A wood-fire grill in a mountain hamlet of a few hundred people has taken the top prize at The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2026, announced at a ceremony in Lima on Wednesday, 5 November. Asador Etxebarri, in the village of Axpe in Spain's Atxondo valley, moves up from last year's number two to claim the title – cementing Spain's status as arguably Europe's most exciting country to eat in right now.

Chef-owner Bittor Arguinzoniz has run the restaurant since 1990 and is widely credited as a pioneer of live-fire cooking. Everything on the €300 (roughly £250) tasting menu passes over wood and charcoal, from Palamós red prawns to an unexpectedly wonderful smoked milk ice cream. It has been a long climb: Etxebarri first appeared on the list back in 2008 at number 44 and has been a fixture ever since.

Once a restaurant wins, it can't compete again – winners join the retired 'Best of the Best' list alongside The French Laundry and Barcelona's Disfrutar. Last year's champion, Maido in Lima, is the newest member of that club.

Elsewhere on the list, Gaggan in Bangkok took second place and was again named best in Asia, while Quintonil in Mexico City (fourth) led Latin America and Atomix in New York (11th) topped North America. Dubai's Trèsind Studio (28th) repeated as Middle East winner, Cape Town's La Colombe (35th) took Africa, and Saint Peter in Sydney scraped in at 50 as Oceania's best. Copenhagen's theatrical Alchemist came third.

Bangkok had a strong showing overall, with Sorn, Sühring, Nusara and Potong all in the top 50, and Hong Kong landed two entries in the top six with The Chairman and Wing. London, by contrast, had a thin year: only Ikoyi made the top 50, falling from 15th to 48th, while Kol slipped to 70th and The Ledbury returned at 83rd.

How the rankings work matters if you take them as travel inspiration. More than 1,100 chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and well-travelled diners vote anonymously, nominating only places they've eaten at in the previous 18 months, with Deloitte verifying the process. That means entries shift year to year – and it's a snapshot of where industry insiders actually ate recently, not a static hall of fame.

There were individual honours too: Jessica Rosval of Al Gatto Verde in Modena won Best Female Chef, Junghyun 'JP' Park of Atomix took the Chefs' Choice Award, and Ferran Adrià of El Bulli received the Icon Award. Naar in Kasauli, India, won the Sustainable Restaurant Award, and Copenhagen's Kadeau climbed 33 places to eighth.

For anyone plotting a food-focused trip, the list doubles as an itinerary: high places are scattered across Lima, Mexico City, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore and Copenhagen, not just Western Europe. But the story of 2026 is rural Spain – proof that the world's most coveted table reservation is 45 minutes from Bilbao airport, down a quiet Basque valley. Reported by Condé Nast Traveller UK.