Asador Etxebarri takes No. 1 in 2026 restaurant ranking

By Marcus Bennett

Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain, ranked No. 1 on The 50’s 2026 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, announced last week at a live ceremony in Lima, Peru. The report is dated November 9, 2026.

The Atxondo restaurant sits in a small Basque village. Chef-owner Victor Arguinzoniz runs a 14-course tasting menu focused on high-quality ingredients and wood-fire cooking. The source discloses no menu price, average check, food cost, labor percentage, operating margin or profit. The ranking recognizes culinary standing, not commercial performance.

What does the top of the 2026 list show?

Gaggan in Bangkok ranks second, Alchemist in Copenhagen third, Quintonil in Mexico City fourth, and Wing in Hong Kong fifth. Asador reached the top position after finishing second in each of the previous two years.

The organization, now called The 50 and formerly known as 50 Best, recognizes culinary talent across 28 territories and six continents, while Bangkok places five restaurants against Lima’s three. The United States has one: Atomix, the Korean restaurant in New York City, at No. 11.

How does The Academy select the winners?

The Academy comprises more than 1,100 international restaurant industry experts across 28 regions. At least one quarter of the voting body refreshes each year, introducing turnover without discarding the panel’s accumulated industry knowledge or making the result a direct measure of consumer demand.

The source does not provide check averages, covers, sales, labor percentages or margins for any ranked restaurant. It also gives no company-operated or franchised designation. Ownership structure therefore cannot be inferred from this list.

What distinguishes the U.S. entry?

Atomix sits one place above the unnamed Korean fine-dining restaurant that placed last year. That prior honoree had ranked as high as No. 6 in 2024. The comparison concerns rank only; the source supplies no operating data for either restaurant.

Chef Junghyun Park also received the Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award, the only award voted on by peers, adding a second distinction to Atomix’s No. 11 finish. According to The 50, the recognition “reflects his commitment to innovate Korean fine dining as he continues to influence modern gastronomy on the global culinary scene.”

That is the organization’s description, not evidence of commercial strength. Park’s award and Atomix’s finish do not establish profitability, pricing power or cost control.

Where did every restaurant place?

The full 50-restaurant order is:

• 1. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain
• 2. Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand
• 3. Alchemist, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 4. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico
• 5. Wing, Hong Kong
• 6. The Chairman, Hong Kong
• 7. Kjolle, Lima, Peru
• 8. Kadeau, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 9. Diverxo, Madrid, Spain
• 10. Plénitude, Paris, France
• 11. Atomix, New York, United States
• 12. Sorn, Bangkok, Thailand
• 13. Mérito, Lima, Peru
• 14. Sühring, Bangkok, Thailand
• 15. Odette, Singapore
• 16. Tuju, São Paulo, Brazil
• 17. Mingles, Seoul, South Korea
• 18. Nusara, Bangkok, Thailand
• 19. Jan, Munich, Germany
• 20. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy
• 21. Meet the Bund, Shanghai, China
• 22. Boragó, Santiago, Chile
• 23. Vyn, Simrishamn, Sweden
• 24. Al Gatto Verde, Modena, Italy
• 25. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 26. Masque, Mumbai, India
• 27. Reale, Castel di Sangro, Italy
• 28. Trèsind Studio, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• 29. Enigma, Barcelona, Spain
• 30. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria
• 31. Celele, Cartagena, Colombia
• 32. Potong, Bangkok, Thailand
• 33. Elkano, Getaria, Spain
• 34. La Coquillage, Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes, France
• 35. La Colombe, Cape Town, South Africa
• 36. Ru Yuan, Hangzhou, China
• 37. Nuema, Quito, Ecuador
• 38. Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler, Brunico, Italy
• 39. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau, Switzerland
• 40. Jordnaer, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 41. Onjium, Seoul, South Korea
• 42. Bozar, Brussels, Belgium
• 43. Le Calandre, Padua, Italy
• 44. Don Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 45. Mayta, Lima, Peru
• 46. El Chato, Bogotá, Colombia
• 47. Le Louis XV—Alain Ducasse, Monaco
• 48. Ikoyi, London, United Kingdom
• 49. Naar, Kasauli, India
• 50. Saint Peter, Sydney, Australia

What can operators learn from these rankings?

A related Technomic Top 500 report says chain restaurant sales slowed again in 2025 as consumers cut back on dining, while coffee, beverages, snacks and chicken thrived within that slowing market.

The report gives no sales totals, check averages, margins, labor costs or named-company results. It also does not identify whether pricing, menu mix or sourcing drove the sector differences, so operators cannot treat the labels as evidence of stronger unit economics.

Next year’s selection will again use a partly refreshed Academy, so any change in order will be a peer-voting result rather than a reported financial forecast.