This Copenhagen Restaurant Is #1 According to 'World's 50 Best'

On a sweltering Monday night in London, the World's 50 Best organization announced its much-anticipated list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2022. And let's get right to it: for the second straight year, a Danish restaurant topped their list. The World's No. 1 restaurant for 2022 was Copenhagen's frequently acclaimed Geranium, which finished just behind Noma in last year's rankings.

"I wrote something in case that magic was going to happen, and magic did happen," chef Rasmus Kofoed said onstage. "I remember a time when I was looking in the mirror and didn't like and couldn't identify myself with the person I saw in there. My determination and curiosity to learn more each day gave me confidence, and finally I found the world where I belong."

"With big dreams and with strong friendships [...] with burning passion and dedicated team members like all the ones in Copenhagen, Geranium became our vision to create a holistic space embracing the circle of life," Kofoed continued. "Food is a connector, uniting people from different continents, sharing culture and creativity, and I feel so damn grateful to be a part of that."

This year's Top 10 included:

1. Geranium, Copenhagen
2. Central, Lima, Peru
3. Disfrutar, Barcelona
4. DiverXO, Madrid
5. Pujol, Mexico City
6. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain
7. A Casa do Porco, São Paulo
8. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera, Italy
9. Quintonil, Mexico City
10. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy

The top 50 also included three restaurants from the United States:

• Atomix, New York (No. 33)
• Le Bernardin, New York (No. 44)
• Single Thread, Healdsburg, CA (No. 50)

In addition, the Art of Hospitality Award went to Junghyun Park (a Food & Wine Best New Chef) and Ellia Park of Atomix. The inaugural World's Best Sommelier Award was presented to Josep Roca of El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, while Colombian chef Leonor Espinosa was the World's Best Female Chef. Finally, Kenyan entrepreneur and Food4Education founder Wawira Njiru was honored with this year's Icon Award.

"50 Best's dual core mission remains the same: to provide diners with a credible global list of truly memorable dining destinations, and to celebrate the immense talent, innovation, and hard work of the teams that create those memories," William Drew, content director for the World's 50 Best Restaurants, wrote in this year's program.

The establishments and individuals that were recognized tonight were chosen by a panel of 1,080 anonymous critics, food writers, restaurateurs, and "well-traveled food lovers" who were each tasked with voting for 10 restaurants in their regions of the world and beyond.

Several years ago — and several No. 1 selections for El Bulli ago — the organization decided that previous No. 1s would no longer be eligible for selection on the World's 50 Best list; instead, they have been elevated to its "Best of the Best" list. (Noma is the one exception to that rule: its current incarnation, the so-called Noma 2.0, was deemed to be a different restaurant than the one that took the top spot four times.)

The World's 50 Best has expanded beyond the boundaries implied by its name, and it actually ranks 100 restaurants annually. Earlier this month, it announced numbers 51-100, which included an additional seven selections from the United States:

• Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York (No. 63)
• Cosme, New York (No. 69)
• Atelier Crenn, San Francisco (No. 72)
• Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY (No. 74)
• Estela, New York (No. 79)
• Oriole, Chicago (No. 91)
• Benu, San Francisco (No. 97)

"With restaurants across six continents, the 51-100 list this year recognises a broader range of destinations than we have ever seen before," Drew said. "This growth is great to witness as the gastronomic world continues to recover and rebuild following the huge challenges faced during the pandemic."

Read the entire list at theworlds50best.com.