Chicago's Smyth Named North America's No. 1 Restaurant for 2026

The 2026 edition of the North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list was announced at an awards ceremony held in New Orleans. The event brought together leading chefs from the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.

Smyth, located in Chicago, Illinois, was honored as the No. 1 restaurant in the region. Following closely, Eight in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, earned the second spot, while Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Lincoln, Ontario, Canada, secured third place.

Last year's top restaurant, Atomix in New York, shifted to seventh place on this year's list. The 2026 list includes 36 restaurants from the United States and 14 from Canada, with half of the top 10 establishments being Canadian. No Caribbean restaurants were featured on the list this year, a change from two last year.

Several specialty awards were also presented during the ceremony. Wildweed in Cincinnati received the One to Watch award, Atelier Crenn in San Francisco was recognized with the Sustainable Restaurant award, and Restaurant Pearl Morissette took home the Art of Hospitality award. Chef Corey Lee of Benu was honored with the Chef’s Choice Award, John Jones of Barbados received the Champions of Change award, and Emeril Lagasse was presented with the Icon Award.

The top 10 restaurants on the 2026 North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list are: 1. Smyth, Chicago, Illinois 2. Eight, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 3. Restaurant Pearl Morissette, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada 4. Dakar NOLA, New Orleans, Louisiana 5. Mon Lapin, Montreal, Québec, Canada 6. Albi, Washington, D.C. 7. Atomix, New York, New York 8. Quetzal, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 9. Tanière3, Québec City, Québec, Canada 10. César, New York, New York

According to Eater, the full list of 50 restaurants was revealed at the event.