A new Japanese restaurant tops ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ list

Tokyo’s Sézanne is the newly crowned winner of “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024” list.

The two Michelin-starred neo-classical French restaurant, located on the 7th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, climbed from No. 2 on the 2023 list to secure the top spot.

Japan had nine restaurants make this year’s list, as did the small city-state of Singapore.

Only China — which is more than 13,000 times larger than Singapore — had more, with 11 restaurants named to the list: six in Hong Kong, four in Shanghai and one in Macao.

Odette, which has been in the top 10 list since 2017, is still the highest-ranking restaurant in Singapore (No. 10), followed by the contemporary Australian barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends (No. 15).

Singapore — one of the smallest nations by size in Asia — is also home to Euphoria (No. 20), Born (No. 25), Meta (No. 28), Labyrinth (No. 30), newcomer Seroja (No. 31), the French stalwart Les Amis (No. 38) and another new addition, Lolla (No. 43).

Eight restaurants from Bangkok made the list, six of which ranked in the top 20: Gaggan Anand (No. 3), Nusara (No. 6), Sühring (No. 7), Sorn (No. 11), Le Du (No. 12) and Potong (No. 17).

Restaurants on the top 50 list are dispersed among 19 cities in Asia.

The complete list of “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024” is:

1. Sézanne, Tokyo
2. Florilège, Tokyo
3. Gaggan Anand, Bangkok
4. The Chairman, Hong Kong
5. Wing, Hong Kong – Highest Climber Award (32 places from 2023)
6. Nusara, Bangkok – Art of Hospitality Award
7. Sühring, Bangkok
8. Den, Tokyo
9. La Cime, Osaka, Japan
10. Odette, Singapore
11. Sorn, Bangkok
12. Le Du, Bangkok
13. Mingles, Seoul
14. Narisawa, Tokyo
15. Burnt Ends, Singapore
16. Neighborhood, Hong Kong
17. Potong, Bangkok – Asia’s Best Female Chef (for Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij)
18. 7th Door, Seoul
19. Fu He Hui, Shanghai
20. Euphoria, Singapore
21. Onjium, Seoul
22. Logy, Taipei
23. Masque, Mumbai
24. Toyo Eatery, Manila
25. Born, Singapore
26. Indian Accent, New Delhi
27. Mono, Hong Kong
28. Meta, Singapore
29. Samrub Samrub Thai, Bangkok
30. Labyrinth, Singapore
31. Seroja, Singapore – Highest New Entry Award
32. Caprice, Hong Kong
33. JL Studio, Taichung, Taiwan
34. Mume, Taipei
35. Villa Aida, Wakayama, Japan
36. Ling Long, Shanghai
37. Ando, Hong Kong
38. Les Amis, Singapore
39. Sazenka, Tokyo
40. 102 House, Shanghai
41. Mosu, Seoul – Chefs’ Choice Award (for Sung Anh)
42. Baan Tepa, Bangkok
43. Lolla, Singapore
44. Avartana, Chennai, India
45. Goh, Fukuoka, Japan
46. August, Jakarta, Indonesia
47. Cenci, Kyoto, Japan
48. Anan Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
49. Chef Tam’s Seasons, Macao
50. Meet the Bund, Shanghai

Bangkok’s Haoma secured the “Sustainable Restaurant Award.” A new entry to the extended list, the restaurant ranked No. 90 on the 51-100 ranking. It also won the award for its “farm-to-table and zero-waste cooking [and for] producing its own ingredients using hydroponics and sourcing locally from organic farms,” according to the 50 Best organization.

The list is based on the subjective reviews of more than 300 industry insiders from Asia, according to the 50 Best organization. Voters can nominate up to 10 restaurants, including seven from their own country.

Judges are divided into six regions — the Indian subcontinent; Southeast Asia (south); Southeast Asia (north); Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao; mainland China and Korea; and Japan — in an effort “to represent the Asian restaurant scene as fairly as possible,” according to the organization’s voting methodology.

The 50 Best organization also produces an annual ranking for “Asia’s 50 Best Bars,” which was topped by Hong Kong’s Coa in 2023.