The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022 was announced at a live awards ceremony in London last night (18 July). Copenhagen’s Geranium, led by chef Rasmus Kofoed, took the top spot on the list, with chef Virgilio Martinez’s Central in Lima, Peru taking second place, and Disfrutar in Barcelona, Spain rounding out the top three.

Tokyo’s Den was the highest ranking restaurant in Asia on the list. It had ranked number one on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022, which was announced in March. Other Asian representation came from The Chairman, Hong Kong (#24); Florilège, Tokyo (#30); Odette, Singapore (#36), new entries Sorn, Bangkok (#39) and La Cime, Osaka (#41); and Narisawa, Tokyo (#45).

A number of individual awards were also announced at the awards ceremony. René Frank of Coda in Berlin, a specialist dessert restaurant, took home the World’s Best Pastry Chef award; while Josep Roca, sommelier and co-owner of El Celler de Can Roca in Spain, received the new award for World’s Best Sommelier. The Art of Hospitality Award went to 14-seat tasting menu restaurant Atomix in New York, and the Chef’s Choice award was received by Jorge Vallejo, chef-owner of Quintonil (#9) in Mexico City. The Sustainable Restaurant award went to Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain. 

Previously announced awards were also presented. These included the One To Watch award, which went to AM par Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille, France; the Icon Award which was bestowed upon Wawira Njiru, founder of Food for Education, an organisation that provides nutritious and affordable meals to school children in various urban areas in Kenya; and World’s Best Female Chef 2022, which went to Leonor Espinosa of Leo, Bogotá (#48). Chef and entrepreneur Dieuveil Malonga, who hails from Congo-Brazzaville was named a Champion of Change alongside Koh Seng Choon, Singaporean founder of Dignity Kitchen, and duo Olia Hercules and Alissa Timoshkina, the drivers behind the #CookforUkraine initiative.