Australian eatery cracks world’s 50 Best Restaurants list
Saint Peter is considered a 'shrine to all things seafood'. Photos: supplied
A Sydney restaurant has made it onto a prestigious list of the 50 best restaurants around the world – the first Australian eatery to make the cut since 2018.
The annual 50 Best Restaurants awards, presented in the Peruvian capital of Lima, rank the leading restaurants across six continents.
Top position for 2026 went to Spanish restaurant Asador Etxebarri, while the Thai capital of Bangkok scored five inclusions in the list – including the Michelin-starred Gaggan at No.2.
Australian chef Josh Niland’s acclaimed fine-dining Sydney restaurant Saint Peter slipped in at No.50.
Saint Peter, which was also named best restaurant in Oceania, is “where the scale-to-tail revolution began”, according to The 50 (previously known as 50 Best), which has been compiling its list since 2002.
“Saint Peter may have moved into splashy new digs in Paddington’s Grand National Hotel in 2024, but its founding ethos remains the same,” it says.
“A shrine to all things seafood, this Sydney icon has been leading the scale-to-tail revolution since 2016, when chef-owner Josh Niland first posed the question: ‘Why should whole-animal cookery only apply to meat?’.”
Saint Peter, which won a number of awards and kept its three hats in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide awards last month, was 66th in the extended 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025.
The description on The 50 website praised its “handsomely appointed dining area” and menu items such as the seafood charcuterie, yellowfin tuna ‘nduja, and fish-bone noodles.
“Even the desserts have marine influences: Past sweet-and-saline confections have included seaweed ice cream, kelp caramel and sea lettuce meringue.”
Niland, who was in Lima for the awards presentation, described it as an “amazing result”, not only for the team, “but for Australia”.
“We are so grateful and excited to be included in this years @theworlds50best,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “What a wonderful way to celebrate 10 years of Saint Peter.”
Saint Peter is the first Australian restaurant to make it into the top 50 since Melbourne’s Attica came 20th in 2018.
Another Melbourne restaurant, chef Hugh Allen’s Yiaga in Fitzroy Gardens, received the 2026 One to Watch award.
Yiaga was praised for its setting, 14-course tasting menu based around native produce, and drinks offering.
“With an impressive level of dedication to Australian artists and ingredients, Yiaga is one of the country’s most exciting gastronomic projects to date,” The 50 said.
The 50 Best Restaurants judging panels in each region are made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and what it describes as “well-travelled gourmets”.
Rikki Tidball, managing director of events for The 50, said it recognised the “highest calibre of hospitality on a global scale”.
“Celebrating gastronomic excellence and the remarkable talent shaping the global culinary landscape, this year’s ranking welcomes 11 new entries to the 1-50 list, showcasing the breadth of talent, diversity and creativity shaping the global hospitality landscape,” Tidball said.
Spanish restaurant Asador Etxebarri, which went from second last year to top spot this year, is based in the Basque village of Axpe and specialises in wood-fire cooking with what is described as an “unforgettable” 14-course tasting menu.
As well as Bangkok’s Gaggan at No.2, other restaurants to make the top 10 in 2026 were Alchemist (Copenhagen), Quintonil (Mexico City), Wing (Hong Kong), The Chairman (Hong Kong), Kjolle (Lima), Kadeau (Copenhagen), Diverxo (Madrid) and Plénitude (Paris).
It may seem that Australia’s restaurants are somewhat overlooked on the list (none made the extended 51-100 rankings this year), but the 50 Best Restaurants Academy chair for Oceania, Alexandra Carlton, has pointed out the region doesn’t get the same “gastronomic traffic” as some countries.
“With that in mind, it’s something of a minor miracle to see Saint Peter at No.50, and is a testament to its exceptionalism,” Carlton told the Sydney Morning Herald.
A small but popular bar in Melbourne’s CBD, Caretaker’s Cottage, made it onto The 50’s 2026 list of the best bars in the world revealed last month, coming in 45th position.
