Explore the best restaurants and bars around the world
Explore the best restaurants, bars and hotels around the world
What is 50 Best Discovery?
50 Best Discovery is our in-depth collection of city guides, which houses more than 3,200 venues on the platform. With more than 600 cities around the world included, 50 Best Discovery is designed to showcase more of lesser-known venues and cities, through travel guides, features and video content, in order to give the talent and the locations the attention and recognition they deserve. The result is a more diverse range of expert-recommended restaurants and bars across the world, offering everything from emerging talent and local favourites, through to fine dining and sophisticated drinking establishments. 50 Best Discovery operates as an extension of the annual 50 Best rankings of restaurants and bars, though is not itself a ranking.
Why did you launch 50 Best Discovery?
To give our users the maximum possible inspiration for dining and drinking and to support a wider section of the hospitality community. 50 Best Discovery provides a deeper, richer library for people to draw on for eating and drinking inspiration as they travel the world. Providing a wider list of recommendation from our expert Academies, 50 Best Discovery provides a resource to discerning diners and drinkers looking to explore restaurants and bars outside of the ranked lists. We found ourselves sitting on a veritable mine of data from all of the thousands of votes cast annually across our lists – 50 Best Discovery allows us to dig deeper into these votes and provide consumers with a greater range of expert-approved venues than ever before.
Can I apply to be part of 50 Best Discovery?
In short, no. Restaurants and bars appear on 50 Best Discovery based on the votes of our various voting Academies for our different lists, such as Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Asia’s 50 Best Bars, Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants and North America’s 50 Best Bars, as well as The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, The World’s 50 Best Bars and The World's 50 Best Hotels. This totals more than 3,000 voters overall; each of these voters is an expert in their respective bar, restaurant or travel area. They are not voting specifically for 50 Best Discovery, simply for their best restaurant or bar experiences, and then the lists and consequently the wider 50 Best Discovery database, are born from these votes. This means that restaurants and bars cannot apply to be on 50 Best Discovery.
How many votes does a restaurant or bar need to qualify for 50 Best Discovery?
We do not reveal the specific number of votes required to reach the threshold for 50 Best Discovery, just as we do not reveal the number of votes required to make it onto any of our annual rankings. This is to guard against potential lobbying. To qualify for 50 Best Discovery, a restaurant or bar needs to receive a certain number of votes in the most recent round of polling for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants or The World’s 50 Best Bars, or any other of our annual regional rankings.
Why is a restaurant or bar on one of your ranked lists also featured on 50 Best Discovery?
Any restaurant or bar that features on our world or regional lists also features in 50 Best Discovery as it has received the minimum threshold of votes to be included on the platform.
What makes 50 Best Discovery unique?
There is arguably no more authoritative search engine of expert-approved restaurants and bars in the world. An Academy totalling over 3,000 members votes for the venues and each of these voters are experts in their local restaurant and bar scenes, meaning wherever you go in the world, if you are choosing from the 50 Best Discovery city guides, you are being guided by the world’s best restaurants and bars experts.
How come there is no/only one/only two restaurant(s) in my city/country?
This is a developing concept and as it matures over the years, we will be able to upload and feature more restaurants and bars as and when they receive sufficient votes.
How is 50 Best Discovery helping restaurants and bars?
50 Best Discovery shines a spotlight on restaurants and bars all over the world whether in big cities or small towns, highlighting hidden gems or well-kept secrets which may not have been thrown into the limelight as much as other establishments. It is now more important than ever for us to help support those smaller restaurants and bars who have faced insurmountable challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Their listing on Discovery will help drive business their way as international travel resumes once again. It is part of our 50 Best DNA to shine a light on the best in gastronomy and bars all over the world, no matter the location or price point.
How often will 50 Best Discovery be updated?
The collection of restaurants and bars will be refreshed regularly, based on the most recent round of voting for our annual 50 Best rankings (The World’s 50 Best Restaurants; Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants; Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants; Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants; The World’s 50 Best Bars; Asia’s 50 Best Bars; North America’s 50 Best Bars). We carried out refreshes to 50 Best Discovery in August 2021 and November 2022, where approximately 600 new venues were added to the platform each year, before carrying out the latest refresh in January 2024, adding more than 640 new venues to the platform.
How many venues have been added in this latest refresh?
More than 600 new venues have been added in January 2024, comprising approximately 270 new restaurants and 120 new bars. There is now a staggering total of 3,200+ venues on the 50 Best Discovery platform.
What new destinations have been added?
In the January 2024 refresh, for the first time, venues from Botswana, Fiji, Mozambique and Serbia feature on 50 Best Discovery.
