The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2022 - the complete guide

Gavin Hanly 18 July 2022

The World's 50 Best Restaurant list is the restaurant world's nearest equivalent to the Oscars. Here's the full rundown of the 2022 list, including a closer look at the top ten restaurants to find out what's so great about them (and how much they cost).

World's 50 Best Restaurants 2022: The top 10

1 - Geranium

Where in the world? Copenhagen, Denmark

What's so great about it? This three Michelin starred restaurant in Copenhagen is from Rasmus Kofoed. You'll find it on the eighth floor of the city's Parken National Stadium, which is just the first surprising thing about it. Expect to enjoy Kofoed's fresh take on Scandinavian cooking which is, since last year, entirely meat-free. Menus are seasonal and you can choose not to see the menu in advance of your meal, being surprised instead by each course as it comes.

How much: 3200 DKK which is around £365

For more info: Geranium website

2 - Central

Where in the world? Lima, Peru

What's so great about it? Chef Virgilio Martinez - who also owns Lima in London - is all about discovering and championing local ingredients, whether from the lower Andes or the coastline of Peru. Each dish on the menu features the altitude its key ingredient can be found. How about Valley of the Trees, featuring carob, avocado and cactus from 230m?

How much: Various menus, from around £160 per person

For more info: Central website

3 - Disfrutar

Where in the world? Barcelona, Spain

What's so great about it? Founders Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch all met whilst working at el Bulli. Here in their restaurant in the heart of Barcelona, they're all about the element of surprise, so you won't see a menu before you arrive. It's molecular gastronomy, but it's a restaurant where taste hasn't been sacrificed at the altar of 'just because we can'.

How much: From €235 for the classic tasting menu

For more info: Disfrutar website

4 - Diverxo

Where in the world? Madrid, Spain

What's so great about it? Chef Dabiz Muñoz may not have survived the cutthroat London restaurant scene, but in Madrid, his restaurant continues to be a huge deal. You're unlikely to have been anywhere quite like this, from the punk interiors to the crazy, but delicious flavour pairings Muñoz employs. It may be one of Spain's highest restaurants on the list but the menu here is just as likely to be inspired by Japan and India.

How much: €365 a head

For more info: Diverxo website

5 - Pujol

Where in the world? Mexico City

What's so great about it? Enrique Olvera's Mexico City restaurant propelled him to fame before he opened his NYC places Cosme and Atla. Here he celebrates rustic Mexican cuisine but through his own contemporary lens. Make sure to have the 1500-day-aged mole.

How much: Average cost is about £100 a head

For more info: The Pujol website

6 - Asador Extebarri

Where in the world? Atxondo, Spain

What's so great about it? Located between Bilbao and Spanish food mecca San Sebastian, this is wood-fired barbecue like you've never had it before. Its chef Victor Arguinzoniz is a local and his kitchen is all built by himself. Victor has his own buffalo grazing nearby and serves up produce from his garden too.

How much: The menu is €242 (drinks extra)

For more info: Asador Extebarri website

7 - A Casa do Porco

Where in the world? São Paulo, Brazil

What's so great about it? It doesn't take a linguist to work out that all things porcine are at the heart of this Sao Paolo restaurant. Chef Jefferson Rueda rears his own pigs and then in a real commitment to nose-to-tail cuisine uses literally every part of the animal in his cooking. The food may be extraordinary, but the restaurant itself is fun and colourful and it's probably the most affordable restaurant on the whole list, let alone in the Top 10.

For more info: A Casa do Porco website

8 - Lido 84

Where in the world? Gardeone Riviera, Italy

What's so great about it? Brothers Giancarlo and Riccardo Camanini picked the perfect spot on Lake Garda for their restaurant (it used to be an open air pool, hence the name). Giancarlo runs the dining room while Riccardo (who trained under Raymond Blanc) presides over the kitchen. Seasonality and locality provide the key for the menu and there's a lot of tableside theatre going on here with chefs actively encouraged to come out of the kitchen and interact with the diners.

How much: From €110

For more info: Lido 84 website

9 - Quintonil

Where in the world? Mexico City

What's so great about it? This multi-lauded restaurant (it's on both the World's 50 and 50 Best Latin American lists), serves a modern Mexican menu that puts plants front and centre. Run by Alejandra Flores and Jorge Vallejo they say their aim is "to express Mexican flavors with a personal touch."

How much: Dishes on the a la carte menu range between 200 to 600 pesos (£8 - £25)

For more info: Quintonil

10 - Le Calandre

Where in the world? Rubano, Italy

What's so great about it? A real family affair, siblings Max, Raf and Laura took this Padua restaurant on from their parents and turned it into a gastronomic powerhouse. Their food is inspired by the region but also wildly creative. You can choose between three tasting menus, one of which focuses on the restaurant's signature dishes from across the years.

