The Best Restaurant in the World Is Central in Lima

Other winners from World’s 50 Best included Spain, Dubai and a New York Korean tasting menu spot.

(Bloomberg) — The best restaurant in the world is Central, in Lima. The dynamic tasting menu restaurant from chef Virgilio Martinez features ingredients from Peru’s diverse landscape and notes the latitude of each dish, from potatoes sourced at the heights of the Andes mountains to sea urchin from the ocean.

The pronouncement from World’s 50 Best, an independent organization, moved the restaurant world’s epicenter away from Copenhagen, which had claimed the top spot for the last two years: In 2022 with Geranium, an ambitious Scandi restaurant whose home is a football station. The year before, it was the reincarnated Noma, which had won the No. 1 ranking five times.

It was a very good night for Lima: The Peruvian capital had four spots on the top 50 list, including two in the top 10. Maido came in at No. 6; Kjolle was No. 28, and Mayta No. 47. Likewise, Spain—the country that hosted this year’s awards, in Valencia—had reason to celebrate: Six restaurants in the country made the top 50 list, including Disfrutar at No. 2. The Barcelona restaurant is run by chefs Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas and Eduard Xatruch, who are all alumni of the famed El Bulli restaurant.

This is the 21st year for the awards compiled by UK-based company William Reed Business Media. The designations have become important tools for chefs looking to distinguish themselves and attract diners. Regional versions of the awards—in Asia, or the Middle East and North Africa—have shone a light on cities or whole countries previously overlooked by foodies and tourists.

Past No. 1 winners are no longer eligible to win, a decision made by World’s 50 Best in 2019, to shake up the names at the top of the list. Now, places like Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy; New York’s Eleven Madison Park; and Noma, which has announced its closure at the end of next year, live in an emeritus category. Restaurants say that a big win almost always brings an onslaught of bookings.

Central’s Martinez credits World’s 50 Best for building a Latin American community of chefs over the past few years. “We were having all these Latin American celebrations in Merida, Buenos Aires and Lima, so we started to get to know each other and now we are sharing our love,” he said in an exclusive first interview with Bloomberg following his win. “It’s hard to articulate about all these beautiful cultures, all this complexity that makes the colors of Latin America.”

Indeed there seemed to be a palpable desire to see the whole South American region do well during the ceremony, with thunderous applause for winners outshining even the best restaurant from host country Spain.

“We always talk about French cuisine and French technique, but there is a lot of traditional technical cooking from Indigenous and African cuisines that are an influence for my cooking,” said Janaína Torres Rueda, chef at a Casa do Porco in São Paulo, the No. 12 restaurant.

The No. 1 title is meaningful not just for the visibility it brings to Central, but also to other restaurants in the region, Martinez said. “Peru has been so involved with bioculture and biodiversity,” he said. “This gives us a place to speak about them.”

Related: Latin America’s Best Chef Will Open a Restaurant at the Top of the World

Another big winner on this year’s list: Dubai. For the first time, two restaurants from the city arrived in the top 50: Trèsind Studio, the modern Indian dining room, was at No. 11. The restaurant’s current tasting menu features a journey around India’s diverse culinary regions.

Trèsind chef Himanshu Saini said Indian cuisine is one of many others that struggle to get noticed. “For us, the whole idea around the restaurant is to change the perception of Indian food,” Saini said. “I’m hoping that the story of our restaurant is that we can inspire more people to tell the greater story of our country.”

Dubai’s Orfali Bros. Bistro, the innovative restaurant from a group of Syrian brothers was No. 46. Earlier this year, Orfali was named the top restaurant in the World’s 50 Best Middle East and North Africa regional awards, which have a separate voting process.

“50 Best has put Dubai on the gastronomic map. It was already there but they needed someone to highlight,” chef Mohamed Orfali said. “It brings all kinds of people to Dubai and changes their perspective that Dubai is all about shopping, hotels, and beaches.”

All the attention to Dubai’s restaurants has been paying off: Spending by the superrich on fine dining in the Middle East rose 74% this year, according to a report released Tuesday by Julius Baer.

Read more: Dubai Travel Guide: Restaurants to Eat Like a King, Where to Stay, What to Do

Copenhagen didn’t just lose its No. 1 restaurant ranking. It now only has one place in the top 50, Alchemist, at No. 5, which also won the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality award. The new list marked a slow fade for the era of Nordic cooking which has dominated the food world for the last decade, and a strong influx of energy from South America and Mexico.

Several of the big movers on the list came from Paris: Le Clarence fell almost 40 spots, from 28 to 67. And the acclaimed Arpège, which had been a mainstay, fell to 62 from 31. But Table by Bruno Verjus, the idiosyncratic restaurant from a former blogger, claimed the Highest New Entry Award, at No. 10.

Also jumping up the list were Atomix, the exceptional Korean tasting menu spot in New York, that rose to No. 8 from No. 33, and the UK’s unconventional Mexican restaurant Kol, which catapulted from No. 73 to 23.

