World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025: North America Edition

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

Mon Lapin is a restaurant on Rue Saint-Zotique Est in Montréal.

Restaurant Pearl Morissette is a destination restaurant in Jordan Station, Ontario.

Smyth is John Shields and Karen Urie Shields' restaurant in Chicago's West Loop.

Tanière³ is a restaurant in Old Québec City.

Dakar NOLA is the hardest reservation in New Orleans right now; and the most decorated, with the 2024 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant and a Michelin Plate (2025). The eight-course tasting menu maps Senegalese coastal cuisine onto South Louisiana cooking with genuine authority. Less formal than its award tier suggests, more ambitious than its Magazine Street address implies.

Kalaya is the clearest yes in Philadelphia for Southern Thai cooking that operates with real ambition. Chef-owner Nok Suntaranon's Fishtown restaurant is Michelin-recognised, built around house-made pastes and authentic heat, and more bookable than its reputation suggests. The bar seats work well for solo diners and walk-ins. Go hungry and stay for the shaved-ice desserts.

SingleThread is a restaurant in Healdsburg, California.

Le Bernardin is a seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.

Le Veau d'Or is a French restaurant on East 60th Street in New York City.

Quetzal is Toronto's most technically serious Mexican restaurant, built around an eight-metre open fire pit and in-house nixtamalised tortillas. La Liste ranked it globally in 2026 (76 points) and Opinionated About Dining has recommended it three consecutive years. Book Wednesday through Sunday from 6 PM; the tasting menu is the right call for a first visit or celebration dinner.

Baan Lao in Steveston Village is a 20-seat Royal Thai tasting menu restaurant that operates at a level you would not expect in a casual waterfront enclave. Chef-owner Nutcha Phanthoupheng, a former cancer researcher trained in Bangkok, delivers 13-18 courses of extraordinary technical precision. With wine pairings curated by a master sommelier, this is one of the most serious fine dining commitments in the Richmond area. Book well in advance.

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

Californios is a restaurant on 11th Street in San Francisco.

The Four Horsemen is a restaurant and wine bar in Brooklyn, New York.

<p>Chef Chad Williams' Franco-African tasting menu in a Rittenhouse townhouse, winner of the 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant. Reservations open thirty days out and disappear fast; the ground-floor Lovers Bar offers a first-come, first-served alternative with à la carte dining and one of Philadelphia's best cocktail programs. Expect eight courses built on French technique and African diaspora ingredients, served in a 30-seat dining room that feels like a dinner party.</p>

Chef Kevin Tien's modern Vietnamese restaurant on F St NW is one of Washington D.C.'s most decorated at the $$$ price tier; Michelin Plate, World's 50 Best North America No. 17 (2025), and a Michelin-awarded cocktail programme. Book well in advance: tables are near-impossible to secure. The Vietnamese-Cajun cooking, anchored by dishes like the mochi beignet and fried quail with duck sausage, gives it a profile no direct peer in the city matches.

Via Carota is the West Village Italian that justifies its perpetual wait: ranked #82 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list in 2025, it delivers precise, seasonal Italian cooking in a room that feels genuinely lived in. Book ahead, order widely, and return often; consistency is the point.

Chubby Fish doesn't take reservations and seats just 40 people, but eight years of lines around the block on Coming Street tell you everything about the cooking. James London's daily-catch seafood menu; built around direct relationships with local fisherpeople and recognised on Resy's 2025 Hit List; makes the wait worthwhile. Arrive by 4 p.m., add your name to the list, and wait next door.

A Michelin-starred dumplings and kakigōri spot in Nashville's 12 South neighbourhood, Locust ranks #24 in North America by Opinionated About Dining (2025). Reservations sell out the moment they open each month, but the technical precision and focused menu from Noma-trained chef Trevor Moran make the effort worthwhile. Book for Friday to Sunday only.

Saison is a restaurant at 178 Townsend Street in San Francisco.

Montréal Plaza holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and ranks #315 in OAD's Top Restaurants in North America; an accessible booking for the quality level. Co-chefs Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson run a seasonal, French-rooted menu with genuine creativity and a playful room designed by Zébulon Perron. Open Tuesday to Saturday evenings only. Book it now while reservations are still easy to secure.

Kono is New York City's most decorated yakitori restaurant; a 14-seat omakase counter in Chinatown where Atsushi Kono grills every part of the chicken over kishu binchotan charcoal across 16 courses. Open until midnight most nights, it is the right call for a serious special occasion that does not need to end early.

Aska is a ten-table, two-Michelin-star tasting-menu restaurant in Williamsburg. Fredrik Berselius pairs Nordic sensibilities with ingredients from New York and the Northeast across a long, course-by-course meal. Plan it as a full evening; the open kitchen and small dining room make the progression central to the experience.