How much: €260 a head

For more info: Le Calandre website

World's 50 Best Restaurants 2022: 11 - 50

UK entries are in bold below:

11. Maido - Lima Peru
12. Uliassi - Senegallia, Italy
13. Steirereck - Vienna, Austria
14. Don Julio - Buenos Aires, Argentina
15. Reale - Italy
16. Elkano - Getaria, Spain
17. Nobelhart and Schmutzig - Berlin, Germany
18. Alchemist - Copenhagen, Switzerland
19. Piazza Duomo - Alba, Italy
20. Den - Tokyo, Japan
21. Mugaritz - San Sebastián, Spain
22. Septime - Paris, France
23. The Jane - Antwerp, Belgium
24. The Chairman - Hong Kong, China
25. Frantzen - Stockholm, Sweden
26. Restaurant Tim Raue - Berlin, Germany
27. Hof Van Cleve - Kruishoutem, Belgium
28. Le Clarence - Paris, France
29. St. Hubertus - San Cassiano, Italy
30. Florilege - Tokyo, Japan
31. Arpege - Paris, France
32. Mayta - Lima, Peru
33. Atomix - New York, USA
34. Hisa Franko - Slovenia
35. The Clove Club - London
36. Odette - Singapore
37. Fyn - Cape Town, South Africa (Best in Africa)
38. Jordnaer - Copenhagen, Denmark
39. Sorn - Bangkok, Thailand
40. Schloss Schauenstein - Fürstenau, Switzerland
41. La Cime - Tokyo, Japan
42. Quique Dacosta - Denia, Spain
43. Boragó - Santiago, Chile
44. Le Bernardin - New York, USA
45. Narisawa - Tokyo, Japan
46. Belcanto - Lisbon, Portugal
47. Oteque - Rio de Janiero, Brazil
48. Leo, Bogotá - Colombia
49. Ikoyi - London, UK
50. Singlethread - Healdsburg, California, USA

World's 50 Best Restaurants 2022: 51 - 100

UK entries in the top 51 - 120 are in bold below:

51. Alcalde - Guadalajara
52. Sud 777 - Mexico City
53. D.O.M. - São Paulo
54. Lyle's - London
55. Azurmendi - Larrabetzu
56. La Colombe - Cape Town
57. Trèsind Studio - Dubai
58. Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen - Paris
59. Sazenka - Tokyo
60. Rosetta - Mexico City
61. La Grenouillère - La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil
62. Ernst - Berlin
63. Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare - New York
64. Fu He Hui - Shanghai
65. Le Du - Bangkok
66. Sühring - Bangkok
67. Evvai - São Paulo
68. Kjolle - Lima
69. Cosme - New York
70. Zén - Singapore
71. Mingles - Seoul
72. Atelier Crenn - San Francisco
73. Kol - London
74. Blue Hill at Stone Barns - Pocantico Hills
75. Samrub Samrub Thai - Bangkok
76. Neighborhood - Hong Kong
77. Table by Bruno Verjus - Paris
78. Lasai - Rio de Janeiro
79. Estela - New York
80. AM par Alexandre Mazzia - Marseille
81. Brat - London
82. Sézanne - Tokyo
83. El Chato - Bogotá
84. Gimlet at Cavendish House - Melbourne
85. Raan Jay Fai - Bangkok
86. Mikla - Istanbul
87. Orfali Bros Bistro - Dubai
88. Mishiguene - Buenos Aires
89. Máximo Bistrot - Mexico City
90. Wolfgat - Paternoster
91. Oriole - Chicago
92. Indian Accent - New Delhi
93. Hertog Jan at Botanic Sanctuary - Antwerp
94. Burnt Ends - Singapore
95. Meta - Singapore
96. Maní - São Paulo
97. Benu - San Francisco
98. Tantris - Munich
99. Flocons de Sel - Megève
100. Wing - Hong Kong

Special awards

Best Sommelier - Josep Roca, El Cellar de Can Roca
Art of Hospitality Award - Atomix - New York, USA
Best pastry chef - Rene Frank, Coda, Berlin
Sustainable restaurant award - Aponiente, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain
Icon award - Wawira Njiru, founder of Kenya’s Food for Education
Best female chef - Leonor Espinosa Leo, Bogotá
One to watch - AM par Alexandre Mazzia, Marseille France
Champions of Change 2022 - Dieuveil Malonga, Kigali, Rwanda; Olia Hercules & Alissa Timoshkina, London, UK; Koh Seng Choon, Singapore and Hong Kong

The Best of the Best (hall of fame)

Now that previous chart-toppers aren't allowed to win the top spot again (Noma excepted because it's a new restaurant) they move into this list: