The Chairman is named The Best Restaurant in Asia, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 awards ceremony. The restaurant, known for its Cantonese cuisine, focuses on ingredients and culinary traditions from southern China, as well as seasonality.
Voted by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential, gender-balanced group of more than 350 industry experts, this year’s list features restaurants from 17 cities across the region with three cities appearing on the 1-50 ranking for the first time, alongside eight new restaurant entries and three re-entries. Bangkok leads this year’s list with nine restaurants, followed by Tokyo with seven entries. Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore are each represented with six establishments.
Rikki Tidball, managing director—events, 50 Best, said, “Heartfelt congratulations go to all the restaurants featured on this year’s list, especially The Chairman on being named No. 1 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026. The commitment to boundary-pushing gastronomy across the ranking is a tribute to the exceptional talent and innovative spirit that define Asia’s vibrant restaurant scene.”
The evening also celebrated the winners of pre-announced awards, including Peggy Chan as this year’s winner of the Champions of Change Award, Masque (No. 15) in Mumbai as the Art of Hospitality Award winner and San in Seoul as the One To Watch Award winner.
Notable Honorees
- Hong Kong’s The Chairman reclaims the title of The Best Restaurant in Asia, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, for the first time since 2021
- Hangzhou’s Ru Yuan (No. 10) takes the Highest New Entry Award
- Lamdre (No. 17) in Beijing soars 33 spots to take the Highest Climber Award, sponsored by Lee Kum Kee
- Asia’s Best Female Chef 2026 is Cho Eun-hee from Seoul’s Onjium (No.14)
- Ardika Dwitama from Jakarta’s August (No. 42) wins Asia’s Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Valrhona
- Restaurateur Zhang Yong is honored with the SevenRooms Icon Award
- Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn, from Nusara (No. 5) and Le Du (No. 36) in Bangkok, is recognized with the Inedit Damm Chefs’ Choice Award
- Lesley Liu from Odette (No. 19) in Singapore is the winner of the Asia’s Best Sommelier Award, sponsored by Vik
- Baan Tepa (No. 53) in Bangkok wins the Sustainable Restaurant Award
For the full 1-50 list, click here.
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