The winners of Food & Wine's Global Tastemakers Awards are chosen through a global poll of over 400 culinary and travel experts, with final rankings determined by the magazine's editors and a Global Advisory Board.
How many of these have you visited?
Discover on Pearl
San Francisco, United States
Burdell brings California soul food to Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, folding local and seasonal produce into dishes rooted in slow-simmered Southern tradition. Geoff Davis's 2023 opening earned a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, an Esquire Best New Restaurants nod, and a James Beard semifinalist nomination. The room reads like a 1970s grandmother's sitting room, complete with vintage Corelle china and soul on the stereo.
Seattle, United States
Open since 1950 and now in its third generation of family ownership, Canlis holds a position near the top of Seattle fine dining that few restaurants in any American city can match across seven decades. Ranked #64 in North America by Opinionated About Dining (2025), it pairs mid-century architecture and Lake Union views with a multicourse tasting menu rooted in Pacific Northwest sourcing, anchored by one of the region's most decorated wine programs.
New York City, United States
On a well-worn stretch of Elizabeth Street in Nolita, The Musket Room operates in the tier where tasting-menu ambition meets genuine flexibility: omnivore or vegan menus alongside à la carte options, all driven by seasonal sourcing under Chef Mary Attea. Ranked #207 on Opinionated About Dining's 2025 North America list, it holds a position well above its neighbourhood's casual baseline and closer to the city's serious contemporary dining set.
Charleston, United States
Lowland in Charleston serves Progressive American, Southern-inspired comfort food focused on Lowcountry ingredients. Signature plates include fresh local oysters, a farmer cheese biscuit, and a thick tavern burger. The restaurant offers elevated comfort through carefully prepared seasonal small plates and a chef’s market fish, reflecting James Beard Award winner Jason Stanhope’s Lowcountry vision. Housed within The Pinch boutique hotel and adjacent to a historic 19th-century home, Lowland pairs warm brick, patterned wallpaper, fireplaces, and a mossy hand-painted mural to create a warm, two-story dining experience that highlights coastal flavors and refined hospitality.
New Orleans, United States
Emeril's opened on Tchoupitoulas Street in 1990 and built a category of its own: New New Orleans cooking that placed Louisiana's produce at the centre of serious fine dining. Now holding two Michelin stars and a 2026 La Liste score of 92 points, the Warehouse District flagship operates under Chef E.J. Lagasse, whose tasting menu reframes the restaurant's founding classics through a lens shaped by Frantzén and Core by Clare Smyth.
Portland, United States
Few sushi operations in New England have built their identity as narrowly and as deliberately around a single fish as Mr. Tuna, where Atlantic bluefin tuna — sourced locally and broken down in-house — anchors everything from hand rolls to a tuna sashimi tasting that reads as a serious education in cuts and marbling. Started as a cart in 2017 and moved into a permanent Middle Street address in 2024, this is Portland, Maine's clearest argument for local fish handled with precision.
Los Angeles, United States
Yangban Society, the visionary project from chefs Katianna and John Hong, reimagines modern Korean-American cuisine through a lens of bold technique and intimate artistry. Within a moody, industrial-chic setting softened by sculptural paper lanterns and lush greenery, the menu balances indulgence and nuance—think golden Hokkaido scallop toast glossed with brown butter and grated egg, ocean trout nestled in beurre blanc brightened with white kimchi, and double-fried wings lacquered to crystalline crispness. A nod to Korean flavors with unexpected Jewish deli inflections, Yangban’s spirit is both communal and couture, drawing discerning diners who savor inventive craft, textural extravagance, and a palpable sense of place.
Philadelphia, United States
My Loup on Walnut Street brings French bistro instincts to Philadelphia with a menu that changes daily and a room that feels more like a dinner party than a restaurant service. The 2023 Esquire Best New Restaurants list placed it at number 44, while a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nod confirmed its standing among the city's most closely watched openings. The cooking is seasonal, direct, and built around the logic of a chef feeding people they know.
St. Paul, United States
Myriel in St. Paul's Mac-Groveland neighborhood translates a Scandinavian-inspired, forage-and-farm philosophy into a restrained tasting menu that earned chef Karyn Tomlinson the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest. Vintage china, muted neutrals, and whole-animal sourcing from local farms define the room and the plate in equal measure. It is among the most decorated destination-dining addresses in the Twin Cities.
Pine Plains, United States
One of the oldest taverns in America, dating to 1782, Stissing House in Pine Plains draws the Hudson Valley crowd for wood-fire cooking from a 2018 Food & Wine Best New Chef. The daily-changing menu leans into what's local and seasonal, from dayboat scallops cooked over coals to crackling suckling pig. A 4.6 Google rating across 347 reviews confirms the draw goes well beyond autumn foliage tourism.
