
The Best Chef’s “Three Knives” designation is the guide’s top tier—reserved for chefs/restaurants recognized as the very best in the world within its knives rating system (One Knife = Excellent, Two Knives = World Class, Three Knives = The Best). In 2025, it functions as the highest level of recognition in The Best Chef Guide.
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Copenhagen, Denmark
Few restaurants in Europe ask as much of a guest as Alchemist. Set inside a former industrial space on Copenhagen's Refshaleøen peninsula, Rasmus Munk's project runs to 50 'impressions' across roughly seven hours, folding art installation, theatre, and ingredient-driven cooking into a single sitting. Two Michelin stars, a #8 ranking on the World's 50 Best list in 2024, and the #1 position on Opinionated About Dining's European ranking for two consecutive years place it in a tier with very few peers.

Kobarid, Slovenia
Three Michelin stars and a place in the World's 50 Best Restaurants confirm what visitors to this remote Soča Valley farmhouse already know: Hiša Franko operates at a level rarely found outside major capitals. Chef Ana Roš, self-taught and hyper-local in her sourcing, has built a menu anchored in the Julian Alps, drawing ingredients from foragers, shepherds, and fishermen across the valley's tight community of producers.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Trèsind Studio holds three Michelin stars and ranked #13 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2024, placing it at the apex of modern Indian fine dining in the Middle East. Housed on The Palm Jumeirah with just 20 seats, its 'Rising India' tasting menu maps India's culinary geography across courses, pairing immersive, scene-shifting theatre with technique that draws on both subcontinent tradition and global precision.

Beijing, China
King's Joy holds two Michelin stars and a Green Star in Beijing's Dongcheng district, placing it among China's most decorated plant-based restaurants. Operating from a bamboo-shaded hutong courtyard near the Imperial Academy, it works entirely within a vegetarian format, with mushrooms carrying particular weight across a seasonally driven menu. At the ¥¥¥¥ price tier, it sits alongside Beijing's most serious fine-dining addresses.

Modena, Italy
Three Michelin stars, a La Liste score of 97 points, and two World's 50 Best number-one rankings make Osteria Francescana the reference point for progressive Italian cooking. Located on Via Stella in central Modena, the restaurant translates Emilian pantry staples into conceptually charged tasting menus. The dining room is spare and art-hung, the cooking anything but predictable.

Larrabetzu, Spain
Azurmendi Larrabetzu elevates sustainable fine dining to an art form, where Chef Eneko Atxa's three-Michelin-starred vision unfolds through an immersive greenhouse-to-table experience. This architectural marvel seamlessly integrates Basque tradition with cutting-edge gastronomy, offering the acclaimed Adarrak tasting menu in a bioclimatic structure that defines the future of responsible luxury dining.

Atxondo, Spain
In a mountain village between Bilbao and San Sebastián, Asador Etxebarri has ranked among the World's 50 Best Restaurants continuously since 2008 and holds the title of Best Restaurant in Europe 2025. Victor Arguinzoniz cooks everything over live fire using custom-built grills and a pulley system of his own design, producing a tasting menu that runs to 14 courses and books out months in advance.

Seoul, South Korea
Seoul Dining occupies the second floor of Designhouse in Jung-gu, operating in the mid-price tier of Seoul's contemporary restaurant circuit. Chef Sung Anh holds consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) and an Opinionated About Dining Asia ranking of #376 (2025), positioning the room among Seoul's accessible fine-dining options. A Google rating of 4.5 across 339 reviews suggests consistent execution.

Lasarte - Oria, Spain
Seven kilometres from San Sebastián, in the village of Lasarte-Oria, Martín Berasategui's three-Michelin-star flagship sits at the upper tier of Spain's creative dining scene. Ranked 99 points by La Liste in both 2025 and 2026, and a consistent presence in the World's 50 Best through the 2000s and 2010s, the restaurant pairs signature dishes with seasonal new creations in a setting that opens onto the Basque countryside.

Bangkok, Thailand
Sühring holds two Michelin stars and a position at number 11 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, making it one of Bangkok's most decorated fine-dining addresses. Twin chefs Thomas and Mathias Sühring serve a modern German tasting menu from a restored 1970s villa in Chong Nonsi, drawing on fermentation, pickling, and curing techniques alongside a wine list of 715 selections weighted toward Germany, Austria, and Burgundy.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Orfali Bros has held the top position in the Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants ranking for three consecutive years (2023, 2024, 2025) and re-entered the World's 50 Best at number 46 before climbing to 64, all while operating as a neighbourhood bistro on Al Wasl Road. Three Syrian-born brothers run the kitchen across two floors: savoury below, pastry above, with a Michelin star awarded in both 2024 and 2025.

Washington D.C., United States
Two Michelin stars, a 2025 Opinionated About Dining ranking of #8 in North America, and a curved counter built around a stainless-steel workspace: minibar operates at the precise intersection of science and spectacle that defines avant-garde American tasting menus. Chef Sarah Ravitz leads a progressive format where each course is constructed to upend expectation, from chicharron-and-avocado bites to a fried ice cream donut that closes the meal.

Munich, Germany
JAN holds three Michelin stars and ranks third in Europe on Opinionated About Dining (2025), placing it firmly in Germany's uppermost tier of creative fine dining. Chef Jan Hartwig's open-kitchen format on Luisenstraße 27 draws on classical French training and regional Bavarian ingredients, producing tasting menus that earn 97.5 points on La Liste and a place at number 84 on the World's 50 Best list (2024).

Madrid, Spain
Madrid's only three-Michelin-star restaurant, DiverXO sits in a tier of its own among Spain's creative kitchens. Chef Dabiz Muñoz's single 'Flying Pigs Cuisine' tasting menu draws on Asian technique, Spanish pantry, and a hedonistic refusal to respect category boundaries — earning a #4 ranking in World's 50 Best Restaurants (2024) and 98 points from La Liste in 2026.

Curitiba, Brazil
Opened in 2011 as the first woman-led tasting menu restaurant in Brazil, Manu has grown into one of South America's most referenced addresses for plant-forward, seasonally driven cooking. Ranked 34th in the Opinionated About Dining top restaurants in South America (2025), the 20-seat format in Curitiba's Batel district serves a tasting menu built around local sourcing and over 60% plant-based ingredients.

