The World's 50 Best Just Declared The Top Restaurant Of 2023

Restaurateurs from around the globe gathered in Valencia, Spain on Tuesday as The World's 50 Best unveiled its list of the planet's top restaurants for 2023. The ceremony, broadcast live on YouTube, saw Central in Lima, Peru take home first-place honors.

Overseen by married chefs Pia León and Virgilio Martínez, Central has made history by becoming the first restaurant not located in the U.S. or Europe to win this highest honor since the list was launched in 2002. León also became the first female chef to earn a number-one spot in this particular ranking, and she scored double honors by having her second restaurant, Kjolle, placed at number 28.

Central's position was boosted in part by a recent rule change implemented by The World's 50 Best in an effort to highlight new restaurants each year. Since 2019, establishments that have previously been named the top restaurant are ineligible for future lists. That means that 2022's winner – Geranium, in Copenhagen — does not appear on the 2023 rankings.

This year's top five were rounded out by second-place Disfrutar, in Barcelona; Diverxo, in Madrid; Asador Etxebarri, in Atxondo, Spain; and Alchemist, in Copenhagen. Only two U.S. restaurants were listed, both in New York, with Korean eatery Atomix taking the number eight spot and renowned seafood haven Le Bernardin coming in at number 44.

A modern icon of Peruvian cuisine, Central previously topped The World's 50 Best's list of top restaurants in Latin America on four occasions, in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2022. And it gained further international attention when it was featured in the third volume of the Netflix series: "Chef's Table."

Its menu strives to take diners on a journey through the various ecosystems of Peru. The 12 courses are all based on different elevations, ranging from 10 meters below sea level to 3,750 meters above. Each course features three key ingredients endemic to the designated altitude, like scallops, sargasso, and cucumber from sea level, or watermelon, coca leaves, and pacu fish from 190 meters up.

While Central's victory was met with rapturous applause by ceremony attendees, other aspects of The World's 50 Best Restaurants list have already received criticism. The U.K.-based organization has frequently been knocked for its perceived European bias, and while recent rankings have reflected more diversity, 2023's list remains fairly Eurocentric. Notably, no restaurant from anywhere in Africa made the list, and India received no entries, either. The Best Female Chef award, which this year went to Elena Reygadas of Mexico City's Rosetta, has also faced backlash for its perceived treatment of men and women as unequal on the restaurant scene, due to there being no Best Male Chef award.