The question I’m asked most often is, “How does a restaurant get on ‘the list?’” The list can be any compilation of notable restaurants, including awards, star ratings, rankings, or media honors, such as Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants.
My answers change every year, depending on the kinds of restaurants that open, the trend lines that emerge, and even the whispered wisdom at dinner parties or the buzz on social media. Earning a spot on the list can come down to thoughtful and seamless hospitality, such as a shawl offered in a cold dining room or the box of chic reading glasses brought to me by a server who noticed I was doing a backbend trying to decipher a weeny menu typeface at a recent dinner in Stockholm.
To be among my best of the best, a restaurant must serve dishes and drinks that are complete in terms of flavor and technique, from the pre-meal cocktails to dessert—like an album with no skips. Take Quintonil in Mexico City, which, for me, is the best restaurant in the world this year. I could spend hours waxing poetically about the mussel tart, the glorious ceviche, moles, and kampachi taco, plus the spectacular flight of chapulines and hormigas. It tops my list because chef Jorge Vallejo’s team delivers a view of Mexican history and culture that outshined all my museum visits.
At new restaurants, I’m looking for a broken boundary or a challenged convention. I still think about Belgium’s Door73, which was bold enough to serve a whole heirloom tomato as the main course back in 2021. I haven’t looked at Caribbean food the same since eating at Kabawa in Manhattan in 2025. And Honeysuckle in Philadelphia, with its climate-resilient beans and acorn bread, was arguably the most important opening last year in the United States.
Even an old restaurant can become new. Emeril’s in New Orleans, run by Emeril Lagasse for over 30 years and now helmed by his son, EJ, offered one of the best meals I’ve experienced this year. EJ’s revamped menu includes a miniature shrimp po’boy, a signature salmon-and-caviar cheesecake, and a lip-smacking gumbo that had me dancing in my chair. The restaurant is deserving of every word of hype and those two Michelin stars.
Of course, all is subjective when deliciousness is a given. Lists are but a snapshot of an editor’s year in dining to help guide readers to their next meal. The major questions are: Do I want to revisit? And how many friends can I bring along?
