North America's 50 Best Restaurants List Will Launch At Wynn Las Vegas

Forbes

14-05-2025

Atomix was honored at the 2024 World's 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in Las Vegas.
The 50 Best organization, which is behind the prestigious annual World's 50 Best Restaurants list, will debut North America's 50 Best Restaurants in September.
The inaugural North America list, which covers the United States, Canada and parts of the Caribbean, will be unveiled during an awards ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas on September 25. The countdown of the list, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, at Wynn's Encore Theater will be part of a week of North America's 50 Best Restaurants programming that will also include panel discussions, an official press conference and a sumptuous chefs' feast that has been a highlight of many 50 Best gatherings.
'What prompted the launch of North America's 50 Best Restaurants was the feeling that the region has not been hugely represented in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in recent years,' William Drew, director of content at 50 Best, says during an exclusive interview. 'But we know that there's an extraordinary array of great restaurants and great dining opportunities across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. So it felt like a really important thing to shine a light on those restaurants and those dining experiences and the great diversity that North America offers.'
The only North American restaurants (not counting Mexico, which is categorized as Latin America in 50 Best lists) in last year's World's 50 Best Restaurants list were New York's Atomix (No. 6) and Healdsburg, California's Singlethread (No. 46). The extended 51-100 list included New York's Le Bernardin, Chicago's Smyth and New York's Cosme. Los Angeles got a nod when Kato was tapped as 'One to Watch' last year.
Although World's 50 Best Restaurants skews toward fine dining establishments, North America's 50 Best Restaurants and its 300-plus voters will likely create a list that goes well beyond tasting menus. The goal is to recognize the wide range of top-tier food and service this continent has.
'There is no criteria in terms of style of a restaurant that we are looking for,' Drew says. 'It's not designed to be a list of fine dining restaurants. Great restaurants can be of any style or sort. I can't predict what it's going to comprise, what the geographical diversity is going to be. But I'm really optimistic that it's going to be at all sorts of different styles of restaurants. That's kind of the beauty of what we try to create.'
Atomix and Singlethread collaborated on a wagyu and rice dish at Wynn Las Vegas during the week of ... More World's 50 Best Restaurants in June 2024.
Last June's World's 50 Best Restaurants ceremony took place at Wynn Las Vegas. This year's announcement of World's 50 Best Restaurants will be in Turin, Italy, on June 19. The hope for 50 Best is that North America's 50 Best Restaurants also becomes an annual roving event.
'The plan would definitely be to move it around and not just host it in the U.S. but also host it in Canada and maybe one day in the Caribbean,' Drew says. 'Whether that it's in year two or year three or beyond has yet to be decided.'
Las Vegas is a logical first step.
'Where better to hold our first North America party than in Las Vegas, where people from all over go to celebrate?' Drew says. 'Having worked in Vegas before, we knew what it had to offer. … Wynn is a good partner because they understand what we want to do. They're a premium resort and have strong food-and-beverage offerings and are committed to showcasing the diversity of dining across North America.'
In addition to the official North America's 50 Best Restaurants programming, Wynn Las Vegas is bringing back its Revelry food festival as part of the week's celebrations. Revelry, which debuted during World's 50 Best Restaurants week last year, features a walk-around tasting extravaganza known as The Feast along with prominent guest-chef dinners, master classes and mixology pop-ups.
'We look forward to welcoming and celebrating North America's most renowned chefs," says Brian Gullbrants, COO of Wynn Resorts North America. "From the tremendous talent that will join us for North America's 50 Best Restaurants to the return of our annual food festival, Revelry, Wynn Las Vegas will play host to one of the most exciting culinary weeks of the year.'