Megève, France
Emmanuel Renaut's three-Michelin-star restaurant at this Relais & Châteaux property in Megève sits among the most decorated tables in the French Alps, ranked 76th on the World's 50 Best list in 2024 and 98 points on La Liste in 2026. The kitchen leans on alpine terroir — vegetables, roots, and foraged ingredients — treated with classical French discipline and a modern sensibility that has earned sustained recognition from Opinionated About Dining's European classical rankings for three consecutive years.

Singapore, Singapore
Thevar on Mohamed Sultan Road holds two Michelin stars and a place in Asia's 50 Best at number 70 for 2025, with La Liste scoring it 91 points. Chef Mano Thevar applies a modern framework to South Indian and Malaysian flavour traditions, producing a tasting menu that sits at the sharper end of Singapore's innovative dining tier. Bookings are competitive; plan well ahead.

San Francisco, United States
Benu holds three Michelin stars and a 2025 AAA Five Diamond rating at its SoMa address, where Corey Lee's tasting menus draw on Korean and broader Asian culinary traditions against a California-produce foundation. Ranked No. 7 in North America by Opinionated About Dining in 2025, the restaurant operates in the same tier as Atelier Crenn and Quince but occupies a distinct lane: seafood and vegetable-forward, technically rigorous, and shaped by San Francisco's particular cosmopolitanism.

Kyoto, Japan
Mizai occupies a corner of Maruyama Park in Higashiyama, where chef Hitoshi Ishihara frames each dinner around the wabi spirit of the tea ceremony. The 15-seat counter holds a Michelin three-star rating, a Tabelog score of 4.25, and consistent placement in both Opinionated About Dining and La Liste's Japan rankings. Dinner is priced from ¥65,000 before tax and service, with reservations by booking only.

Los Angeles, United States
Somni, a 14-seat tasting counter in West Hollywood, holds three Michelin stars under Chef Aitor Zabala, whose training at El Bulli informs a menu that bridges Basque and Catalan technique with Californian produce. Wine Director Caroline Costarella oversees a 1,050-bottle list with particular depth in Spain, California, and France. La Liste placed Somni at 96 points in its 2026 ranking.

Paris, France
Among Paris's three-Michelin-star restaurants, Kei occupies a distinct position: the only address at this tier where Japanese technique shapes classical French haute cuisine from the inside out. Ranked 99 points on La Liste 2026 and 26th in Opinionated About Dining's Classical Europe list for 2025, it operates out of a quiet first arrondissement address with tightly controlled sittings that reward forward planning.

Lima, Peru
Central occupies a converted house in Barranco, Lima's bohemian coastal district, and has held the number-one position on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list (2023). The tasting menu moves through Peruvian ecosystems by altitude — ocean floor to high Andes — using ingredients sourced by the research collective Mater Iniciativa. For serious diners visiting Lima, it represents the clearest single-table argument for Peru's biodiversity as a culinary framework.

Barcelona, Spain
Disfrutar holds three Michelin stars and ranked number one on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2024, placing it at the top of Barcelona's creative dining tier. Eduard Xatruch, Oriol Castro, and Mateu Casañas run two tasting menus from their Eixample address, with a permanent waiting list making advance planning essential. The format rewards preparation: booking windows, seasonal closures, and the optional 'living table' experience all require prior arrangement.

Vienna, Austria
Among Vienna's top-tier tasting menu restaurants, TIAN occupies a singular position: a Michelin-starred vegetarian counter on Himmelpfortgasse that competes directly with the city's omnivore fine-dining tier. Recognised by La Liste, Opinionated About Dining, and a 2018 Future Award for Best Veggie Restaurant in the World, it makes the case that plant-based cuisine belongs in the same conversation as any starred kitchen in Austria.

Arriondas, Spain
Casa Marcial holds three Michelin stars and a La Liste score of 95 points, placing it among the most decorated restaurants in northern Spain. Nacho Manzano's tasting menus draw entirely from Asturian produce — Cantabrian seafood, zero-mile ingredients, mountain-to-coast cooking — served in a remote farmhouse setting outside Arriondas that has defined serious dining in the region for two decades.

London, United Kingdom
CORE by Clare Smyth reigns as London's premier British fine dining destination, where the UK's first female chef to earn three Michelin stars transforms indigenous ingredients into extraordinary tasting menus. Located in elegant Notting Hill, this intimate 50-seat restaurant showcases signature dishes like 'Potato and roe' through impeccable technique and unwavering commitment to British terroir.

Alba, Italy
Piazza Duomo holds three Michelin stars and a consistent place inside the World's 50 Best Restaurants, operating from a pink-walled dining room on Alba's central square. Chef Enrico Crippa structures the menu around four tasting formats, with vegetables, herbs, and seasonal produce from the restaurant's own gardens driving the kitchen's approach. The wine program runs to 30,000 bottles across three distinct lists.

Barcelona, Spain
A Michelin-starred address in Barcelona's Eixample where modern Mexican cooking meets Mediterranean produce and El Bulli's technical legacy. Chef Paco Méndez runs the COME Festival tasting menu across a space that previously housed Hoja Santa, framing Mexican culinary tradition through zero-mile ingredients and a drinks list that takes micheladas and mezcales as seriously as the food. Ranked #198 in Europe by Opinionated About Dining in 2025.

Perl, Germany
Three Michelin stars and a 99-point La Liste score place Victor's Fine Dining by Christian Bau at the top of Germany's fine dining hierarchy. Operating from Perl in the Saar-Moselle triangle, Bau's French-Japanese tasting menus bring kaiseki-influenced precision to a corner of Europe that rewards the deliberate journey. Thursday through Sunday evenings only; booking well in advance is essential.

Madrid, Spain
On the rooftop of Casino de Madrid, a 19th-century landmark steps from Puerta del Sol, Paco Roncero holds two Michelin stars and a 95-point La Liste ranking for 2025 and 2026. The kitchen works through three tasting menus anchored in Madrid culinary tradition, with Roncero's creative approach drawing heavily on olive oil and the city's bar culture. For Madrid's high-end creative dining tier, this is one of the defining addresses.

