles, is Table by Bruno Verjus (10th) in the French capital. ‘The self-taught French chef serves simple, seasonal, no-fuss cuisine at this Paris restaurant, which has developed a loyal following among the city’s gourmands and is rapidly becoming an international dining destination,’ a statement reveals.
The Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award goes to Copenhagen’s Alchemist (fifth), which is said to offer an ‘almost mystical dining experience in a remote, industrial corner of the city’.Â
The awards reveal: ‘An evening here is divided into several ‘acts’ where guests of head chef Rasmus Munk and his team are led through different locations, types of art and storytelling moments, alongside exquisite food born from Munk’s obsessive search for the finest ingredients.’
Julien Royer of Odette in Singapore wins the Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award. Voted for by the world’s leading chefs, this special prize is awarded to a chef who has had a significant positive influence on the culinary community.
Pia Salazar of Nuema, Quito, Ecuador, is the recipient of The World’s Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Sosa.Â
Already crowned Latin America’s Best Pastry Chef 2022, the Cuenca-born chef is ‘helping put Ecuador on the culinary map with her experimental creations, turning fruit and vegetables into sweet masterpieces, like coconut with umami-rich yeast and black garlic, or leek and vanilla with cedron, a herb resembling lemon verbena’, the awards reveals.
The Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award goes to Copenhagen’s Alchemist (fifth, above), which is said to offer an ‘almost mystical dining experience in a remote, industrial corner of the city’
Singapore’s Odette (14th overall) has been named The Best Restaurant in Asia
In its second year, the Beronia World’s Best Sommelier Award goes to Miguel Angel Millan, sommelier of Madrid’s Diverxo. A statement says that he ‘expertly curates pairings to match [Diverxo] chef Dabiz Munoz’s ever-changing menu and takes the restaurant’s beverage programme to an exceptionally high level, establishing himself as one of the most important sommeliers on the international restaurant scene’.
The evening also celebrated those honoured with pre-announced special awards, including the Champions of Change winners Nora Fitzgerald Belahcen, founder of Moroccan social enterprise Amal, and Othon Nolasco and Damian Diaz, the duo behind food-security project No Us Without You LA.
Central takes the number one spot from the 2022 winner, Geranium, Copenhagen, which has now been elevated to the ‘Best of the Best’ hall of fame – a category of number-one ranked restaurants that have ‘more than proved their worth’ and are therefore not eligible for voting.
The award winners have been determined based on votes cast by 1,080 international restaurant industry experts and ‘well-travelled gourmets’ who make up The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy. For more information go to theworlds50best.com.
The interior of Piazza Duomo restaurant in Alba, Italy, which ranks 42nd overallÂ
A dish served at Leo in Bogota, Colombia, which ranks 43rd overallÂ
