2024 Best International Restaurants

A dish from Indigo restaurant — Photo:
Indigo

Authenticity is key when it comes to a groundbreaking restaurant. There are hundreds of thousands around the globe, but few stand out as truly unforgettable experiences. The perfect mix of food with dynamic flavor, unmatched hospitality, and a permeable personality that makes an institution one-of-a-kind also presents a dining experience that's special — and that's what we're here to celebrate.

Food & Wine's second annual Global Tastemakers Awards celebrate a truly diverse selection of restaurants that span the globe, including an Iranian-inspired cafe in Bombay, a restaurant on a farm in Nairobi, a wildly inventive tapas bar in Barcelona, a small izakaya in Tokyo, and a boundary-pushing pizzeria in Caserta. The selects range from Michelin-starred restaurants with progressive tasting menus to smaller, family-run establishments.

Many of this year’s winners are helmed by ambitious young chefs who came up the ranks at famous, award-winning restaurants. Another common thread is an emphasis on local, farm-to-table, or foraged ingredients, natural wines, and an eye toward sustainability. Many of these restaurants delve deep into the culinary traditions of the region in which they’re located. Some are making a conscious effort to uplift the overlooked cuisines of marginalized communities. All of them are delivering delicious experiences that will have you ready to jump on a flight.

Here are 20 standout restaurants from around the world that offer delicious dishes, a beautiful atmosphere, and an overall unforgettable experience — and our plus one pick, which is a restaurant that didn't make the initial list as voted on by our panel, but should definitely be on your radar.

01 of 21

Mérito (Lima, Peru)

Venezuelan chef Juan Luis Martínez did stints working with Martin Berasategui in San Sebastián and at DiverXO in Madrid before moving to Lima in 2014 to work under Virgilio Martinez at Central. He left Central in 2018 to open his own restaurant and it's been climbing to the top of ‘best of’ lists ever since. Housed in a building in Lima’s trendy Barranco neighborhood, Mérito combines elements of Peruvian and Venezuelan cuisine to create dishes that are rooted in Latin American culture but entirely new.

02 of 21

Petermen (Sydney, Australia)

Ben Collision's Coral Trout for Two from Petermen restaurant — Josh Niland

Josh and Julie Niland's first restaurant, Saint Peter, gained international acclaim when it opened in 2016 so it only made sense that their latest opening, Petermen, became an instant hit. The restaurant showcases sustainably sourced Australian seafood and cooking that is rigorously fin-to-tail. The Niland’s innovation and creativity shines through in dishes like empanadas filled with saltbush and bonito served with a sauce made from steeping the fish’s bones in soy sauce.

03 of 21

SodaBottleOpenerWala (Bombay, India)

Various dishes from SodaBottleOpenerWala restaurant — SodaBottleOpenerWala

In the early 20th century, Zoroastrian Iranians flocked to colonial Bombay, bringing their cafe culture with them. By the 1960s, there were hundreds of Iranian cafés in Bombay, but today just a fraction of them remain. SodaBottleOpenerWala brings back the whimsy of those cafes with printed floor tiles, colorful vintage decor, and a menu that encompasses Iranian staples and Indian street food.

04 of 21

Cucina Villana (Ruvo di Puglia, Italy)

A dish from Mezza Pagnotta restaurant — Mezza Pagnotta

At this charming restaurant located in the historic Villa Fenicia in the small town of Ruvo di Puglia, brothers Vincenzo and Francesco Montaruli reinterpret the simple cuisine that has nurtured the inhabitants of southern Italy for centuries. Instead of the ubiquitous pasta and pizza, Cucina Villana offers dishes with a joyful and surprising emphasis on vegetables and wild herbs like thistle, chicory, and cardoon foraged on the nearby Murge peninsula, artfully presented in delicious dishes. In summer, the restaurant’s setting in the villa’s garden is truly magical.

05 of 21

Soil (Athens, Greece)

A dish from Soil restaurant — Antonis Yiamouris

Soil has two Michelin stars: one red star and one green star for sustainability. For chef Tasos Mantis, who worked in temples to fine dining like Geranium in Copenhagen, everything starts in his private garden in the nearby village of Alepochori. His farm-to-table tasting menus combine Greek ingredients and flavors with a Nordic sensibility.