Santiago, Chile
Boragó has held a place in the World's 50 Best Restaurants every year since 2015, and its tasting menu, Endémica, remains one of South America's most rigorous expressions of native-ingredient cooking. Chef Rodolfo Guzmán works with over 200 foragers and small producers across Chile, drawing from coastlines, high-altitude terrain, and a biodynamic orchard to build a menu rooted in Mapuche food culture.

Serralunga d'Alba, Italy
A two-Michelin-star address set within Il Boscareto Resort outside Alba, La Rei Natura by Michelangelo Mammoliti holds a 92-point score from La Liste (2026) and a ranking of 348 in Opinionated About Dining's European classical list. Three tasting menus anchor the kitchen's vegetable-forward, biodynamically sourced program, with à la carte access available on two of them. Open Thursday through Sunday evenings, with Saturday and Sunday lunch service.

Copenhagen, Denmark
Denmark's only three-Michelin-star restaurant, Geranium occupies the eighth floor of Copenhagen's Parken stadium with a menu that runs approximately 80% plant-based across 20-plus courses. Chef Rasmus Kofoed — the sole chef to have won gold, silver, and bronze at the Bocuse d'Or — leads a program recognised by the World's 50 Best (#1, 2022) and La Liste (98pts, 2026). The wine list, curated by co-owner Søren Ledet, spans 6,085 selections across 22,900 bottles.

Lisbon, Portugal
Belcanto holds two Michelin stars and ranked #31 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2024, placing it at the top of Lisbon's fine dining tier. Chef José Avillez runs two tasting menus and an à la carte from a 45-seat room beneath vaulted ceilings in Chiado. La Liste scored it 96.5 points in 2025. Book well ahead; Tuesday through Saturday only.

Senigallia, Italy
Uliassi holds three Michelin stars and ranked 12th on Opinionated About Dining's Europe list in 2025, placing it among Italy's most decorated seafood restaurants. Set in a white wooden structure on Senigallia's waterfront, the kitchen draws on Marche coastal tradition while pushing into creative territory through an annual research Lab. The pairing of land and sea ingredients is the defining thread across both the tasting and classic menus.

Berlin, Germany
Rutz on Chausseestraße holds three Michelin stars and a 94-point La Liste score for 2026, placing it among Germany's most recognised fine dining addresses. Chef Marco Müller's 'Inspiration' tasting menu builds a clear narrative across courses, drawing on produce including German Wagyu and North Sea squid. The format rewards repeat visitors who track the menu's evolution season by season.

Gentofte, Denmark
Jordnær holds three Michelin stars and a place in the World's 50 Best at number 56, operating from a quiet address in Gentofte rather than central Copenhagen. Chef Eric Kragh Vildgaard, a Noma alumnus, works a Nordic-Japanese register that has drawn consistent recognition from La Liste, Michelin, and the 50 Best across successive years. The restaurant ranks among Denmark's most decorated outside the capital's inner ring.

Cape Town, South Africa
Fyn Cape Town pioneers a revolutionary cuisine that weaves South African fynbos ingredients through Japanese kaiseki techniques, earning five consecutive years on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Chef Peter Tempelhoff's twelve-course tasting menu unfolds on the fifth floor overlooking Table Mountain, where dishes like Mozambican crab with indigenous seaweed and tableside-finished prawns over binchotan coals represent Africa's most internationally acclaimed restaurant.

Marseille, France
Le Petit Nice holds three Michelin stars and a 95-point La Liste score (2026), placing it among France's most decorated seafood addresses. Chef Gérald Passédat's kitchen draws entirely from Mediterranean waters, served in a Relais & Châteaux property on Marseille's Corniche with direct sightlines over the sea. Booking well in advance is standard practice at this price tier (€€€€).

El Puerto de Santa María, Spain
Housed in a two-century-old tide mill on the Bay of Cádiz, Aponiente holds three Michelin stars and a place in the World's 50 Best (#84, 2025) under chef Ángel León. The kitchen works almost entirely within marine ecosystems — plankton, bioluminescence, seagrass, discarded fish species — making it the clearest argument Spain has produced for what serious seafood cooking can become.

São Paulo, Brazil
Tuju holds two Michelin stars and a place at number 70 on the World's 50 Best list (2025), positioning it among a small group of São Paulo restaurants that have turned the city's multicultural density into a coherent creative program. Chef Ivan Ralston Bielawski works from seasonal Brazilian ingredients, and the wine list — 910 selections, 3,500 bottles in inventory — ranks among the strongest in South America by Star Wine List criteria.

Paris, France
Le Pré Catelan holds three Michelin stars in the Bois de Boulogne, operating inside a Napoleon III pavilion that separates it architecturally from every other three-star address in Paris. Chef Frédéric Anton, who trained under Joël Robuchon, leads a classical French kitchen rated 98 points by La Liste in 2026. The cellar runs to 300,000 bottles, placing it among the deepest wine resources in the French capital.

Bangkok, Thailand
Baan Tepa holds two Michelin stars and a spot at #44 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants (2025), placing it firmly in Bangkok's highest tier of contemporary Thai dining. Chef Chudaree Debhakam structures a seven-course tasting menu around produce grown in the restaurant's own garden, with each course framed by seasonal sourcing and traditional technique reconsidered through a sustainability-conscious lens. Bookings open Wednesday through Sunday, evenings only.

San Diego, United States
Southern California's only three-Michelin-star restaurant, Addison at Fairmont Grand Del Mar delivers a ten-course California Gastronomy tasting menu under Chef William Bradley. Ranked 19th in North America by Opinionated About Dining (2025) and awarded La Liste's 95.5 points, it operates Tuesday through Saturday from 5 pm. A wine program of 2,800 selections and 10,000 bottles deep anchors one of the region's most serious dining commitments.

New York City, United States
Opened in July 2024 in a former Hudson Street printing house, César earned two Michelin stars and a spot on North America's 50 Best Restaurants within months of its debut. Chef César Ramirez's 13-course tasting menu draws on Mexican, French, and Japanese influences to place rare seafood and luxury ingredients at the centre of one of New York's most closely watched new openings.

Lima, Peru
Named The World's Best Restaurant 2025 by the 50 Best organisation, Maido occupies a specific position in Lima's dining scene: the city's clearest expression of Nikkei cuisine, where Japanese technique meets Peruvian ingredient with precision and seasonal intent. Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura has built a decade-and-a-half of credential around this intersection, earning consecutive top-ten rankings and a loyal international following from a Miraflores address on Calle San Martín.

