Explore the best restaurants and bars around the world
Explore the best restaurants, bars and hotels around the world
Close searchWhat is 50 Best Discovery?
50 Best Discovery is our in-depth collection of city guides, which houses 3,700+ venues on the platform. With more than 700 cities and towns around the world included, 50 Best Discovery is designed to showcase more of lesser-known venues and cities in addition to well-known establishments, 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, bars and hotels 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, bars, and hotels, though is not itself a ranking.
Why did you choose to create 50 Best Discovery?
50 Best Discovery provides a deeper, richer library for people to draw on for eating, drinking and travelling 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, bars and hotels 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. 50 Best Discovery has allowed the 50 Best organisation to further widen its scope and reinforce its position as one of the world’s most respected restaurant, bar and hotel guides, acting as a search site for consumers to use as a base when planning international travel.
How can I apply to be part of 50 Best Discovery?
Restaurants, bars and hotels 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 local restaurant, bar or hotels scene. They are not voting specifically for 50 Best Discovery, simply for their best restaurant, bar or hotel 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, bar or hotel 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, bar or hotel needs to receive a certain number of votes in the most recent round of polling for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, The World’s 50 Best Bars, The World’s 50 Best Hotels, or any other of our annual regional rankings. 50 Best is ultimately responsible for the curation of the database. Restaurants, bars and hotels cannot apply to be part of 50 Best Discovery.
Why is a restaurant, bar or hotel on one of your ranked lists also featured on 50 Best Discovery?
Any restaurant, bar or hotel 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, bars and hotels in the world. An Academy totalling more than 3,000 members votes for the venues and each of these voters are experts in their local restaurant, bar and hotel 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 restaurant, bar and travel 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, bars and hotels as and when they receive sufficient votes. In the 2025 update, there were more 101 new cities added across the platform.
How is 50 Best Discovery helping restaurants, bars and hotels?
50 Best Discovery shines a spotlight on restaurants, bars and hotels 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. Being listed on Discovery will help drive business their way, we hope. It is part of our 50 Best ideology to shine a light on the best in gastronomy, bars and hotels all over the world, no matter the location or price point.
How often will 50 Best Discovery be updated?
The collection of restaurants, bars and hotels 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; The World’s 50 Best Hotels). The last refresh we carried out to 50 Best Discovery was in January 2024, adding more than 600 new venues to the platform. The timing of the updates varies; there is no set time of year that a refresh will take place.
How many venues have been added in this latest refresh?
More than 500 venues have been added in February 2025, comprising approximately 247 new restaurants, 103 new bars and 175 new hotels. There is now a staggering total of 3700+ venues on the 50 Best Discovery platform across 265 cities and towns.
What new destinations have been added?
In the February 2025 refresh, for the first time, venues from Bhutan, Dominican Republic, French Polynesia, Laos, Madagascar, Nicaragua, The Bahamas, Zimbabwe feature on 50 Best Discovery.