Houston, United States
Nancy's Hustle on Houston's east side holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025) and consecutive Opinionated About Dining rankings, with a natural wine list that does the heavy lifting alongside cultured butter made in-house by the 45-pound week. The $$ price point places it firmly in the neighborhood bistro tier, though its award trajectory puts it in a different conversation altogether. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 pm on Polk Street.
New York City, United States
Penny opened above Claud in 2024, converting the East Village building's bright second floor into one of New York's most closely watched raw seafood counters. Chef Joshua Pinsky works from little more than a binchotan grill and a refrigerator, and the restraint shows in every dish. With a 6,000-bottle wine list anchored in Burgundy and Champagne, the bar-only format rewards early arrivals and walk-in diners equally.
Miami, United States
At Sunny’s Steakhouse at Lot 6, the elemental allure of flame meets modern culinary precision. This refined steakhouse reimagines the classic chophouse with an elegant, wood-fired lens—showcasing rarefied cuts, pristine seafood, and seasonal produce rendered with quiet confidence. Guests are welcomed into a warmly lit room where polished service, a sommelier-led cellar, and tactile details create a sense of occasion from the first pour to the final, lingering bite. Whether indulging in a bespoke tasting progression, carving into marbled wagyu kissed by smoke, or retreating to an intimate alcove with a vintage decanter, Sunny’s balances sophistication with ease. It’s a sanctuary for discerning palates: convivial, meticulous, and effortlessly memorable.
Chicago, United States
Virtue brings Southern cooking to Hyde Park with the kind of institutional weight that comes from two James Beard Awards and a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Chef Erick Williams runs a welcoming room on E 53rd St where skillet corn bread, dirty rice with gizzards, and stone-ground grits anchor a menu rooted in heritage technique. The crowd skews University of Chicago smart; the hospitality skews South Side warm.
Washington D.C., United States
Oyster Oyster sits at the sharper end of Washington D.C.'s tasting menu scene, where Chef Rob Rubba's vegetable-focused progression earned a Michelin star in 2024, a 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef, and a place in the Opinionated About Dining North America top 250. The format is a multi-course plant-led menu in Shaw, with a 165-label wine list weighted toward France and Maryland.
Find out on Pearl and keep score across every place in 2025 Food & Wine Global Tastemakers Top Restaurants.
Overview
Food & Wine's 2025 Global Tastemakers list recognizes 15 restaurants across the United States, spanning 14 cities from coast to coast. The selection includes San Francisco's Burdell at the top, followed by Seattle's Canlis and New York City's The Musket Room. The list emphasizes geographic diversity, with representation from established dining cities like New Orleans and Los Angeles alongside smaller markets including Pine Plains, New York and St. Paul, Minnesota.
The 2025 edition covers 14 cities across the United States, with no international venues on this year's list. Major metropolitan areas like San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia appear alongside mid-sized markets such as Charleston, Portland, and New Orleans. The geographic spread extends to smaller destinations including Pine Plains, New York (Stissing House) and St. Paul, Minnesota (Myriel). This distribution suggests Food & Wine's Global Tastemakers recognition extends beyond traditional coastal dining capitals to acknowledge culinary talent in secondary and tertiary markets. The 15-restaurant selection represents a focused curation compared to broader annual rankings, with each of the 14 cities receiving single representation except where multiple venues appear from the same location.
Food & Wine's 2025 Global Tastemakers list puts 15 U.S. restaurants on the map, covering 14 cities from San Francisco to Philadelphia. Burdell in San Francisco takes the top position, with Seattle's Canlis and New York City's The Musket Room following. The selection mixes established dining cities with less-obvious markets—you'll find New Orleans stalwart Emeril's alongside Pine Plains, New York's Stissing House. This isn't a comprehensive national ranking but rather a curated snapshot of where Food & Wine sees noteworthy restaurant work happening across the country in 2025.
The 2025 Global Tastemakers list from Food & Wine highlights 15 restaurants exclusively within the United States, organized across 14 different cities. The top tier includes Burdell (San Francisco), Canlis (Seattle), and The Musket Room (New York City), establishing a strong West and East Coast presence from the start. Mid-list positions feature Lowland in Charleston, Emeril's in New Orleans, and Mr. Tuna in Portland, representing Southern and Pacific Northwest dining scenes. Los Angeles enters via Yangban, while Philadelphia's My Loup and St. Paul's Myriel round out the metropolitan selections.
The list extends beyond major metros to include Pine Plains, New York, where Stissing House claims the tenth position. This geographic distribution suggests the Tastemakers designation isn't strictly tied to market size or traditional dining destinations. The 15-venue count makes this a more selective recognition compared to broad top-100 formats, indicating each inclusion carries particular editorial weight. With one restaurant per city in most cases, the list functions as a national sampling rather than a deep dive into any single market's dining landscape.
