Find out which Portuguese restaurant is among the 50 best in the world

If exploring a new country via food is your thing, we've got a great addition to add to your list of restaurants to visit in Portugal, as one dining establishment in the county has been named one of the best in the world for another year. Portuguese restaurant Belcanto, by chef José Avillez, is located in Lisbon and remained among the 50 best restaurants in the world. The fine dining establishment dropped 4 places to 46th on the list, this year led by the Danish Geranium, announced the organisation in London at the end of July.

The Lisbon restaurant is putting Portuguese food on the map and is defined as "the main gastronomic destination of the Portuguese capital". It the only Portuguese restaurant in the list of the 50 best in the world (World's 50 Best Restaurants), which this year marks 20 years.

Belcanto, with 2 Michelin stars, first entered the top 50 on the list in 2019, when it finished in 42nd position, which it renewed last year. In 2020 the list was not released due to COVID-19.

"We are delighted to receive the news that Belcanto is once again chosen as one of the 50 best restaurants in the world. We will continue to work harder and better and always with great passion and responsibility for being lucky enough to represent Portugal. It is a distinction of the entire Belcanto team, of our entire group and of all the kitchen and room teams of all the Portuguese restaurants, in Portugal and in the world," José Avillez reacted, via social media.

"A legendary establishment that opened its doors as a men's club in 1958, chef José Avillez took the helm of Belcanto in 2012. Under his culinary navigation, the restaurant earned its first Michelin star that year; a second followed just two years later," says the organisation, which describes Avillez's cooking as making "full use of the Portuguese coast" and providing a "gastronomic journey through contemporary Portuguese cuisine".

The best restaurant in the world is in Copenhagen

This year, Geranium (Copenhagen) has risen to the top of the list - last year, chef Rasmus Kofoed's restaurant, which also has 3 stars in the Michelin guide, came in second place.

"Geranium is a holistic space, which embraces the circle of life. Food is a connector, uniting people from all continents," Rasmus Kofoed said. And according to the promoters of the list, "there are no better chefs in the world than Kofoed in applying beauty to food. He has an intuitive ability to put together truly stunning dishes that make the most of colour, empty space and the exact volume of ingredients, creating a synergy between flavour, aestheticism and a sense of fluidity that runs through the entire menu," the organisation describes.

Second place went to the Peruvian restaurant Central (4th last year), run by Virgilio Martínez and Pía León, while Disfrutar (Barcelona, run by chefs Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas and Eduard Xatruch) achieved third place (5th in 2021).

This ranking of the best restaurants in the world has been made since 2002, counting on the contributions of 1,080 gastronomy experts, and seeks to "reveal some of the best destinations for unique culinary experiences, as well as being a barometer for global gastronomic trends", according to the promoters.

The awards ceremony took place in London in July 2022, but was originally scheduled to take place in Moscow. Organisers announced they would not be hosting the event in the Russian capital on 24th February, hours after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.