The question I’m asked most often is, “How does a restaurant get on ‘the list?’” The list can be any compilation of notable restaurants, including awards, star ratings, rankings, or media honors, such as Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants (the 2026 installment of our list publishes Monday, August 24th—check back in tomorrow).
My answers change every year, depending on the kinds of restaurants that open, the trend lines that emerge, and even the whispered wisdom at dinner parties or the buzz on social media. Earning a spot on the list can come down to thoughtful and seamless hospitality, such as a shawl offered in a cold dining room, or the box of chic reading glasses brought to me by a server who noticed I was doing a backbend trying to decipher a weeny menu typeface at a recent dinner in Stockholm.
To be among my best of the best, a restaurant must serve dishes and drinks that are complete in terms of flavor and technique, from the premeal cocktails to dessert—like an album with no skips. For instance, I could spend hours waxing poetically about the mussel tart, the glorious ceviche, moles, and kampachi taco, plus the spectacular flight of chapulines and hormigas at a restaurant I visited in Mexico City on a recent trip. It was a view of Mexican history and culture that outshined all my museum visits.
At new restaurants, I’m looking for a broken boundary or a challenged convention. I still think about my 2021 visit to Belgium, where one kitchen was bold enough to serve a whole heirloom tomato as the main course.
Even an old restaurant can become new. I revisited one such classic this year, where a revamped menu included a miniature shrimp po’boy, a signature salmon-and-caviar cheesecake, and a lip-smacking gumbo that had me dancing in my chair.
Of course, all is subjective when deliciousness is a given. Lists are but a snapshot of an editor’s year in dining to help guide readers to their next meal. The major questions are: Do I want to revisit? And how many friends can I bring along?
