The Smyth team with the top prize. | 50 Best The 2026 edition of the North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list was announced live tonight at an awards ceremony in New Orleans, where the best chefs from across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean gathered to compete and celebrate. This year, Smyth in Chicago was named the No. 1 restaurant in the region, while new entrant Eight in Calgary earned the No. 2 spot, and Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Lincoln, Canada, came in third. See the full list below. Last year, in the inaugural edition of the list, Atomix in New York was named the No. 1 restaurant in the region; the restaurant slid to seventh this year. The rest of the top 10 includes more repeats, like Mon Lapin in Montreal, Tanière3 in Quebec, Dakar Nola in New Orleans. If you’re counting, this year’s list includes 36 restaurants from the United States and 14 from Canada (including half of the top 10). Two Caribbean restaurants made the list last year, but none this year. There were also a set of specialty awards given out at this year’s ceremony. Wildweed in Cincinnati won the One to Watch award, Atelier Crenn in San Francisco won the Sustainable Restaurant award, and Restaurant Pearl Morissette won the Art of Hospitality award. The Chef’s Choice Award went to chef Corey Lee of Benu, the Champions of Change award went to John Jones of Barbados, and Emeril Lagasse received the Icon Award. In 2025, all…