Menton, France
Mirazur holds three Michelin stars and topped the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2019, placing it among the small tier of French restaurants that compete on a global stage. Set on a hillside above Menton near the Italian border, Chef Mauro Colagreco's kitchen draws on permaculture gardens and Mediterranean produce to build a menu where vegetables and seasonal rhythm drive the cooking. The wine programme matches that ambition across a cellar with serious regional and international depth.

London, United Kingdom
KOL arrived in Marylebone in late 2020 and rapidly became one of London's most closely watched restaurant openings, earning a Michelin star and a World's 50 Best ranking of #17 by 2024. The premise is structurally unusual: a ten-course tasting menu built entirely on British-sourced ingredients, reinterpreted through 9,000 years of Mexican culinary tradition. The downstairs Mezcaleria offers one of the UK's most serious agave spirit collections as a standalone destination.

Errenteria, Spain
Mugaritz occupies a singular position in the Basque Country's dining hierarchy: two Michelin stars, a sustained presence inside the World's 50 Best (reaching as high as third place), and a format that dispenses with the conventions of a restaurant meal entirely. Located in Errenteria, a short drive from San Sebastián, it operates a single tasting menu built around conceptual provocation and hands-on eating, closing for four months each year to redesign itself from scratch.

Shanghai, China
Ling Long Shanghai brings neo-Chinese cooking to Xujiahui's Raffles City, where Chef Jason Liu frames a season-driven menu in acts, each course merging classical Chinese technique with European finesse. A Michelin star (2024), Black Pearl 1 Diamond (2025), and La Liste recognition underline its position among Shanghai's contemporary Chinese tier. The format rewards patient, attentive dining rather than quick meals.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Ta Vie holds three Michelin stars on Hong Kong's Central dining circuit, where Chef Hideaki Sato works a Franco-Japanese format that has drawn consistent recognition from La Liste (94 points in both 2025 and 2026), Opinionated About Dining (ranked 24th in Asia in 2025), and Asia's 50 Best (No. 64 in 2025). The second-floor room on Queen's Road operates Tuesday through Sunday, dinner only, at the top of Hong Kong's price tier.

Zwolle, Netherlands
De Librije has held three Michelin stars since 2004, making it the most consistently decorated restaurant in the Netherlands over the past quarter-century. Housed in a converted women's prison in Zwolle, it operates Thursday through Saturday evenings under chef and co-owner Nelson Tanate, with a programme built on regional produce, fermentation, and a vegetable-led approach that shaped modern Dutch cooking.

Lima, Peru
In Barranco, Lima's most creatively charged neighbourhood, Mérito has built a serious reputation by threading Venezuelan culinary memory through Peruvian ingredients and technique. Ranked #55 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2024 and #6 in South America by Opinionated About Dining in 2025, the two-floor restaurant on Jr. 28 de Julio draws both local regulars and informed international visitors. The chef's counter remains the most coveted seat in the house.

Bangkok, Thailand
At a 14-seat counter on Sukhumvit 31, Gaggan Anand delivers up to 25 courses across five theatrical acts — progressive Indian cuisine decoded by emoji, set to a rock soundtrack, and ranked #1 in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2025. The format demands participation: eating with your hands, licking the plate, and deciphering the menu are part of the evening's structure, not the novelty.

Paris, France
Plénitude occupies the first floor of Cheval Blanc Paris inside the historic La Samaritaine building, with views across the Seine to Pont Neuf. Chef Arnaud Donckele, holder of three Michelin stars, builds each course around sauce as the structural centre of the dish. Ranked 18th on the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list and awarded 99 points by La Liste in both 2025 and 2026, it ranks among Paris's most decorated contemporary French tables.

Paris, France
At 228 Rue de Rivoli, inside one of Paris's most storied palace hotels, Le Meurice Alain Ducasse holds two Michelin stars and a 95-point La Liste ranking for 2026. Chef Amaury Bouhours leads a creative French kitchen backed by a 970-selection wine list drawing deep from Burgundy, Bordeaux, and the Rhône. For milestone dinners, few rooms in Paris carry the same weight of occasion.

Berlin, Germany
CODA Dessert Dining occupies a category of its own in Berlin's fine dining scene: an entirely dessert-focused tasting menu restaurant in Neukölln holding two Michelin stars and a #79 ranking on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list (2025). Under René Frank, the kitchen reworks patisserie traditions through a lens of natural ingredients and precise drink pairings, operating Tuesday through Saturday from 7 pm.

Beijing, China
One of only two Chaozhou restaurants in mainland China to hold three Michelin stars, Chao Shang Chao in Beijing's Chaoyang district operates at the narrow intersection of classical Teochew technique and contemporary refinement. Under Executive Chef Yat Fung Cheung, the kitchen holds a 2026 La Liste ranking of 75 points, placing it firmly among China's most recognised fine-dining addresses.

Barcelona, Spain
Three Michelin stars and a 95-point La Liste score place Lasarte among Barcelona's most decorated tables. Under Paolo Casagrande, a protégé of Martín Berasategui, the Eixample address translates Basque-rooted fine dining into a more avant-garde register, with a private dining format called Il Milione available for those who want to take the experience further.

Mexico City, Mexico
Quintonil holds two Michelin stars and ranked #7 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2024, placing it among the most closely watched restaurants in the Americas. Chef Jorge Vallejo's tasting menu draws on fresh local produce, traditional Mexican technique, and a counter section serving insect-based tacos that distills the kitchen's priorities into a single, direct statement.

Bogota, Colombia
Among Bogotá's most globally recognised modern Colombian restaurants, El Chato has held a position inside the World's 50 Best since 2023 — reaching #25 in 2024 — while keeping the format deliberately relaxed. Chef Álvaro Clavijo applies European technique to native Colombian ingredients, producing a menu that reads as a producer ledger as much as a dining list. Reservations are taken for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday, with Sunday service closing at 4 pm.

Tokyo, Japan
Opened in November 2023, Sushi Meino occupies a sixth-floor counter in Azabu-Juban under chef Mei Kogo, one of Tokyo's few women leading a top-tier Edomae program. The eight-seat counter earned Tabelog Silver in both 2025 and 2026, with a 4.49 score, and places in Tokyo's Sushi 100 list. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999, with actual spend often tracking higher.

