Tokyo nabbed seven spots on the Asia¡¯s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 list announced in Hong Kong on Wednesday, emerging as the city with the second-most number of entries.
French establishment Sezanne earned the No. 16 spot but fell 12 places from No. 4 last year. Chinese-Japanese restaurant Sazenka ranked No. 21, climbing from its previous 34th position. Maz and Myoujyaku also improved their rankings, rising from No. 43 to No. 28 and No. 45 to No. 33, respectively.?
Florilege slipped from No. 17 to No. 31, while Narisawa dropped from No. 12 to No. 37.
Bangkok led the list with nine entries, although Gaggan, 2025¡¯s winner, fell to third place.?
This year¡¯s top honor went to Hong Kong¡¯s The Chairman, which previously ranked second.?
Rikki Tidball, managing director of events for Asia¡¯s 50 Best Restaurants, said The Chairman¡¯s dedication to ¡°honoring refined Cantonese traditions and exceptional ingredient-driven cooking truly sets it apart.¡±
Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore each had?six restaurants in the lineup, demonstrating their continued influence on the region¡¯s dining scene.
Osaka stole some of the spotlight from Tokyo this year: The city¡¯s modern French restaurant emerged as Japan¡¯s highest-ranked restaurant at No. 13 ¡ª the first time an establishment outside?the capital has claimed such an honor at the awards.?
Longtime Japan Times food critic Robbie Swinnerton said that while the result may be a ripple effect of last year¡¯s Osaka Expo, ¡°it¡¯s more likely due to Osaka being more convenient for voters of 50 Best from other parts of Asia.¡±
¡°With all the foodie tourists, Tokyo restaurants have been really hard to book these past couple of years,¡± he said.
Swinnerton said his biggest surprise came with the 51-100 Best Restaurants list, which was released earlier this month: It featured 10 establishments from Japan, half of which are located outside the major cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, such as Villa Aida in Wakayama and Dewaya in Yamagata Prefecture¡¯s Nishikawa.
¡°Japan has 18 places out of the Best 100 on the list ¡ª close to 20% of the total ¡ª and by far the widest spread of restaurants across a (represented) country,¡± he said. ¡°For me, that is far more significant than who came first on the list. It¡¯s a barometer of the continuing vitality of Japan¡¯s restaurant scene.¡±
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