06 of 21

Celele (Cartagena, Colombia)

Various dishes from Celele restaurant — Celele

As the founder of the Caribe Lab Project, chef Jaime Rodriguez has spent 14 years traveling through Colombia to research and document indigenous ingredients and recipes in danger of being lost. He puts that research into practice at Celele, serving contemporary Caribbean cuisine, with dishes like squid and mussels in a coastal escabeche and pork confit terrine with preserved sweet peppers, Caribbean beans, cabbage, and pork broth.

07 of 21

La Cocina de Humo (Oaxaca, Mexico)

An overhead view of a tortilla press at La Cocina de Humo — La Cocina de Humo

At La Cocina de Humo, rising star chef Thalia Barrios Garcia invites diners to watch as she and her team prepare tamales, tortillas, and other traditional dishes over a wood-fired earthenware comal and serves them at the chef’s counter. Her intimate restaurant in the heart of the historical center in Oaxaca is more comparable to a family dinner, with an ever-changing menu based on availability of ingredients at the local market and what's in season and chefs available to walk guests through each dish on the menu. Garcia also offers cooking classes to educate guests on traditional Oaxacan dishes.

08 of 21

Indigo (Arequipa, Peru)

Housed in the Qasa by Nomad Hotel in Arequipa, Indigo serves modern Peruvian cuisine and creative cocktails in their outdoor space. Chef Enrique Parades Mizaico creates artistic interpretations of traditional dishes like ceviche, lomo saltado, and ossobuco, using local ingredients cooked in a modern style.

09 of 21

Cultiva (Nairobi, Kenya)

A tray of tacos from Cultiva restaurant — Cultiva

Conceived by Ecuadorian chef Ariel Moscardi and Peter Silvester of Royal African Safaris, Cultiva is a rustic fine dining restaurant born as a pop-up during the off season for safaris. Taking the farm-to-table ethos literally, the restaurant is attached to the Cultiva Farm in Nairobi’s Karen neighborhood and serves artfully presented dishes made with fresh, organic ingredients just plucked from the earth.

10 of 21

Emazulwini Restaurant (Cape Town, South Africa)

Interior view of Emazulwini Restaurant — Paris Brummer

Chef Mmabatho Molefe is part of a movement to valorize African cuisine as she reinterprets dishes her mother made with a fine dining lens. Emazulwini Restaurant was located right on the V&A Waterfront and focused on Zulu and Nguni cuisine. Molefe announced in February that the restaurant's three-year residency at the V&A Waterfront has drawn to a close, but she will be popping up elsewhere. Follow the restaurant’s Instagram account @emazulwini_restaurant for more details.

11 of 21

L’Evo (Toyama, Japan)

A table of dishes at L'Evo in Toyama, Japan — Yukari Sakamoto

L'Evo promises “cuisine you’ll find only here for a time spent like nowhere else,” and it delivers. Chef Eiji Taniguchi comes from a family of chefs in Osaka and trained in France and Japan. He forages plants in the forest surrounding the restaurant, which is located in a remote part of Toyama prefecture, and works with local farmers, fishermen, and brewers who supply the rest of the ingredients for his beautifully presented dishes.

12 of 21

Teté Cocina de Barrio (Guadalajara, Mexico)

Dishes from TetÃ© Cocina de Barrio in Guadalajara, Mexico — Diego Camacho

Brother and sister Mario and Karla Papa are among Mexico’s most talented young chefs. At their vegetarian restaurant in Guadalajara, they’ve created an avant-garde gastronomic experience that surprises and delights. There are no menus and no waiters — instead the chefs present and explain the dishes, which are made with a zero waste philosophy. The restaurant doesn't have a website but can be found on Instagram @tetecocinadebarrio.

