London restaurant Koru has entered the top 20 of the 2024 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, moving up from 23rd place last year to 17th place.
Mexican chef Santiago Lastra opened Koru in Marylebone in 2020 and celebrated with Ikoyi founders Jeremy Chan and Ire Hassan Odukare, who returned to the top 50 at number 42, at a glitzy ceremony in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
Also in attendance were Thomas Parry of Bratt and Mountain, both of which were featured on the Top 51-100 list released in May ahead of the Top 50 awards. Mountain only opened last summer, but made the list at No. 94.
And British-born chef Daniel Calvert, formerly of Pied-a-Terre, has seen his Tokyo restaurant Cezanne soar to 15th place.
But London was once again overshadowed by restaurants from around the world, particularly Thailand, South America, Italy, France and Spain. This year’s winner was Disfrutar from Barcelona.
Josh Barry
Previously ranked 32nd, Clove Club has dropped out of the exclusive top 50 and now occupies 80th place, alongside Lyles in 87th and Claire Smith’s core, who have dropped to 97th.
The list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants was announced at the Wynn Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, with chefs such as Thomas Keller, José Andrés and Mauro Colagreco presenting special awards to names such as Brazil’s Hanaina Torres (Female Chef of the Year) and France’s Nina Metayet, who was named Best Pastry Chef.
Other notable awards included the Icon Award, presented to Australian chef Neil Perry, who looked visibly emotional onstage.
The list aims to recognise and rank restaurants around the world every year. It is organised by British media group William Reid and is based on the opinions of over 1,000 food and beverage industry professionals, including chefs, restaurateurs and food writers.
Last year’s winner, Central in Lima, Peru, was the first restaurant to win outside Europe and the US and is run by husband-and-wife chefs Virgilio Martinez and Pia Leon. It automatically made it onto the Best of the Best list this year, a move introduced in 2019 that meant previous winners were no longer eligible. It also means the top spot is easier to compete for.
Other restaurants on the Best of the Best list include top-notch establishments such as The Fat Duck, Mirazur, Osteria Francescana, Noma and El Bulli in the UK.
The complete list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024:
2. Asador Etxebarri, Achondo, Spain
3. Table by Bruno Verges (Paris)
7. Quintonil, Mexico City
10. Don Julio, Buenos Aires
12. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera
13. Tresinde Studios, Dubai
14. Kike Dacosta, Denia
19. Sangro Castle, Reale
26. Chairman, Hong Kong
27. Porco’s House in Sao Paulo
30. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin
43. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin
46. Single Thread, Healdsburg
47. Schauenstein Castle, Fürstenau
49. La Colombe, Cape Town