US, European domination of World’s 50 Best Restaurants list ends with No 1 spot in 2023 for Peru’s Central, while in Asia Odette in Singapore places 14th, Le Du in Bangkok 15th

Announced in Valencia, Spain, the annual World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for the first time has a South American restaurant, Central in Lima, in top spot

The Chairman remains Hong Kong’s sole representative on the list, in last place, while a Singapore-based chef takes the Chef’s Choice award

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Pía León and Virgilio Martínez, the husband and wife chefs behind Central in Lima, named No 1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2023. Photo: Central

Published: 12:16pm, 21 Jun 2023Updated: 7:58pm, 21 Jun 2023

Peruvian restaurant Central won the title of best restaurant in the 2023 World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards held in Valencia, Spain.

The result ends 20 years of dominance of the top position by Western restaurants. The crown passed to Central from 2022 winner Geranium, which is based in Copenhagen.

Disfrutar in Barcelona came in at No 2. The modernist hotspot, whose kitchen is led by chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, and Mateu Casañas, also took the title of Best Restaurant in Europe.

Avant-garde Madrid-based DiverXO, the brainchild of punk-styled chef Dabiz Munoz, and live-fire grill specialist Asador Etxebarri, headed by self-taught live-fire master Victor Arguizoniz, also did the host country proud, taking third and fourth positions respectively. Immersive dining trendsetter Alchemist in Copenhagen rounded out the top five.

Chef Rasmus Munk of the experimental restaurant Alchemist with his team at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony held in Valencia, Spain. Photo: Alchemist

The Alchemist’s Sunburnt Bikini course is made with cryo-fried mochi dough filled with stringy Gruyère cheese and Joselito ham. Photo: The Alchemist

Asia-based stars of the awards this year include chef Julien Royer, who won the Chef’s Choice award, a title voted by his contemporaries around the world. His Singapore restaurant, Odette, also won the Best Restaurant in Asia award, and came in at No 14 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.