Diners in North America will soon have a new source to turn to for restaurant recommendations.
The 50 Best organization announced on Monday that it will release this year its first-ever ranking of North America’s 50 Best Restaurants. The group has been assessing the world’s restaurants since 2002, but it has never before had a separate list for only North American establishments.
“North America has a thriving and diverse restaurant scene, which is constantly changing and evolving—its wealth of culinary traditions and influence cannot be understated,” William Drew, the director of content for North America’s 50 Best Restaurants, said in a statement. “The result [of the new ranking] will be a list of the most memorable restaurant experiences across the region, celebrating immense talent and hard work, and providing a credible guide for discerning diners.”
The North American list will encompass restaurants across the United States, Canada, and parts of the Caribbean. (Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic are all currently assessed as part of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.) The inaugural selection will be voted on by 300 experts, including chefs, restaurateurs, educators, food and beverage journalists, and gourmands. While a date and location have yet to be announced for the unveiling, a live awards ceremony will take place later this year.
For more than two decades, the 50 Best group has been ranking restaurants globally, and it’s expanded with regional lists in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa. Additionally, it began ranking bars in 2009 and hotels in 2023. When it comes to North America, the region received its first 50 Best Bars list in 2022. Now restaurants get to join the party, too.
While the organization hasn’t specifically called out North America as a restaurant region in the past, it has included North American establishments on its global lists. In the most recent ranking of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, New York’s Atomix was the highest North American entry, sitting at No. 6. California’s SingleThread came in at No. 46.
Given that North American restaurants have only sparingly hit that worldwide list in recent years, the new ranking will give more chefs the chance to hear their spot named when the awards are announced. The question now is whether any of them can unseat Atomix as the front-runner.
