These are the 50 best restaurants in the world: 5 Italian restaurants in the ranking, have you ever eaten there?

Last year he stopped one step away from the top, but not this time. Asador Etxebarri, Victor Arguinzoniz’s barbecue restaurant in Atxondo, in the Basque Country, is the best restaurant in the world according to The 50 Best Restaurants 2026the ranking that this year lost the “World’s” of its old name. The proclamation arrived on the evening of November 4th at the Teatro Municipal in Lima, the first South American stop in the history of the event.

The podium and the numbers

Etxebarri, second in 2025, takes Maido’s place. The Lima venue now enters the Best of the Best, the register of old number ones that can no longer be voted for. Etxebarri’s menu has fourteen courses, all entrusted to the wood fire. Also on the podium are Gaggan from Bangkok and Alchemist from Copenhagen, followed by Quintonil in Mexico City and Wing in Hong Kong. Over 1,100 industry experts, including chefs and critics, voted. Eleven restaurants enter the Top 50 for the first time and five return.

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Italy in chiaroscuro

Five Italian restaurants among the top fifty, but the balance is mixed. The best is Piazza Duomo by Enrico Crippa in Alba, which rises to 20th place from 32nd in 2025. At Gatto Verde in Modena it enters 24th place. The others fall back: Reale by Niko Romito in Castel di Sangro (L’Aquila) slips from 18th to 27th place, Atelier Moessmer by Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico from 20th to 38th, Le Calandre degli Alajmo in Rubano (Padua) from 31st to 43rd. Uliassi from Senigallia, 43rd a year ago, remains just outside: he is 51st, the first name on the expanded list. However, Lido 84 in Gardone Riviera, the best Italian in 2025 with 16th place, which has closed in the meantime, is missing.

The special prizes

The clearest satisfaction comes from Modena. Jessica Rosval, head chef of Al Gatto Verde, won the award for best female chef.

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Ferran Adrià, the man from El Bulli, received the Icon Award, and colleagues chose Junghyun Park of Atomix, in New York, for the Chefs’ Choice. Copenhagen’s Kadeau, eighth, is the restaurant that has gained the most positions, while Sao Paulo’s Tuju is the highest new entry, in 16th place. The award for sustainability goes to the Indian Naar, 49th. The ranking, incidentally, is sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.