13 of 21

Wana Yook (Bangkok, Thailand)

An exterior view of Wana Yook in Bangkok, Thailand — Chris Schalk

At this Michelin-starred restaurant inside a beautiful colonial house in Bangkok, chef Chalee Kader brings a fine dining lens to traditional dishes like Khao gaeng. Each dish in his 12-course tasting menu features rice from a different region of Thailand served with a reimagined curry. The restaurant doesn't have a website but can be found on Instagram @wana.yook.

14 of 21

Beba (Montreal, Canada)

Straddling the line between a neighborhood spot and destination dining, Beba is the passion project of brothers Ari and Pablo Schor, who grew up between Buenos Aires and Winnipeg. Here they combine Argentine culinary traditions — which draw heavily on Spanish and Italian cuisines — with Quebecois ingredients and influences for a truly unique expression of Canadian cuisine.

15 of 21

Dos Pebrots (Barcelona, Spain)

A dish from Dos Pebrots restaurant — Dos Pebrots

A meal at this tapas bar in Raval by former El Bulli head chef Albert Raurich is like a history lesson in Mediterranean cooking. He delves deep into the past, using ingredients like garum (the anchovy-based sauce used in ancient Rome) and finding inspiration in the recipes of the ancient Greeks and Etruscans.

16 of 21

Sait (Istanbul, Turkey)

An exterior dining view of Sait restaurant — Sait

Originally opened in Bodrum in 1993, the second location of this upscale seafood restaurant debuted in Istanbul’s shiny new Galataport district. Turkish mezze and fresh fish from the Aegean are the specialties here, served in an elegant, modern dining room.

17 of 21

Pizzeria I Masanielli (Caserta, Italy)

A marinara atomica pizza from Pizzeria I Masanielli — wearefactory.it

I Masanielli transforms pizza into a transcendental experience, which makes it no surprise that the restaurant has garnered accolades from around the world. Master pizzaiolo Francesco Martucci uses haute cuisine techniques, like flash freezing, sous vide cooking, and dehydrating, to coax the most incredible flavors and textures out of the ingredients he uses to top his pizzas.

18 of 21

Kotaro Shibuya (Tokyo, Japan)

There’s no menu at this intimate izakaya in a residential part of Shibuya. Instead, diners state their preferences and then put their dining fate in the hands of chef Kotaro Hayashi, who draws inspiration from traditional recipes but puts his own spin on them. There might be hand-cut udon noodles served with raw egg, butter, and soy sauce or potato salad with cucumber and soft boiled egg smoked over cherry wood. The restaurant does not have a website.

19 of 21

BiBi (London, UK)

A hand folding a dish of food from BiBi restaurant — Sam Cornish

The modern Indian cuisine at this chic restaurant in Mayfair by the JKS restaurant group aims to surprise and delight with each bite. Chef Chet Sharma playfully reimagines classic Indian dishes, transforming them into moreish small plates like Wookey-hole cheese papad and the much-loved Lahori chicken with cashew and yogurt whey.

20 of 21

Note (Dublin, Ireland)

An interview dining room view of Note restaurant — Note

Some of the best cooking in Dublin is happening at this unfussy wine bar/bistro praised for its bold flavors, balanced food, and wine list spotlighting small and organic producers. The talented young chef Essa Fakhry cooks up modern European dishes with eclectic influences and ingredients, from Connemara oysters to Spanish chorizo.

21 of 21

Plus One: Dill (Reykjavik, Iceland)

Dill was the first restaurant in Iceland awarded a Michelin star and it’s still one of the best places to experience Iceland’s culture and cuisine. Founding chef Gunnar Karl Gíslasson creates sublime tasting menus that explore Icelandic ingredients and recipes but transform them in new and innovative ways.

Global Tastemakers is a celebration of the best culinary destinations in the U.S. and abroad. We asked more than 180 food and travel journalists to vote on their favorites, including restaurants and bars, cities, hotels, airports, airlines, and cruises. We then entrusted those results to an expert panel of judges to determine each category’s winners. In many categories, we’ve included a Plus One, hand-selected by our expert panel, to shout out more culinary destinations we don’t want our readers to miss. See all the winners at foodandwine.com/globaltastemakers.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Tell us why!