Oltressenda Alta, Italy
A 15th-century stone hamlet above Val Seriana, Contrada Bricconi is where chef Michele Lazzarini translates the agricultural traditions of the Bergamo Alps into a tasting menu of precise mountain cooking. Ranked 41st in Europe by Opinionated About Dining in 2024, awarded a Michelin star the same year, and recipient of OAD's Next Generation Award, it operates as a working farm and restaurant simultaneously — a format that changes what ends up on the plate.

Kasauli, India
Naar sits inside Amaya in the Kasauli hills, where chef Prateek Sadhu — ranked 66th on Asia's 50 Best list in 2025 and awarded 93 points by La Liste — translates Himalayan ingredients and Kashmiri culinary memory into a format that places this small-mountain-town address firmly in India's serious dining conversation. The drive up, the altitude, and the deliberate remove from the plains are part of the proposition.

Singapore, Singapore
Odette occupies a gallery-facing address inside the National Gallery Singapore, where Julien Royer's French Contemporary cuisine — shaped by Michel Bras training and seasoned by years in Asia — has earned three Michelin stars, a World's 50 Best top-25 ranking, and a 98-point La Liste score. The tasting menu operates at the upper tier of Singapore's fine dining market, with award consistency that places it in a narrow peer set globally.

Tokyo, Japan
Two decades after opening in Minami-Aoyama, Narisawa remains the reference point for what Japan's innovative dining tier looks like when French technique meets satoyama philosophy. With two Michelin stars, a 4.25 Tabelog score, and a re-entry to the World's 50 Best in 2025, the 15-seat room prices at JPY 80,000–99,999 per head — a figure that positions it squarely against the most demanding tables in Asia.

Porches, Portugal
Ocean Porches redefines Portuguese fine dining through Hans Neuner's two-Michelin-starred culinary voyage, where Age of Discovery-inspired tasting menus unfold against dramatic Atlantic vistas. This clifftop sanctuary within VILA VITA Parc transforms local ingredients into abstract art installations, creating Portugal's most celebrated gastronomic experience.

San Francisco, United States
Atelier Crenn holds three Michelin stars and a place in the World's 50 Best at number 96 (2025), operating from a quiet stretch of Fillmore Street in Cow Hollow. Chef Dominique Crenn's pescatarian tasting menu is presented as a poem, with each line corresponding to a course drawing on French-Californian sourcing — seafood, seasonal produce from her Sonoma farm, and a wine list of 1,195 selections weighted toward Burgundy and Champagne.

Rubano, Italy
Three Michelin stars since 2002, a 99-point La Liste ranking in 2026, and a permanent position in the World's 50 Best since 2006: Le Calandre in Rubano operates at the upper tier of Italian fine dining. Chef Massimiliano Alajmo runs three tasting menus from a minimalist dining room where tables are carved from a single 300-year-old ash tree, forty minutes from Venice.

Machynlleth, United Kingdom
Ynyshir Hall holds two Michelin stars and a La Liste score of 96 points, operating from a matt-black Georgian house deep in mid-Wales. Chef Gareth Ward runs a 30-course-plus tasting format over four to five hours, with a resident DJ, glitterball, and theatrical smoke effects placing it firmly outside the conventional fine-dining register. Bedrooms are available for those arriving from a distance.

Cartagena, Colombia
Located in Getsemaní, Cartagena's most culturally layered neighbourhood, Celele translates years of field research along Colombia's Caribbean coast into a focused a la carte menu. Ranked #21 in South America by Opinionated About Dining (2025) and holder of a Sustainable Restaurant Award, it works with ingredients from wild harvests and Indigenous food traditions that most Colombian restaurants have never touched.

Reims, France
Assiette Champenoise holds three Michelin stars and a 99-point La Liste score, placing it among the most decorated tables in northern France. Chef Arnaud Lallement leads this family-run property in Tinqueux, just outside Reims, with a kitchen built around Champagne-region terroir. The Les Grandes Tables du Monde membership and Opinionated About Dining ranking confirm its position at the top of the regional creative dining tier.

Paris, France
An hour north of Paris in the Canche river valley, La Grenouillère holds two Michelin stars, a Green Star, and a place at #77 on the World's 50 Best list (2024). Alexandre Gauthier's cooking pulls directly from the surrounding wetlands and fields, framing nature-rooted Modern French cuisine in a property that functions as auberge, landscape, and dining destination in one.

Gargnano, Italy
Set inside a nineteenth-century Liberty villa on Lake Garda's western shore, Villa Feltrinelli holds two Michelin stars and a 2025 Les Grandes Tables du Monde listing. Chef Stefano Baiocco serves a single surprise tasting menu where vegetables and aromatic herbs, many grown in the estate garden, anchor dishes of considered restraint. Booking well in advance is advisable for one of the lake region's most formally celebrated dining rooms.

Chicago, United States
Alinea holds three Michelin stars and a consistent place in the World's 50 Best Restaurants, operating from a 65-seat Lincoln Park dining room where tasting menus run three to four hours. Grant Achatz's approach treats each course as a sequence of choreographed moments rather than a succession of plates, drawing on French technique, American ingredients, and modernist methods in equal measure.

Istanbul, Turkey
Neolokal elevates traditional Anatolian cuisine to Michelin-starred heights within Istanbul's historic SALT Galata, where Chef Maksut Aşkar transforms forgotten Ottoman recipes into contemporary masterpieces. This sustainability-focused restaurant offers breathtaking Golden Horn views alongside innovative tasting menus that preserve Turkey's culinary heritage through modern techniques.

Bogota, Colombia
Leo has held a place in the World's 50 Best Restaurants every year since 2019, peaking at #43 in 2023 and sitting at #76 in 2025. Chef Leonor Espinosa's seasonal tasting menu moves through Colombia's ecosystems — Amazon, Caribbean, Pacific coast — using indigenous ingredients that rarely appear on any menu outside their region of origin. It is the most externally validated address in Bogotá's modern Colombian dining scene.

Modena, Italy
Set within Casa Maria Luigia, the Emilian country retreat associated with Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore, Al Gatto Verde is a fire-cooking restaurant that holds a Michelin star and ranks #92 on the World's 50 Best list (2025). Chef Jessica Rosval structures the menu around live-fire technique, drawing on both Italian tradition and her Canadian background to produce a program that sits well outside Modena's more conventional dining tier.

