The World's 50 Best Restaurants

It is a global restaurant ranking published by the British media company William Reed (윌리엄 리드). Since its establishment in 2002, it has aimed to reflect and celebrate the diversity of the global culinary landscape and has served as a barometer of worldwide dining trends.

1. History and Development

• 2002: It began when the British magazine Restaurant (레스토랑) compiled a list of the world’s best restaurants based on advice from 150 experts.

• 2003: The first awards ceremony was held to mark the announcement of the rankings, establishing the foundation for the festival-style ceremony seen today.

• Independent operation: Initially a supplementary event organized by Restaurant magazine, it was separated into an independent brand as it grew in scale and is now operated independently.

• Changes in host city: The event was held exclusively in London from 2003 through 2015. Beginning with New York in 2016, it has since traveled annually to major cities around the world, including Melbourne (2017), the Basque Country (2018), Singapore (2019), London (2022), Valencia (2023), Las Vegas (2024), and Turin (2025).

2. Evaluation System

The rankings are determined through voting by a group of experts known as the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy (월드 베스트 50 레스토랑 아카데미).

• Panel size Composed of 1,120 industry experts worldwide

• Regional divisions The world is divided into 28 voting regions

• Regional chairs Each region has an Academy Chair who manages its voting panel

• Panel composition Composed of food journalists and critics, chefs, restaurateurs, and gourmets

• Voting rights Each member has 10 votes

• Verification process The professional services firm Deloitte (딜로이트) independently audits and verifies the entire voting process

3. Key Rules and Categories

• Best of the Best: Under a rule introduced in 2019, restaurants that have previously ranked No. 1 are excluded from subsequent ranking votes. Instead, they are placed in a separate “Best of the Best” group and retain that distinction. The concept is comparable to a hall of fame.

• Extended list: In addition to the main list ranking restaurants from No. 1 through No. 50, a list covering No. 51 through No. 100 is also announced, introducing a broader range of restaurants.

• Related brands: Beyond restaurants, the brand has expanded into and operates in various fields, including bars (The World’s 50 Best Bars), hotels (The World’s 50 Best Hotels), and vineyards (The World’s 50 Best Vineyards).

• Continental 50 Best series: Separate rankings for specific continents are operated to complement the global list and examine regional culinary cultures in greater depth. They use the same Academy voting method as the global list, but experts specializing in the relevant region participate in the evaluation.

4. Purpose and Values

• Guide to culinary exploration: It inspires gourmets to explore new travel destinations and restaurants.

• Identifying trends: It identifies promising chefs and emerging culinary trends and introduces them worldwide.

• Cultural diversity: Rather than focusing on a particular region, it highlights the complexity, subtlety, and value of culinary cultures from around the world.