World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024: Odette is Singapore’s only entry, Barcelona’s Disfrutar is number one

Experiences

Hongkong’s Wing and The Chairman take home the Highest Entry and Highest Climber awards respectively.

Barcelona’s Disfrutar was placed first on World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024’s list followed by Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo and Table by Bruno Verjus in Paris. (Photo: World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024)

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French restaurant Odette (No.24) dropped 10 places but remains as Singapore’s only entry in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list, which was unveiled in a glitzy ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas on Jun 5, 8.30pm (Singapore time Jun, 6, 11.30am).

Number one was Barcelona’s Disfrutar, followed by Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo and Table by Bruno Verjus in Paris.

Disfrutar, which means “to enjoy” in Spanish, was ranked No.2 in last year’s list. Run by three former elBulli chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casannas, its Mediterranean-influenced tasting menu is a Holy Grail of sorts for foodies around the world fascinated by its evocative presentations, including a “living table” that changes as the meal progresses. Xatruch shared: “We want to dedicate this moment to our team, all the people who work hard every day to bring good food to the table and the family and community who supported us in everything. Ten years ago when we started the restaurant, we never thought we’d be here today, in Las Vegas, as number one.”

Chef Julien Royer. (Photo: Odette)

Referring to this year’s results, Odette’s chef-owner Julien Royer shared: “Regardless of the placing, the entire team at Odette is immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished over the years. Representing Singapore on the world’s culinary stage has always been an absolute honour for us. We are grateful for the privilege of doing what we love every day.” The restaurant has been on the World’s 50 Best list since it debuted at No.86 in 2017.

Three other Singapore restaurants made it to the extended 51 to 100 list: Modern BBQ restaurant Burnt Ends (No. 68), mod-Sin cuisine Labyrinth (No. 92), and Meta (No. 95).

Thailand had a strong showing, most notably with the re-appearance of Gaggan (No.9) on the list as Asia’s highest ranked restaurant, after it moved to Sukhumvit. The others are Suhring (No.23) Sorn (No. 38) and Le Du (No.40).

Hong Kong’s Wing (No.20) and The Chairman (No. 26) rocked up the list as the Highest New Entry and Highest Climber respectively. The Chairman climbed 24 places from last year’s list and was recognised as the Best Restaurant in Hong Kong at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in March this year. Chef-owner Danny Yip said: “In recent years, numerous chefs in Chinese restaurants have displayed increased creativity in their culinary creations. I believe this factor has played a significant role in our achievement of an award this year. The global community of diners and food enthusiasts now holds a greater appreciation for Chinese cuisine as a result.”

Restaurants from four new cities have entered or re-entered the list, including La Colombe in Cape Town (No.49), SingleThread in Healdsburg (No.46) and Oteque in Rio de Janeiro (No.37). Seoul’s Mingles (No.44) debuted as South Korea’s first and only representative.

South Korea’s first and only representative Mingles debuted at No.44. (Photo: Mingles)

Among the special awards dished out were The World’s Best Pastry Chef Award, which went to Nina Metayer, and the peer-voted Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award 2024, won by Mitsuharu ‘Micha’ Tsumura from Maido in Lima.

Lauded Australian chef and restaurateur Neil Perry received the Woodford Reserve Icon Award while Berlin’s Nobelhart & Schmutzig (No.43) won the Sustainable Restaurant Award for advocating for better agricultural policies and the voices of producers.

Several special awards were announced ahead of the official ceremony, which saw over 1,200 attendees from 26 territories across five continents.

Champions of Change winners include Jessica Rosval and Caroline Caporossi — founders of Roots in Modena, a social enterprise restaurant that hosts a training programme for migrant women — and Joao Diamante of Diamantes Na Cozinha in Rio de Janeiro, founder of a culinary initiative which creates opportunities for young people in vulnerable situations.

Janaina Torres is the winner of The World’s Best Female Chef Award; Paris’ Plenitude earned the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award and Kato in Los Angeles picked up the Resy One To Watch Award.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list is created from the votes of 1,080 restaurant industry experts and well-travelled gourmands around the world that make up The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy. The gender-balanced Academy is comprised of 27 separate regions around the world, each of which has 40 members including an Academy Chair. No sponsor from the event has any influence over the voting process, which is adjudicated by Deloitte.

Once a restaurant is voted as number one, it cannot compete in the following year. Instead, it joins an elite group of number one ranked restaurants in the Best of the Best Hall of fame, which now comprises last year’s winner Central from Lima as well as UK’s The Fat Duck, Copenhagen’s original Noma and New York’s Eleven Madison Park.

World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024

*new entry
** re-entry

1. Disfrutar, Barcelona

2. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo

3. Table By Bruno Verjus, Paris

4. Diverxo, Madrid

5. Maido, Lima

6. Atomix, New York

7. Quintonil, Mexico City

8. Alchemist, Copenhagen 9. Gaggan, Bangkok