Guatemala City, Guatemala
DIACÁ in Guatemala City presents Contemporary Guatemalan tasting menus that celebrate 100% local, seasonal produce. Must-try dishes include Membrillo de la abuela, Chilacayote, and Maleta de frijol. Led by Terroir Award 2025 chef Debora Fadul, the kitchen translates microclimates and farm stories into six- or eight-course menus. Expect precise plating, bright citrus and herb notes, and warm, inviting service in an intimate 50-seat dining room. Reservations via OpenTable are recommended for this focused culinary experience that pairs inventive cocktails and regional wines with deeply rooted Guatemalan flavors.

New York City, United States
Atomix holds three Michelin stars and ranked No. 1 in North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, making it the continent's most decorated Korean fine dining address. Chef Junghyun Park's 12-course tasting menu operates from a 14-seat basement counter in NoMad, Manhattan, where custom ceramics and course cards frame each dish within its Korean culinary context.

Queenstown, New Zealand
Sitting on a 200-acre working estate beside Lake Hayes, Amisfield is where Central Otago winemaking and serious kitchen craft converge. Chef Vaughan Mabee, who trained at Noma and Martin Berasategui before taking the helm in 2012, builds a tasting menu around estate-grown produce and local game. A 2025 entry into the World's 50 Best at number 99 confirms what regulars have long understood: this is one of New Zealand's most closely watched dining destinations.

Paris, France
Pierre Gagnaire at 6 Rue Balzac has held three Michelin stars for decades and scored 98 points on La Liste 2026, placing it among the most critically recognised creative French restaurants in Paris. The kitchen builds menus around ingredient-driven composition rather than classical structure, with recent programming signalling a serious engagement with vegetable-focused cooking. Booking windows are narrow and demand consistent.

Paris, France
At Pavillon Ledoyen, one of the oldest restaurant addresses in Paris, Yannick Alléno holds three Michelin stars and a 98-point La Liste rating, placing him among the most decorated chefs working in France today. His creative approach to classical French technique — centred on extraction-based sauces and fermentation — has kept Ledoyen in the World's 50 Best since 2017. Dinner runs Tuesday through Saturday evenings on Avenue Dutuit, steps from the Grand Palais.

Tokyo, Japan
Kagurazaka Ishikawa holds three Michelin stars and consecutive Tabelog Silver Awards from 2017 through 2026, placing it among Tokyo's most consistently recognised kaiseki counters. Chef Hideki Ishikawa's approach draws on a principle of restraint — ingredients lead, technique recedes — and the 25-seat room in Kagurazaka's cobbled backstreets reflects that same economy. Dinner runs JPY 50,000–59,999 with a 10% service charge.

Quito, Ecuador
Ranked 61st on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in both 2024 and 2025, Nuema is where Quito's contemporary dining conversation is most seriously happening. Chefs Alejandro Chamorro and Pía Salazar run a seasonally driven tasting menu that maps Ecuador's biodiversity through angular plating, bold colour, and layered flavour. Open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, closed Sunday and Monday.

Fasano del Garda, Italy
Lido 84 occupies a converted lido building on the western shore of Lake Garda, where Riccardo Camanini applies deep research into Italian ingredients and technique to a menu that rewrites familiar classics. Ranked No.12 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2024 and holding one Michelin star, it operates Thursday through Monday for both lunch and dinner, closing Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Dewakan elevates indigenous Malaysian ingredients to fine dining artistry on Kuala Lumpur's 48th floor, where Chef Darren Teoh's Michelin-starred tasting menus showcase forgotten native flavors through innovative techniques. Malaysia's first Asia's 50 Best restaurant combines hyperlocal sourcing with spectacular city views in an unforgettable culinary journey.

Copenhagen, Denmark
Noma holds three Michelin stars and a multi-year record atop the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, making it the restaurant most associated with the global rise of New Nordic cooking. René Redzepi's kitchen on Refshalevej organises the year into three seasonal programmes built around foraged and local ingredients. Booking windows run months ahead, and dinner service runs Tuesday through Friday only.

Dénia, Spain
Three Michelin stars and a decade-long presence in the World's 50 Best Restaurants — yet Quique Dacosta operates from the small coastal town of Dénia, on Spain's Mediterranean Costa Blanca. The annually reinvented tasting menu, named Octavo in deliberate provocation of the classical seven fine arts, frames each course as a form of sensory communication rather than conventional gastronomy. This is one of Spain's most decorated restaurants, positioned well outside the obvious fine-dining capitals.

Valence, France
Anne-Sophie Pic's three-Michelin-starred temple in Valence showcases four generations of culinary mastery through her revolutionary "aromatic architecture" approach. France's only female chef to hold three stars crafts ten-course sensory journeys featuring signature Berlingots and innovative French haute cuisine within the elegant Maison Pic estate.

London, United Kingdom
Three Michelin stars and a La Liste ranking of 81 points in 2026 place The Ledbury among London's most decorated fine-dining addresses. Brett Graham's eight-course evening menu, priced at £285 per person in Notting Hill's Ledbury Road, draws on produce from his own farm and in-house mushroom cultivation. The wine list holds the Star Wine List number-one ranking for three consecutive years.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The Chairman has accumulated one of the most scrutinised award trails in Hong Kong dining — Michelin-starred, ranked #2 in Asia's 50 Best in 2025, and placed in the World's 50 Best across six consecutive years. On the third floor of The Wellington in Central, Danny Yip and head chef Kwok Keung Tung run a Cantonese kitchen built on deep ingredient research and original recipes rooted in Chinese culinary tradition.

Tokyo, Japan
Open since December 2003 and now holding three Michelin stars, RyuGin operates at the upper end of Tokyo's kaiseki tier, with dinner averaging JPY 80,000–99,999 per head. Chef Seiji Yamamoto structures the menu around Japan's four seasons, with a marked focus on scientific precision and ingredient provenance. The restaurant sits on the seventh floor of Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, steps from the Imperial Palace.

Roeselare, Belgium
Boury holds three Michelin stars and a 97-point La Liste score in Roeselare, West Flanders, placing it among Belgium's most decorated tables. Chef Tim Boury works a seasonal Flemish-French menu built around vegetables, local produce, and precise technique. Service runs Wednesday through Saturday at lunch and dinner; advance booking is strongly advisable.