Lazy Bear is a modern American dinner-party restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District.

Kato is a restaurant in Los Angeles' Arts District.

Gregory Gourdet's debut restaurant brings three-time James Beard Award-winning technique to Haitian Caribbean cuisine at a $$ price point; the full menu is gluten- and dairy-free, and the front-of-house depth (dedicated wine director, sommelier) outpaces the price tier. Ranked on OAD's Casual North America list in both 2024 and 2025, this is one of Portland's hardest bookings and one of its clearest yes-book decisions for a serious dinner.

Published on Main is a restaurant on Main Street in Vancouver.

Le Violon holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and, making it one of Montreal's most credible $$$ openings in recent years. Co-chefs Danny Smiles and Mitch Laughren run a seasonal, produce-led menu in a well-designed Plateau Mont-Royal room. Book 2-3 weeks out; the soft-serve sundae is non-negotiable.

Emeril's is Emeril Lagasse's flagship restaurant in New Orleans' Warehouse District, serving a refined approach to Louisiana cooking.

Kasama is the world's first two-Michelin-star Filipino restaurant, operating as a daytime café and a 13-course tasting menu in Chicago's East Ukrainian Village. The tasting menu books 45 days out and earns its $$$$ price with James Beard and Opinionated About Dining credentials. Plan at least two visits: one for the daytime pastry program, one for the evening tasting menu.

Royal Sushi &amp; Izakaya runs two experiences from one Queen Village address: a walk-in izakaya with well-sourced Japanese small plates and a 16-seat omakase counter carrying a 600-person waitlist. The izakaya is worth the trip on its own. The omakase, led by Chef Jesse Ito, is the most ambitious Japanese counter in Philadelphia; book the waitlist now if that is your target.

Saga is a tasting-menu restaurant on the 63rd floor of 70 Pine Street in New York City.

Albi is a restaurant on Fourth Street SE in Washington, D.C.

Jungsik New York is a restaurant on Harrison Street in New York City.

Corima is a restaurant on Allen Street in New York City.

Dōgon is a restaurant at Salamander Washington DC on Maryland Avenue.

César is a restaurant on Hudson Street in New York City.

Andrew Carmellini's return to fine dining inside the Fifth Avenue Hotel is the strongest Italian-French room in the NoMad area, recognised by Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in North America (2025). The Brudnizki-designed space; jewel-toned banquettes, double-height ceilings, sculptural trees; matches the kitchen's ambition. Book the marble bar for a late-evening visit; the 2,200-bottle wine list and active sommelier team make lingering worthwhile.

Penny is a restaurant on East 10th Street in New York City's East Village.

Buzo Osteria Italiana is Bridgetown's most coherent Italian kitchen, combining daily fresh pasta, a wood-fired oven, and Caribbean produce under multiple Table Talk Food Awards. With 120-150 seats, a covered terrace, and a martini bar, it handles everything from date nights to group celebrations. Booking is easy, but reserve weekend tables at least a week ahead.

Holbox is a casual Mexican seafood counter inside Mercado La Paloma in Los Angeles.

A Michelin Bib Gourmand tasting menu restaurant with just 22 seats on Bloor West, Alma Toronto delivers refined modern Mexican cuisine; built on ancestral corn from Tlaxcala and Quebec seafood; at a price point well below Alo or Aburi Hana. Book the nine-course menu with wine pairings on your first visit. Two to three weeks' advance booking is advisable for weekends.

Mhel is a 32-seat Korean-Japanese small plates room in Bloorcourt from ex-Pompette chef Young Hoon Ji and Seung-min Yi, built around Ontario-sourced fish, personal kimchi recipes, and a sake-dominant drink list. It is easier to book than its quality warrants. The 12-seat counter is the seat to request; best for two to four diners who want to eat well without formality or a four-figure bill.

Alma Fonda Fina is a restaurant on 15th Street in Denver's LoHi neighbourhood.

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

Providence is a seafood-focused restaurant in Los Angeles.

Quince serves contemporary Californian cuisine with Italian influences in San Francisco's Jackson Square.

Jamaica's only plant-based fine-dining experience worth planning a day around. Stush in the Bush runs a prix fixe format on a working regenerative farm in St. Ann's hills, open Fridays and Sundays only. Multiple Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards back it up. Book ahead, allow five hours, and arrange your own transport; the logistics are manageable, the payoff is substantial.

Beba is the right call for a special occasion dinner in Montreal if Argentine-Jewish cooking sounds more interesting to you than another French bistro. With a 2025 Michelin Plate, and only 28 seats in a convivial Verdun dining room, it books out fast. Plan two to three weeks ahead and consider the tasting menu on your first visit.