Key Notes
- Asador Etxebarri in Spain’s Basque Country is No 1 in The 50 Best Restaurants 2026, ahead of Gaggan and Alchemist.
- The ranking is based on votes from more than 1,100 experts, with previous No 1 winners moved into the Best of the Best group.
- The full top 50 below includes Google Maps links, while Etxebarri currently lists a €300 menu excluding drinks and takes reservation requests.
Asador Etxebarri, a wood-fire restaurant in the Basque village of Axpe in Spain, has been named the world’s best restaurant for 2026. Chef Bittor Arguinzoniz’s hill-country dining room leads The 50 Best Restaurants list, ahead of Gaggan in Bangkok and Alchemist in Copenhagen.
The results were announced at a ceremony in Lima on November 4. Etxebarri moves up from second place in 2025, putting a restaurant known for custom-built grills and carefully judged fire at the top of a ranking that spans major cities and smaller destinations.
Fire, From the First Course to Dessert
Arguinzoniz grew up close to the restaurant, in a house without gas or electricity where his mother and grandmother cooked over a hearth. That experience runs through the kitchen he later built: the chef designed his own grills, giving him precise control over how ingredients meet the heat.
The restaurant’s official profile describes a menu that carries fire through the whole meal, from anchovy toast and simply grilled Palamós prawns to a substantial beef chop. Even the milk ice cream with beetroot that closes the meal receives the kitchen’s smoky treatment.
The tasting menu runs to 14 courses. The appeal is the close attention paid to individual ingredients, with the grill shaping familiar foods into the reason for a journey to this village in the mountains between Bilbao and San Sebastián.
How the Ranking Is Chosen
The voting system draws on more than 1,100 international restaurant experts. Its regional panels bring together food writers and critics, chefs and restaurateurs, and well-traveled diners, with each group accounting for one-third of a panel.
Voters nominate 10 restaurants they have visited within the previous 18 months, with no more than six in their home country or territory. They cannot vote for restaurants they own or have a financial interest in, and the process is independently adjudicated by Deloitte.
Previous No. 1 restaurants move into the Best of the Best group and become ineligible for future competitive rankings. That is why Maido, the 2025 winner in Lima, is absent from this year’s numbered list. The published ranking extends to 100 restaurants; the first 50 appear below.
What to Know Before Booking Etxebarri
The restaurant’s booking information currently lists a €300 menu price, including VAT and excluding drinks. Reservations are for two to six people, with lunch service only and closures on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Dates are released gradually, and submitting a request does not confirm a table. The restaurant reviews availability before sending confirmation and payment instructions, so secure the reservation before building a trip around the meal.
The Full Top 50, With Google Maps Links
The official ranking gives food-focused travelers several ways to plan a trip. Bangkok has five restaurants in the top 50, while Copenhagen and Lima have three each. Spain has four entries: Etxebarri, DiverXO, Enigma and Elkano. Select any restaurant name below to find it on Google Maps.
- Asador Etxebarri — Atxondo, Spain
- Gaggan — Bangkok, Thailand
- Alchemist — Copenhagen, Denmark
- Quintonil — Mexico City, Mexico
- Wing — Hong Kong
- The Chairman — Hong Kong
- Kjolle — Lima, Peru
- Kadeau — Copenhagen, Denmark
- DiverXO — Madrid, Spain
- Plénitude — Paris, France
- Atomix — New York, United States
- Sorn — Bangkok, Thailand
- Mérito — Lima, Peru
- Sühring — Bangkok, Thailand
- Odette — Singapore
- Tuju — São Paulo, Brazil
- Mingles — Seoul, South Korea
- Nusara — Bangkok, Thailand
- JAN — Munich, Germany
- Piazza Duomo — Alba, Italy
- Meet the Bund — Shanghai, China
- Boragó — Santiago, Chile
- Vyn — Skillinge, Sweden
- Al Gatto Verde — Modena, Italy
- Lasai — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Masque — Mumbai, India
- Reale — Castel di Sangro, Italy
- Trèsind Studio — Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Enigma — Barcelona, Spain
- Steirereck — Vienna, Austria
- Celele — Cartagena, Colombia
- Potong — Bangkok, Thailand
- Elkano — Getaria, Spain
- Le Coquillage — Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes, France
- La Colombe — Cape Town, South Africa
- Ru Yuan — Hangzhou, China
- Nuema — Quito, Ecuador
- Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler — Brunico, Italy
- Schloss Schauenstein — Fürstenau, Switzerland
- Jordnær — Copenhagen, Denmark
- Onjium — Seoul, South Korea
- Bozar — Brussels, Belgium
- Le Calandre — Rubano, Italy
- Don Julio — Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Mayta — Lima, Peru
- El Chato — Bogotá, Colombia
- Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse — Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Ikoyi — London, United Kingdom
- Naar — Kasauli, India
- Saint Peter — Sydney, Australia
For another stop on a dining itinerary, our best bars ranking covers the 2026 winners led by Hong Kong’s Bar Leone. Check each venue’s own opening days, menu and reservation rules before traveling: a place on an awards list does not tell you whether a table is available on your dates.
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