Vienna, Austria
Inside a 1904 pavilion in Vienna's Stadtpark, Steirereck im Stadtpark operates at the intersection of architectural drama and Austrian culinary research. Three Michelin stars and consistent placement inside the World's 50 Best Restaurants top 25 position it as the reference point for serious dining in the city. The menu is built around rare breeds, near-extinct produce varieties, and ingredients grown on the building's own rooftop.

Bangkok, Thailand
Sorn holds three Michelin stars and ranked #1 in Asia on the Opinionated About Dining list for 2024 and 2025, making it Bangkok's most decorated Southern Thai restaurant. Chef Supaksorn 'Ice' Jongsiri structures a multi-course menu around hyper-local ingredients sourced exclusively from Southern Thailand, from Tapi River prawns to Andaman squid. Booking months ahead is standard; Saturday is the one night the kitchen closes.

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Argentina's only two-Michelin-starred restaurant occupies a quietly tucked passage in Recoleta, where Gonzalo Aramburu's 18-course tasting menu reframes the country's ingredients through rigorous technique. Ranked in La Liste's global top 100 and a member of Relais & Châteaux, it represents the furthest point on Buenos Aires's fine-dining spectrum — and the clearest argument that Argentine cuisine extends well beyond the grill.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Three Michelin stars, a La Liste score of 99 points, and a position at #18 in Asia's 50 Best — Caprice operates at the top tier of French fine dining in Hong Kong. Chef Guillaume Galliot's menu draws on French regional sourcing, from Brittany lobster to Périgord veal, served against floor-to-ceiling views of Victoria Harbour inside the Four Seasons Hotel Central.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong
On the 29th floor of The Wellington in Central, WING plots a seasonal tasting menu through the eight great Chinese cuisines under chef Vicky Cheng, whose two decades in French kitchens now inform a contemporary Chinese idiom. Ranked #3 in Asia's 50 Best 2025 and winner of the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award, it operates at the sharper end of Hong Kong's fine-dining tier, with reservations opening online at midnight for up to 28 days ahead.

Barcelona, Spain
Cocina Hermanos Torres holds three Michelin stars and ranks #78 on the World's 50 Best list (2025), placing it among Barcelona's most decorated creative restaurants. The Torres twins operate from three open cooking stations at the centre of the dining room, with five sommeliers overseeing a wine programme that earned three Star Wine List distinctions in 2026. Lunch and dinner service runs Tuesday through Saturday in Les Corts.

Tokyo, Japan
Opened in February 2017 in Minamiazabu, Sazenka sits at the intersection of Chinese technique and Japanese seasonal sensibility, earning Tabelog Gold every year since 2019 and a place on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Chef Tomoya Kawada's 28-seat house restaurant operates on the principle of wakon-kansai — Japanese spirit expressed through Chinese culinary learning — with dinner averaging JPY 50,000–59,999.

Tokyo, Japan
Occupying the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, Sézanne earned its first Michelin star within months of opening in July 2021 and now holds three. British chef Daniel Calvert applies French technique to Japanese ingredients, producing a prix-fixe format that Tabelog has recognised with Silver awards every year from 2023 through 2026. It ranked 4th in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2025 and 15th globally in 2024.

Llançà, Spain
A two-Michelin-star address on the Costa Brava waterfront, Miramar has been in the same family for three generations, with Paco Pérez channelling the rhythms of the Mediterranean into progressive Spanish cooking. The kitchen draws on local coastal waters and seasonal produce, structured around à la carte options and several distinct menus. Ranked among Europe's top classical restaurants by Opinionated About Dining, it occupies a serious tier in Spain's fine dining conversation.

Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm's only three-Michelin-star restaurant, Frantzén operates across three floors of a 19th-century Norrmalm townhouse, delivering a single tasting menu that merges Nordic technique with Asian reference points. Ranked #2 in Europe by Opinionated About Dining (2025) and 99 points by La Liste (2026), it holds a position among the most decorated tables in Scandinavia. Booking demand is high; plan well in advance.

Ubud, Indonesia
Locavore NXT sits at the sharper end of Ubud's fine dining tier, where European technique meets plantation-sourced Balinese produce in a format that ranked #92 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2025 and scored 91 points on La Liste 2026. Chefs Eelke Plasmeijer and Ray Adriansyah push further here than at their original Locavore, with a menu structure that rewards guests who come ready to surrender the pace of the meal to the kitchen.

Marseille, France
AM par Alexandre Mazzia holds three Michelin stars and scores 96 points on La Liste 2026, placing it among France's most decorated restaurants outside Paris. Operating Wednesday through Saturday from Marseille's 8th arrondissement, the restaurant represents a distinct strand of French creative cooking rooted in Mediterranean instinct rather than classical Parisian convention. Ranked 80th in Europe by Opinionated About Dining in 2025, it draws serious diners from across the continent.

São Paulo, Brazil
D.O.M. holds two Michelin stars and a sustained presence in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, positioning it at the top of São Paulo's fine dining tier. Chef Alex Atala's kitchen treats the Amazon as a pantry, bringing native ingredients like jambu, tucupi, and priprioca into a tasting format that has redefined how Brazilian cuisine is read internationally. Reservations are essential, and the Jardins address has anchored the city's premium dining scene since 1999.

London, United Kingdom
Three Michelin stars and a 95-point La Liste score place Hélène Darroze at The Connaught among London's most credentialed fine dining rooms. The seasonal tasting menu draws on French technique, global spicing, and produce sourced from the British Isles, set inside a quietly transformed Mayfair dining room that has shed its gentlemen's club gravity without losing its sense of occasion.

New York City, United States
Operating from 11 Madison Avenue since 1998 and holding three Michelin stars continuously, Eleven Madison Park runs a fully plant-based tasting menu of eight to ten courses under chef Daniel Humm. Reservations open on the first of each month for the following month and fill within hours. The wine program spans 4,700 selections across 22,000 bottles, with particular depth in Burgundy, Rhône, and Champagne.

