50 Best Discovery expands with host of new global venues and first vineyard listings

In an update this month, more than 650 hospitality venues have been added to 50 Best Discovery, the online directory from the team behind the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The platform continues to expand its coverage of restaurants, bars, hotels and, this year for the first time, vineyards. Globally, the refresh takes in more than 210 restaurants, 110 bars and 130 hotels, alongside the integration of more than 190 vineyards. In total, over 75 cities and towns now feature on the platform.

221 of the new entries are in Europe, drawn from 114 cities across the region, with France accounting for the largest share at 44. In total, 47 are restaurants, 39 bars, 37 hotels and 98 are vineyards. Elsewhere, Kazakhstan has gained four new entries, while Slovenia and Bulgaria have three each. Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and Tsaghkunk in Armenia are among the destinations appearing on the platform for the first time.

For the 50 Best Discovery guide, venues are not editorially reviewed in the conventional way; instead, each is selected after receiving a threshold number of votes from the expert voting academies that compile 50 Best’s global and regional lists. Among the adjudicators are chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and industry figures who submit annual votes for the organisation’s rankings, which include the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the World’s 50 Best Bars, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants and the World’s 50 Best Hotels.

The inclusion of vineyards marks a broadening of the platform’s scope beyond the existing restaurant, bar and hotel categories. 98 of the new vineyard entries are located in Europe, accounting for roughly half. The numbers reflect the cultural importance of viticulture and the concentration of established wine-producing areas across France, Italy, Spain and central and eastern Europe. This said, the geographic spread for most categories in the latest update is much wider, extending well beyond the western European and North American cities that have historically dominated 50 Best’s rankings, with entries from Central Asia and the Caucasus among the newly represented destinations, and entrants from Mexico featuring much more significantly.

The 50 Best Discovery platform, owned and organised by William Reed, along with all of the other 50 Best lists, is described as “the ultimate reference tool for discerning travellers, diners and cocktail-lovers”. This latest update is testament to the continued evoution of the guide as it becomes a true representation of all that global hospitality has to offer.

Food Desk

For further information about The 50 Best Discovery, visit the organisation’s website here.