Faroe Islands’ fermentation-led restaurant Ræst joins World’s 50 Best Discovery collection

Ræst, a restaurant housed in a 400-year-old turf-roofed building in the old town of Tórshavn, has become the first and only establishment in the Faroe Islands to be included in the World’s 50 Best Discovery collection The listing places the Faroese restaurant within an international database of restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards compiled by the organisation behind the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

The inclusion follows a period of change at the restaurant, which has been run since 2023 by Mexican head chef Sebastián Jiménez and Swiss restaurant manager and sommelier Karin Visth. Jiménez, who is 30 and originally from Puebla, moved to the Faroe Islands to work at KOKS, the archipelago’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant, before taking over the kitchen at Ræst and reworking its menu around a combination of Mexican influences, Faroese seafood and local fermentation traditions.

“We are very honoured that Ræst and The Faroe Islands are put on the map as part of this collection of outstanding establishments across the globe. We have great ambitions for this little restaurant on the edge of the world, so this recognition marks a very important step in our trajectory which has only just begun,” noted Jiménez.

Central to the restaurant’s identity is ræst, the Faroese practice of fermenting lamb. After the autumn slaughter, carcasses are hung in drying sheds known as hjallur, where Atlantic winds and airborne bacteria ferment the meat over three to six months, producing a pungent, savoury flavour. The restaurant’s 15-course menu also draws on shellfish including sea urchins, queen scallops and langoustines, which are hand-dived and collected daily from the restaurant’s own live seafood store in a valley outside Tórshavn.

Visth, who came to the Faroe Islands in 2013 to work at KOKS, oversees a 550-label wine list that has been recognised by Star Wine List, alongside mezcal, Faroese aquavit, beer and non-alcoholic pairings of kombucha and fermented juices made in-house from local berries and vegetables.

“It’s no secret that we want to play in the big league, and this recognition is an important stepping stone for the restaurant. We hope that this will help further The Faroe Islands’ position as a world-class dining destination,” said Visth.

The restaurant has collected several awards in recent years. Jiménez received two of three knives from The Best Chef Awards in both 2024 and 2025, and was the sole recipient of the organisation’s Next Gen Award in 2025. White Guide ranked Ræst sixth among restaurants in the Danish kingdom, and the restaurant is listed in the Nordic Michelin Guide 2025. This year, Jiménez and Ræst won the Danish Food Critics’ Dish of the Year competition and were awarded 95 points by Falstaff Nordics.

The latest additions to 50 Best Discovery comprise more than 210 restaurants, 110 bars and 130 hotels, together with more than 190 vineyards, a category introduced for the first time. Venues are selected after receiving a set number of votes from the more than 3,000 members of the academies that compile the organisation’s global and regional lists. The collection is not itself a ranking, and establishments cannot apply for inclusion; curation of the database rests with 50 Best.

Food Desk

For further information and to book visit Ræst’s website here.