In 2024, the days when the first name in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants was that of Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana are long gone. Now, with the rule that winners end up in the Hall of Fame*, our weapons seem dull.
We had some premonitions with the 51-100 ranking which had seen Le Calandre slip from 41st place to 51st of the best restaurants in the world. Even if our title was looking for optimism.
The verdict of the night’s awards ceremony (it took place in Las Vegas) places Disfrutar in Barcelona on the roof of the best restaurants in the world followed by Asador Etxebarri in Axtondo. Spanish supremacy is confirmed by Diverxo’s 4th place in Madrid. In 3rd place is the Table by Bruno Verjus in Paris. So Europe leads the team of the best with the 5th “inconvenience” of Maido in Lima.
Italy is much more of a trattoria. Even 50 Best agrees
Italy disappears from the Top Ten with Lido 84 which drops from 7th place to 12th after 2 years of Top Ten and on which many judges of the Italian panel had bet. The Real from 16th place he drops to 19th, Uliassi from 34th he slipped to 50th. Alone Piazza Duomo rises from 42nd to 39th place. All in all, not a pretty picture.
Some immediate analyzes say that that of Spain does not constitute an avant-garde movement but the excellence of an individual. It’s a shame that in a historical moment in which Italy is trying to have its cuisine declared a UNESCO heritage site – therefore falling back on tradition and folklore as was the case for the art of pizza chefs and not for pizza – and everyone is fighting to establish the force of food and wine as the driving force behind tourism, Spain outclasses us. With 3 restaurants in the top 4 in the world it simply says that it is an attractive tourist destination. Just like the 3 Michelin stars that divert high-spending tourist flows.
It’s the normal consequence of saying from the rooftops that tradition and simple things win over everything. So, from this point of view, we are satisfied. After all, in a Formula One competition for the best restaurants in the world there is no match between a 500 and a Ferrari. And if we have judges who believe it, it will be difficult to convince judges from foreign countries that a 500 is more competitive than a Ferrari. We will be widespread and nationally popular but certainly not on the podium of a World Championship.
And this despite the effort of the Italian protagonists who appear in the 50 Best Restaurant 2024. Here is the ranking.
The ranking of the 50 Best Restaurants 2024
1. Disfrutar, Barcelona
2. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo
3. Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris
4. Diverxo, Madrid
5. Maido, Lima
6. Atomix, New York
7. Quintonil, Mexico City
8. Alchemist, Copenhagen
9. Gaggan, Bangkok
10. Don Julio, Buenos Aires
11. Septime, Paris
12. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera – first Italian in the 50 Best
13. Trèsind Studio, Dubai
14. Quique Dacosta, Dénia
15. Sézanne, Tokyo
16. Kjolle, Lima
17. Kol, London
18. Plénitude, Paris
19. Reale, Castel di Sangro in the 50 Best
20. Wing, Hong Kong
21. Florilège, Tokyo
22. Steirereck, Vienna
23. Sühring, Bangkok
24. Odette, Singapore
25. El Chato, Bogota
26. The Chairman, Hong Kong
27. At Casa do Porco, São Paolo
28. Elkano, Getaria
29. Boragó, Santiago
30. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin
31. Belcanto, Lisbon
32. Den, Tokyo
33. Pujol, Mexico City
34. Rosetta, Mexico City
35. Frantzén, Stockholm
36. The Jane, Antwerp
37. Oteque, Rio de Janeiro
38. Sorn, Bangkok
39. Piazza Duomo, Alba in the 50 Best
40. Le Du, Bangkok
41. Mayta, Lima
42. Ikoyi, London
43. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin
44. Mingles, Seoul
45. Arpège, Paris
46. SingleThread, Healdsburg
47. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau
48. Hiša Franko, Kobarid
49. La Colombe, Cape Town
50. Uliassi, Senigallia in the 50 Best
* Restaurants in the 50 Best Hall of Fame
The restaurants, which are part of the elite No.1 nominated in the previous editions of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, have proven and confirmed their value and will forever be recognized as iconic gastronomic destinations in the Best of the Best hall of fame. The chefs and restaurateurs who have brought their restaurants to the top of the ranking have expressed the desire to invest in the future of the sector and to “return value” to the world of catering through new projects and initiatives. Below are the restaurants named No.1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list since the first edition and out of the running in 2024:
El Bulli (2002, 2006-2009)
The French Laundry (2003-2004)
The Fat Duck (2005)
Noma – original location (2010-2012, 2014)
El Celler de Can Roca (2013, 2015)
Osteria Francescana (2016, 2018)
Eleven Madison Park (2017)
Mirazur (2019)
Noma – current location (2021)
Geranium (2022)
Central (2023)
