Disfrutar in Barcelona is the hottest dining destination on the planet, bar none

Nine years after three brothers last led a Spanish restaurant to the No.1 spot in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking, three amigos have matched that achievement. Disfrutar, the brilliant Barcelona creation of Oriel Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, has reached the global gastronomic summit. 

Much will no doubt be made of the chef-owners’ shared status as alumni of another Catalan restaurant, El Bulli, where the trio met and worked together in their formative professional years. But to define Disfrutar by its relationship to Ferran and Albert Adría’s game-changer is to do it a deep disservice. For sure, Disfrutar is influenced by and pays homage to its prestigious forebear, but it has also written its own culinary language – one that mixes the playful with the profound, the deliberately discombobulating with the downright delicious.

Check out all the restaurants on the full 1-50 list, revealed last night at a suitably high-octane awards ceremony in Las Vegas. From indigenous, sustainable cuisine in Chile to reimagined Cantonese classics in Hong Kong, every dining experience provided by these establishments is likely to live long in the memory.

However, one thing is undeniable: the Catalans really do know a thing or two about creative cooking…

William Drew, Director of Content, 50 Best