Two Metro Vancouver restaurants were named among the best in all of North America
Metro Vancouver’s dining scene has been getting some special attention this restaurant award season. Hot off the heels of multiple Vancouver bars’ inclusion in the coveted Pinnacle Guide and just a week out from the Michelin Guide 2025 award ceremony, World’s 50 Best has just shared its list of the best restaurants in North America, and two metro Vancouver spots have made the cut.
This is the first time ever that World’s 50 Best, one of the leading awarding bodies for the best restaurants and bars in the world, has unveiled a list for the top 50 restaurants in North America.
Landing itself at number 12 on the list is none other than the Richmond restaurant Baan Lao, which cleaned up at the awards by also being named the best restaurant in Western Canada. Last year, it was also named the best restaurant in Canada at the 2024 World Culinary Awards.
“To be acknowledged alongside exceptional restaurants across the US, Canada, and the Caribbean is both humbling and deeply meaningful,” wrote the restaurant.
“This recognition belongs not only to our team, but to our entire community – to every guest who ventured beyond familiar flavours to discover Royal Thai cuisine, to Steveston Village that welcomed Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng’s vision to elevate Thai food offering in Canada, and to everyone who appreciated the meticulous attention to detail, from the artistry of each hand-crafted dish to the thoughtful curation of every element that defines the Baan Lao experience.”
Baan Lao is a Thai restaurant helmed by chef Nutcha Phanthoupeng. It has made a name for itself with its refined and sustainable approach, not to mention its incredible and memorable food.
Chef Nutcha hails from the Issan region of Thailand, where the countryside landscape and her upbringing in a farm context influenced her “farm to table” approach to food.
View this post on Instagram
50 Best also had some nice words for the restaurant.
“The 18-course Royal Thai menu at chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng’s fishing village-set restaurant involves painstaking detail and hours-long preparation. Artfully presented plates include a chicken dumpling shaped to resemble a baby chick, dotted with blue eyes for added cuteness, and vermicelli noodles topped with an ornate tuile wafer of squid ink and a veloutĂ© bath of green curry sauce,” wrote 50 Best.
The other Vancouver restaurant to make the list was Published on Main, which ranked number 28.
“I am so proud of our team. Accolades like this are so validating for all the hard work our team puts in, day in and day out,” said Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, Executive Chef, Published on Main. “Being recognized amongst our peers as one of the Top 50 restaurants in North America is a bit surreal. The topic of World’s 50 often comes up when we’re sitting and eating staff meal before service, and now, for us to be included amongst such highly regarded restaurants is really a dream come true.”
View this post on Instagram
The Riley Park-Little Mountain restaurant serves contemporary cuisine with an emphasis on all things local and sustainable, and has become a bona fide dining destination.
Published offers a varied menu that changes frequently, depending on the seasons, the team’s current interests, and what they may have recently foraged.
“Foraged ingredients are pivotal to the menu at this upscale spot; nettles, spruce tips and chanterelles – all cherished in Western Canada – are part of the experience, depending on the season. The snacks are particularly revered, with diner favourites including foie gras on a bed of cashews and topped with a glistening frozen strawberry gel,” wrote 50 Best.
- You might also like:
- Viral automated dumpling shop opens its first B.C. location in Vancouver
- Vancouver nightclub to close after 30+ years
- The Jonas Brothers were just spotted at a recently opened Vancouver restaurant
The number one spot was given to New York’s Atomix, while the highest Canadian spot to make the list was Mon Lapin in Montreal at number two.
Here’s the complete inaugural list of North America’s 50 Best Restaurants, from first to last:
- Atomix – New York
- Mon Lapin – Montreal
- Restaurant Pearl Morissette – Lincoln
- Smyth – Chicago
- Tanière3 – Quebec City
- Dakar NOLA – New Orleans
- Kalaya – Philadelphia
- SingleThread – Healdsburg
- Le Bernardin – New York
- Le Veau d’Or – New York
- Quetzal – Toronto
- Baan Lao – Richmond
- Benu – San Francisco
- Californios – San Francisco
- The Four Horsemen – New York
- Friday Saturday Sunday – Philadelphia
- Moon Rabbit – Washington, D.C.
- Via Carota – New York
- Chubby Fish – Charleston
- Locust – Nashville
- Saison – San Francisco
- Montréal Plaza – Montreal
- Kono – New York
- Aska – New York
- Lazy Bear – San Francisco
- Kato – Los Angeles
- Kann – Portland
- Published on Main – Vancouver
- Le Violon – Montreal
- Emeril’s – New Orleans
- Kasama – Chicago
- Royal Sushi & Isakaya – Philadelphia
- Saga – New York
- Albi – Washington, D.C.
- Jungsik – New York
- Corima – New York
- Dōgon – Washington, D.C.
- César – New York
- Café Carmellini – New York
- Penny – New York
- Buzo Osteria Italiana – Bridgetown
- Holbox – Los Angeles
- Alma – Montreal
- Mhel – Toronto
- Alma Fonda Fina – Denver
- Atelier Crenn – San Francisco
- Providence – Los Angeles
- Quince – San Francisco
- Stush in the Bush – St. Ann
- Beba – Montreal
Still hungry? Discover Dished Vancouver on TikTok