A definitive guide to Restaurant Guides around the world!
So, you’re planning your next big holiday. Before you get to the boring bits, like booking flights and figuring out where to lay your head at night, you focus on the most important thing – where and what are you going to eat and drink!
Are you that foodie traveller that spends hours pouring over restaurant reviews in your next destination? Are you logged on at 2am to try and snare a reservation when the next booking window opens up for a restaurant in a different time-zone? If so, then hopefully this post can help you find that next once-in-a-lifetime meal that will be the highlight of your next trip. Bon Appétit!
Disclosure: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate marketing links. This means that if you click on a product link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products and services we trust and believe in. Your support is appreciated!
The World's 50 Best Restaurants
Arguably, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants is the crème de la crème of restaurant guides around the globe. Established in 2002, the guide has a panel of 1,080 culinary experts and with a meticulous voting process, they compile an annual list of the world’s top restaurants. The list serves as both a gauge for global gastronomic trends and is a showcase for unique dining experiences.
Since 2013, the 50 Best brand has expanded to offer regional listings, such as Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, and the Middle East and North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants. They also offer a list for The World’s 50 Best Bars, highlighting the top bars around the globe for tipple. The restaurants featured in The World’s 50 Best lists are a must for that once-in-a-lifetime dining experience.
The Michelin Restaurant Guide
The grand old dame of restaurant guides is undoubtedly the Michelin Guide. It all started in 1889 in France, when the Michelin brothers founded their tyre company, and started producing a small guide in 1900, designed to encourage their customer to take trips in their cars (thereby increasing tyre sales).
Today, the Michelin Guide features restaurants in over 40 countries, with some that are ranked as one star (signifying “a very good restaurant”), two stars (“excellent cooking that is worth a detour”), and three stars (“exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey”). Other restaurants are ranked with a “Bib Gourmand” rating that recognises friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices, others with a “Green Star” which recognises restaurants that are leading in the industry for their commitment to sustainable practices, and yet others are awarded a “L’Assiette Michelin”, or Michelin Plate, which includes any restaurant with neither stars nor a “Bib Gourmand” designation.
Restaurants are awarded their stars after Michelin’s anonymous inspectors visit and review the restaurant (they pay for their own meals, so no-one knows who the inspectors are). Whilst the Michelin Guide is historically associated with fine dining, these days you can visit hole-in-the-wall establishments such as Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong, and enjoy some amazing dim sum for just a few dollars.
The Australian Good Food Guide
The Australian Good Food Guide is to Australia what the Michelin Guide is to France. Founded in 1977, the guide awards Chef’s Hats to the top restaurants in Australia (similar to the stars in the Michelin Guide), by independent reviewers who remain anonymous. They also feature Reader’s Choice Awards as well, and diners can also leave comments and reviews for their favourite restaurants on the AGFG website. In addition to restaurants, you can also research Australia’s best bars, wineries, read chef interviews, and get chef recipes online.
So if you find yourself DownUnder (because Michelin Guide inspectors can’t seem to travel that far on a plane), and are looking for a fantastic meal in one of Australia’s main cities or regions, look no further than The Australian Good Food Guide.
Cuisine New Zealand Good Food Guide
If you are lucky enough to find yourself in Aotearoa (New Zealand), the Land of the Long White Cloud, then the go-to restaurant guide has to be the Cuisine New Zealand Good Food Guide. Every year, the top restaurants in New Zealand are awarded one, two or three chefs hats, similar to the rating system used by The Australian Good Food Guide in Australia. Restaurants are visited anonymously and judges pay for their meals.
The food scene in New Zealand has advanced light years in the last couple of decades, and top restaurants really go above and beyond to highlight local and native ingredients. If you get the opportunity to try a Bluff Oyster whilst they are in season (usually between March and August each year), we totally recommend it (although you may be ruined for life as other oysters just don’t compare).
See here for a current list of hatted restaurants in New Zealand. ExploreToEat.com has been lucky enough to visit a number of them, and can highly recommend Logan Brown in Wellington, Ahi and Sidart in Auckland, Black Barn Bistro in the Hawkes Bay wine region, and Botswana Butchery in Queenstown (try the venison).
Canada's 100 best
Canada’s 100 Best is a comprehensive guide to Canada’s best restaurants and bars. The guide has currently been around for less than 10 years, and is decided by 135 judges, each chosen for their reputation and knowledge of the culinary scene. The judges don’t receive any direction on where to eat and what to order, and no free meals are accepted. Each judge must vote for a minimum of three restaurants outside of their home region, now that travel is permitted again after the pandemic.
The city with the most ranked restaurants is currently Montreal, followed by Toronto and Vancouver in 2nd and third spots.
The UK's National Restaurant Awards
There are many restaurant guides to choose from for the United Kingdom, our favourite is the National Restaurant Awards, to choose somewhere for that truly special meal. The awards were launched in 2007, and are organised by industry leading title Restaurant magazine. The awards academy uses a panel of more than 200 experts drawn from across the industry including food writers, chefs and restaurateurs.
They also feature numerous other awards, including Best Restaurant in England, Best Restaurant in Scotland, Best Restaurant in Northern Ireland, and GastroPub of the Year, amongst others. And if spending a few weeks travelling around the UK in search of the perfect GastroPub experience happens to be your thing, check out the Top 50 GastroPubs list here.
That Internet thing...
Finally, in this day and age of the internet, everyone can be a restaurant reviewer. If you find yourself really off the beaten track in a part of the globe where a Michelin Guide reviewer has yet to tread (William Creek up the Oodnadatta Track, for example), you can head to the usual suspects online, such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, or Time Out, to find a good meal (and avoid the dodgy ones). Just remember, one person’s five star burger can quite easily be your worst, so take some of those reviews with a grain of salt…
And when all else fails, breathe in deep and follow your nose. That tiny hole-in-the-wall joint packed with locals may just be hiding down the next laneway…
Bon Appétit!