Madrid, Spain
A two-Michelin-star address in Madrid's Salesas district, DSTAgE operates from a high-ceilinged industrial loft on Calle de Regueros where creative set menus fuse global ingredients with trompe l'oeil technique. Rated 90.5 points by La Liste (2025) and ranked in the Opinionated About Dining European top tier, it sits at the sharper, more experimental end of Madrid's €€€€ fine-dining bracket. Dinner service runs Tuesday through Saturday, with Friday and Saturday lunch also available.

Bangkok, Thailand
Set inside a 120-year-old Sino-Portuguese building in Bangkok's Chinatown, Potong is the restaurant that put chef Pichaya 'Pam' Soontornyanakij on the global map. The 20-course Thai-Chinese tasting menu, built around salt, acid, spice, texture, and the Maillard reaction, earned a Michelin star in 2024 and reached No.13 on Asia's 50 Best in 2025. At the ฿฿฿฿ tier, it delivers a density of recognition few Bangkok addresses can match.

Paris, France
À Table sits in the 7th arrondissement at a price point that positions it well below Paris's Michelin-starred palace tier, yet its 2025 Michelin Plate recognition and a Google rating of 4.8 from 237 reviews signal a kitchen operating with consistent precision. Modern cuisine at accessible prices, guided by Bruno Verjus, makes it a reference point for the mid-tier Paris dining scene.

Paris, France
In Paris's 7th arrondissement, Arpège holds three Michelin stars and a decades-long position inside the World's 50 Best — currently ranked 45th globally. Alain Passard's decision to remove red meat from a grand Parisian kitchen in 2001 reshaped how the city's haute cuisine thought about vegetables. Produce arrives daily from three biodynamic farms outside Paris, and the menu follows nature's calendar more closely than any printed card.

Sydney, Australia
The only Australian restaurant to appear on the World's 50 Best list in 2024 and 2025, Saint Peter occupies a modest corner of Paddington with an outsized reputation for whole-fish cookery. Josh Niland's approach to seafood has reshaped how Australian restaurants treat fish, and the room in Underwood Street is where that reputation is tested nightly against a plate.

Noirmoutier-en-l'île, France
Among France's Atlantic-coast restaurants, La Marine on the island of Noirmoutier holds three Michelin stars and a 98-point La Liste score, placing it firmly in the country's top tier of seafood-led fine dining. Chef Alexandre Couillon works with tides and local fishermen to produce a cuisine defined by marine provenance rather than kitchen theatrics. A Relais & Châteaux member with a seat on Netflix's Chef's Table, it draws serious diners from across Europe.

Barcelona, Spain
Ranked 51st in Europe by Opinionated About Dining (2025) and holding a Michelin star, Enigma is the most structurally ambitious of Albert Adrià's Barcelona projects. A roughly 25-course seasonal tasting menu moves through named chapters, from Almonds to Gamba, in an interior that reads more like a design installation than a dining room. Advance booking is essential; this is an evening-only format with no lunch service.

Shanghai, China
Taian Table holds three Michelin stars in 2024 and 2025, a Black Pearl Diamond, and a place on La Liste's global ranking with 91.5 points — making it one of Shanghai's most decorated fine-dining addresses. Chef Christiaan Stoop's Modern European tasting menu format occupies a quiet residential lane in Changning, a location that underscores the restaurant's deliberately understated positioning within China's most competitive dining city.

Girona, Spain
El Celler de Can Roca has held three Michelin stars since 2009 and twice claimed the top position on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Run by the three Roca brothers from a converted house on the edge of Girona, it sits at the intersection of Catalan terroir and avant-garde technique, with Joan leading the kitchen, Josep directing the cellar, and Jordi reshaping what dessert can mean.

Brunico, Italy
Three Michelin stars and 99 points on La Liste 2026, Atelier Moessmer sits in a 19th-century Brunico villa where Norbert Niederkofler's Cook the Mountain philosophy restricts the kitchen to hyper-local Tyrolean ingredients. A 12-course tasting menu, service Thursday through Sunday, and a format that moves guests through lounge, dining room, and kitchen counter make this one of the most deliberate fine-dining experiences in the Alpine north.
Find out on Pearl and keep score across every place in 2025 The Best Chef Three Knives.
Overview
The Best Chef Three Knives 2025 recognizes 122 restaurants across 35 countries and 73 cities. Copenhagen's Alchemist leads this edition, followed by Hiša Franko in Slovenia and Trèsind Studio in Dubai. This edition marks a near-complete refresh, with 121 new entrants replacing most of the previous year's lineup.
The 2025 Three Knives edition represents a fundamental restructuring from the previous year. Only 1 restaurant carried over from 2024, while 121 new venues joined and 205 dropped out—including former top venue The Restaurant. The geographic spread extends across 35 countries, with representation from 73 cities. Copenhagen, Kobarid, and Dubai claim the top three positions. European restaurants dominate the upper rankings, though the list includes venues from the United States, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates among others. The massive turnover suggests either a methodology shift or significant changes in assessment criteria between editions.
Alchemist takes the top spot in the 2025 Three Knives edition, leading a nearly entirely new lineup of 122 restaurants. This year's list spans 35 countries and 73 cities, with only 1 restaurant retained from the previous edition. Hiša Franko in Slovenia and Dubai's Trèsind Studio round out the top three. The wholesale turnover—121 new entrants and 205 exits including former leader The Restaurant—marks this as the most volatile edition yet. Whether you're tracking Copenhagen's dominance or looking for recognition beyond traditional culinary capitals, this edition reshapes the landscape.
The 2025 Three Knives list represents an almost complete overhaul of the previous year's rankings. With 121 new entrants and 205 venues dropping out, only 1 restaurant survived from 2024. Alchemist claims the lead, replacing The Restaurant at the top. The geographic distribution covers 35 countries across 73 cities, suggesting broad international scope.
The top 10 includes restaurants from Denmark, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy, France, Belgium, and the United States. European venues hold most upper positions, though Dubai's Trèsind Studio at number three and New York's Atomix in the top tier show global reach. Notable exits include La Chèvre d'Or and Mil, both absent from the 2025 edition.
The dramatic turnover raises questions about consistency in evaluation criteria. A list that replaces 99% of its venues year-over-year operates differently than rankings with gradual evolution. For restaurants, this volatility means recognition is less predictable. For diners, it means the Three Knives designation may reflect current momentum rather than sustained achievement. The 122-venue count suggests the list expanded or contracted from previous editions, though exact year-over-year totals weren't provided.