Seven international restaurants have received the top score for 2023 as per calculations by La Liste, an influential restaurant guide based in France.
Unlike other companies that award stars or declare the world’s best restaurant, La Liste gathers scores based on online reviews from casual diners and influencers, magazine and newspaper ratings, and scores from guides and other lists. Online travel guides, the food publication Eater, and the Black Pearl guide by Meituan Dianping in China are among the more than 1,000 sources.
“We believe by aggregating these subjective choices, reviews, and critics, we end up with a ranking that is a bit more objective,” says Hélène Pietrini, managing director of La Liste.
Because the list’s system awards rankings in half-point increments up to 99.5, several eateries end up with the same numerical ranking.
Two of the seven restaurants that achieved the highest score of 99.5 were repeats from the previous year: Le Bernardin in New York City and Guy Savoy in Paris. (The restaurant made headlines earlier this year when it lost its three Michelin stars.) Sushi Saito in Tokyo and La Vague d’Or in Saint-Tropez, France, climbed from second to first place. L’Enclume in the UK’s Lake District, Schwarzwaldstube in Germany’s Black Forest, and Lung King Heen in Hong Kong rounded out the top three.
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Pietrini, who previously served as director of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, believes that while she respects the various methodologies used by different companies, consumers benefit from having multiple sources of information rather than just one restaurant that is universally declared to be the best in the world. “In the end, the consumer is not stupid,” she says. “There is not one best, one unique restaurant that is best at one time, one day, one year. The notion of best is a bit more complex.”
According to La Liste’s calculations, 17 restaurants obtained a score of 99, 26 had a score of 98.5, and 31 received a score of 98. La Liste releases a list of the top 1,000 restaurants, but its app includes ratings for much more.
“One striking trend is that Asia is back,” Pietrini says, referring to a region of the world that has largely recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. This year’s top thousand restaurants included 139 in Japan, 76 in mainland China, 25 in Hong Kong, 14 in Macao, and seven in Taiwan. The United States and France tied for first place with 106 points each.
Pietrini is concerned about the amount of high and low-end establishments that continue to close. It demonstrates the persistent impact that inflation and growing costs are having on restaurants at a time when customers have less disposable income, according to Joerg Zipprick, editor and co-founder of La Liste. Notable restaurant closures include Le Gavroche in London, Deanes Eipic in Belfast, and Ernst in Berlin, not to mention the world-famous Noma, “testifying to the considerable impact on upscale dining establishments,” he writes. Restaurants that serve traditional, classic, and regional cuisine fare the best during these difficult times, he claims. “Periods of prosperity are more conducive to avant-garde gastronomy.” He goes on to say, “Today’s public is looking for comfort food.”
La Liste is a newcomer to the rankings industry, having published its debut list in 2015. This year, the firm expanded into hotel rankings, recognizing Italy’s Belmond Hotel Cipriani as the greatest in the world. Michelin, on the other hand, began giving stars to restaurants featured in its guide in 1926 in order to facilitate road journeys and promote its tire business. And, since 2002, UK publisher William Reed has published a list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants; more recently, it has added best hotels, as well as global and regional best bars lists.
Here is the list of the restaurants that are ranked first in their respective countries:
Argentina: Don Julio
Australia: (tie) Oncore by Clare Smith and Vue du Monde
Belgium: Hof Van Cleve
Brazil: Casa do Porco
Canada: Alo
Denmark: Geranium
India: Indian Accent
Israel: OCD TLV
Italy: (tie) Da Vittorio and Le Calandre
Mexico: Quintonil
Norway: Maaemo
Peru: Maido
Singapore: Odette
South Africa: La Colombe
South Korea: (tie) Mingles, Mosu and La Yeon
Spain: (tie) Martín Berasategui and Atrio
Turkey: Turk Fatih Tutak
UAE: Ossiano