Dedicated awards at the ceremony included Best Female Chef to Elena Reygadas of Mexico City’s Rosetta. Tatiana, New York’s breakout hit restaurant from Kwame Onwuachi was given the Resy One to Watch award.

This year’s rankings were compiled from the votes from 1,080 restaurant industry experts, including food writers, chefs and restaurateurs and “well-traveled gourmets.” They represent 27 regions around the world; each region has 40 voters, and they can cast up to seven votes in that area.

The second half of the list, restaurants ranked from 51-100, was announced in early June. Among the new entries on the full top 100 list is Bangkok’s Potong, No. 88, headed up by Pichaya Utharntham, also known as Chef Pam.

“Thailand is very supportive of bringing in Michelin and 50 Best, it’s pushing younger generations to have dreams and to have a goal to work forward to,” she said.

Here are the winning restaurants. Last year’s rankings are listed in parentheses; restaurants that newly made the top 50 are marked with an asterisk.

1. Central, Lima, Peru (2)2. Disfrutar, Barcelona, Spain (3)3. Diverxo, Madrid, Spain (4)4. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain (6)5. Alchemist, Copenhagen, Denmark (18)6. Maido, Lima, Peru (11)7. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera, Italy (8)8. Atomix, New York, US (33)9. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico (9)10. Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris, France (77)

11. Trèsind Studio , Dubai, UAE (57)12. A Casa do Porco, São Paulo, Brazil (7)13. Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico (5)14. Odette, Singapore (36)15. Le Du, Bangkok , Thailand (65)16. Reale, Castel di Sangro, Italy (15)17. Gaggan Anand, Bangkok , Thailand (*)18. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria (13)19. Don Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina (14)20. Quique Dacosta, Denia, Spain (42)21. Den, Tokyo, Japan (20)22. Elkano, Getaria, Spain (16)23. Kol, London , UK (73)24. Septime, Paris, France (22)25. Belcanto, Lisbon, Portugal (46)26. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau, Switzerland (40)27. Florilège, Tokyo, Japan (30)28. Kjolle, Lima, Peru (*)29. Boragó, Santiago, Chile (43)30. Frantzén, Stockholm, Sweden (25)31. Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain (21)32. Hiša Franko, Kobarid, Slovenia (34)33. El Chato, Bogotá, Colombia (83)34. Uliassi, Senigallia, Italy (12)35. Ikoyi, London, UK (49)36. Plénitude, Paris, France (*)37. Sézanne, Tokyo, Japan (82)38. Clove Club, London, UK (35)39. The Jane, Antwerp, Belgium (23)40. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin, Germany (26)41. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy (10)42. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy (19)43. Leo, Bogotá, Colombia (48)44. Le Bernardin, New York, US (44)45. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin, Germany (17)46. Orfali Bros. Bistro, Dubai, UAE (87)47. Mayta, Lima, Peru (11)48. La Grenouillère, La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France (61)49. Rosetta, Mexico City, Mexico (60)50. The Chairman, Hong Kong (24)

Here are the previously announced winners from 51 to 100.

51. Narisawa, Tokyo (45)52. Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoute, Belgium (27)53. Brat, London (81)54. Alcalde, Guadalajara (51)55. Ernst, Berlin (62)56. Sorn, Bangkok (39)57. Jordnær, Copenhagen (38)58. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro (78)59. Mérito, Lima *60. La Cime, Osaka (41)61. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York (63)62. Arpège, Paris (31)63. Neolokal, Istanbul 64. Aponiente, El Puerto de Santa María, Spain 65. Burnt Ends, Singapore (94)66. Turk Fatih Tutak, Istanbul *67. Le Clarence, Paris (28)68. SingleThread, Healdsburg (50)69. Zén, Singapore (70)70. Sud 777, Mexico City (52)71. Core by Clare Smyth, London 72. Sühring, Bangkok (66)73. Cosme, New York (69)74. Nusara, Bangkok *75. Fyn, Cape Town (37)76. Oteque, Rio de Janeiro (47)77. Tantris, Munich (98)78. Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris (58)79. Nuema, Quito *80. Flocons de Sel, Megève (99)81. Azurmendi, Larrabetzu, Spain (55)82. Enigma, Barcelona 83. Sazenka, Tokyo (59)84. Meta, Singapore (95)

85. Enrico Bartolini, Milan *86. Lyle’s, London (54)87. Ossiano, Dubai *88. Potong, Bangkok *89. Mingles, Seoul (71)90. Wing, Hong Kong (100)91. Kadeau, Copenhagen 92. Neighbourhood, Hong Kong (76)93. Kei, Paris *94. La Colombe, Cape Town (81)95. Ceto, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France *96. Ricard Camarena Restaurant, Valencia *97. Labyrinth, Singapore *98. Saison, San Francisco 99. Fu He Hui, Shanghai (64)100. Maito, Panama City *

—With assistance by Will Farley

(Updates with chefs quotes in 8th and 11th paragraphs. A previous version corrected locations of Modena and Lisbon.)

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