World's 50 Best Restaurants 2021: The Complete Ranking

Noma is a restaurant on Refshalevej in Copenhagen.

Geranium is a restaurant in Copenhagen offering dining, private dining, and conference service.

Asador Etxebarri is a restaurant in Axpe, Bizkaia, centered on cooking over fire.

Central is a restaurant on Avenida Pedro de Osma in Barranco, Lima.

Disfrutar is a restaurant in Barcelona's Eixample district.

Frantzén is a restaurant on Klara Norra Kyrkogata in Stockholm.

Maido is a restaurant in Lima's Miraflores district.

Odette is a restaurant at the National Gallery Singapore.

Pujol is a restaurant in Mexico City's Polanco neighborhood.

The Chairman is a restaurant at 198 Wellington Street in Central, Hong Kong.

Den is a Japanese restaurant in Jingumae, Tokyo, led by chef Zaiyu Hasegawa.

Steirereck im Stadtpark is a Vienna restaurant centered on Austrian hospitality and local products.

Don Julio is a parrilla on Guatemala Street in Buenos Aires.

Mugaritz is a restaurant in Errenteria in Spain's Basque Country.

Elkano is a restaurant in Getaria centered on fish grilled over wood.

A Casa do Porco is a restaurant in central São Paulo.

Piazza Duomo is a restaurant in Alba, Italy.

Narisawa is a restaurant in Minamiaoyama, Tokyo.

DiverXO is Dabiz Muñoz's creative restaurant in Madrid.

Hiša Franko is Ana Roš's restaurant in Slovenia's Soča Valley.

Cosme holds a firm place among New York City's most globally recognised modern Mexican restaurants, with seven consecutive years on the World's 50 Best list. The a la carte format, dark and energetic room, and rotating seasonal menu reward multiple visits. Book as far ahead as possible; reservations are near impossible at short notice.

Arpège is Alain Passard's restaurant on Rue de Varenne in Paris.

Septime is a restaurant on Rue de Charonne in Paris.

White Rabbit is a Moscow restaurant that held a World's 50 Best Top 25 placement and an 88.5-point La Liste score. Chef Vladimir Mukhin's tasting menu moves through historic Russian ingredients; sea buckthorn, Borodinsky bread, swan liver; in a glass dome above the city. Book four to six weeks out minimum; demand is consistent and walk-ins are not realistic.

Le Calandre is an Alajmo restaurant in Sarmeola di Rubano, Italy.

Quintonil presents Mexican ingredients through the culinary perspective of Alejandra Flores and Jorge Vallejo.

Benu is a San Francisco restaurant serving a fixed menu each evening.

Reale is Niko Romito's restaurant in Castel di Sangro, Italy.

The most credentialed restaurant in Moscow; World's 50 Best No.30 in 2021 and La Liste-recognised; Twins Garden delivers modern European cooking and a 1,400-selection wine list at a level that justifies the $$$ price tag. Book weeks ahead: availability is near impossible. If you are serious about food in Russia, this is the reservation to chase.

Restaurant Tim Raue is an Asian-influenced restaurant near Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.

The Clove Club is Isaac McHale's restaurant at Shoreditch Town Hall in London.

Shoreditch's most consistent counter-service restaurant since 2014, Lyle's runs a rotating seasonal menu that rewards repeat visits. Lunch offers better value than dinner (three courses around £45–55), and the wine list; low-intervention, mostly European; is where the team shows the most personality. Book the counter seats facing the kitchen and order whatever vegetable dish leads the card.

Burnt Ends is a Singapore restaurant centered on cooking with custom ovens and a brick kiln.

Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet is the hardest restaurant reservation in Shanghai and one of the most awarded in Asia, ranked #1 in Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in Asia (2023) and a World's 50 Best fixture for seven years. Ten seats, a secret address, a fixed multi-course tasting menu, and a fully controlled sensory environment make this the right booking only if you are specifically after immersive format dining at the top of the market.

Hof van Cleve is Floris Van Der Veken's restaurant in Kruisem, Belgium.

SingleThread is a restaurant in Healdsburg, California.

Boragó is a restaurant in Vitacura, Santiago.

Florilège is a restaurant in Azabudai Hills, Tokyo.

Sühring is a restaurant in Bangkok founded by Thomas and Mathias Sühring.

Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen is a restaurant in Paris.

Belcanto is José Avillez's Portuguese restaurant in Lisbon.

Atomix is a Korean tasting-menu restaurant in New York City.

Le Bernardin is a seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.

Nobelhart & Schmutzig is a restaurant on Friedrichstraße in Berlin.

Leo is Bogota's internationally credentialed restaurant, ranking #76 in the World's 50 Best (2025) after six consecutive years on the list. Chef Leonor Espinosa's Ciclo-Biome tasting menu works through Colombia's regional ecosystems using indigenous ingredients rarely seen elsewhere. Booking is extremely difficult; start well before your travel dates; but for a food-focused traveler, this is the table that justifies the effort.

Maaemo is a restaurant on Dronning Eufemias gate in Oslo.

Atelier Crenn is Dominique Crenn's modern French restaurant in San Francisco.

Azurmendi is Eneko Atxa's restaurant in Larrabetzu, outside Bilbao.

Wolfgat in Paternoster is one of South Africa's most compelling destination restaurants; a 2021 World's 50 Best ranked (2021, #50) coastal cottage kitchen built around foraged West Coast ingredients. Booking is near impossible without months of lead time, and the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Cape Town demands commitment. For food-focused travellers, it is worth both.