Last night (March 25) at the Kerry Hotel, the room felt like restaurant prom night. PRs clutched guest lists, chefs clutched Champagne flutes, and everyone clutched the hope that their name might flash higher on the big screen. Bangkok and Tokyo rule the region’s reservations list, clocking nine and seven entries respectively, with Hong Kong just a step behind on six ( The top spot, though, went to an old master). Eight newcomers broke into the top 50, bringing the total city count to a satisfyingly pan Asian 15. India has two restaurants claiming spots 15 and 30.
Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards 2026
Hong Kong didn’t just host Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants this year, it stole the show, set the table and poured the tea. In the Kerry Hotel’s glittering ballroom, The Chairman reclaimed its crown as Asia’s No. 1, with neighbour Wing sliding neatly into No. 2, as if the building itself had quietly been practicing good feng shui all along. At Wing Vicky Cheng bends European technique to Chinese will. Think intricate sauces wrapped around impeccably sourced local ingredients, less fusion, more fluent bilingualism on a plate. For The Chairman, Danny Yip’s fiercely focused temple to Cantonese cuisine, this was a homecoming of sorts: its second time at the summit after it’s against the odds win in 2021. ‘It means everything to us to win this award in Hong Kong,’ Yip told the room, a victory lap for a Sheung Wan restaurant that cooks with the assurance of a city finally believing in its own flavours.
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Asia’s Dining Power
Bangkok’s Gaggan, last year’s chart topper, settled into third but still walked away as Thailand’s best. Gaggan Anand’s endlessly reimagined fine dining saga, relaunched in 2019, has climbed back from cult closure to regional domination, theatrics intact but cooking sharpened. ‘Mingles’ in Seoul (No.4) once again takes ‘Best Restaurant in South Korea’, weaving seasonal Korean produce with Hong Kong and European ideas, while Bangkok’s ‘Nusara’ (No.5) turns chef Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn’s ancestral recipes into something thrillingly current, proof that the hottest tables in Asia are often set by one’s grandparents. Bangkok is having a moment.
Gaggan’s Louis Vuitton collaboration, Gaggan at Louis Vuitton (No.8), turns dinner into a catwalk of edible couture, while Sorn (No.12) roars with southern Thai fire and Sühring (No.18) hums with precise, modern German comfort. Potong (No.25) rethinks Thai‑Chinese roots; Ms. Maria & Mr. Singh (No.27) is a raucous Mexican Indian love story; Le Du (No.36) keeps Thai flavours sharply current; and Wana Yook (No.47) elevates humble curry‑on‑rice to reverent ritual. Far away in India , Kasauli’s Naar (No.30) distils Himalayan memory, while Macau’s Chef Tam’s Seasons (No.7) glitters with painstakingly polished Cantonese luxury at Wynn Palace. Ru Yuan in Hangzhou crashed into the list at No. 10, nabbing the Highest New Entry Award and signalling China’s growing dominance across the top 10.
Redefining Restaurants, Rewriting Cities
Beyond the dining rooms, change makers were also honoured. Hongkonger Peggy Chan, of Zero Foodprint Asia, picked up the Champions of Change Award for pushing regenerative farming from buzzword to blueprint. Further west, in Mumbai, Masque’s story read like a parable for the night. Once ‘basically a shed’ at the end of a lane taxis refused to enter, it is now India’s No 1 restaurant, fifth time in a row ( 2022 to 2026), perched at No. 15 in Asia and newly garlanded with the Art of Hospitality Award. Here, “Guest is God” isn’t framed on a wall; it’s lived in the quiet choreography of refolded napkins, remembered allergies and conversations that end one course and inspire the next. Chef Varun Totlani, who began as a commis in 2016, now steers a tasting menu that maps the country in flavours: saline Goan seaweed, high altitude Kashmiri heat, ideas smuggled back from tiny farms and far-flung producers. If this year’s awards proved anything, it’s that Asia’s most exciting restaurants are no longer just serving food. They’re rewriting the stories of their cities, one improbable address and one perfectly judged plate at a time.
