The 2026 edition of the North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list will be announced live tonight at an awards ceremony in New Orleans, where the best chefs from across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean will gather to compete and celebrate. The event is produced by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants organization, which also produces lists for Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa region.
You can watch the live stream of the announcement ceremony, which begins at 8 p.m. Central, here.
Last year, in the inaugural edition of the list, Atomix in New York was named the No. 1 restaurant in the region, while Mon Lapin in Montreal earned the No. 2 spot and Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station, Canada, came in third. The top ranked
Caribbean restaurant was Buzo Osteria Italiana in Barbados, which clocked in at 41.
It seems safe to anticipate the top of the list will look pretty similar this year (especially since No. 1 winners can repeat in the top spot, under the organization’s rules), although there are sure to be some shakeups. Kabawa, one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in 2025, didn’t make the 50 Best list last year despite a slew of accolades, and based on early indications, that could change this time around. Also, in 2025, all five North American restaurants that appeared on the World’s 50 Best List reappeared in the North America list later that year; that cheat code isn’t available this year, since the regional list will be announced before the official reveal of the World’s 50 Best list, which will take place in November in Abu Dhabi.
We’ll update this story with the winners as they’re announced this evening, so stay tuned.
Eater’s coverage of the North America’s 50 Best Restaurants event was produced with assistance from the World’s 50 Best organization. All editorial content is produced independently. Read more about Eater’s ethics policies here.
