What is 50 Best Discovery?

50 Best Discovery is our in-depth collection of city guides, which houses 3,500+ venues on the platform. With more than 800 cities and towns around the world included, 50 Best Discovery is designed to showcase more of lesser-known venues and cities in addition to well-known establishments, through travel guides, features and video content, in order to give the talent and the locations the attention and recognition they deserve. The result is a more diverse range of expert-recommended restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards across the world, offering everything from emerging talent and local favourites, through to fine dining and sophisticated drinking establishments. 50 Best Discovery operates as an extension of the annual 50 Best rankings of restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards though is not itself a ranking.

Why did you choose to create 50 Best Discovery?

50 Best Discovery provides a deeper, richer library for people to draw on for eating, drinking and travelling inspiration as they travel the world. Providing a wider list of recommendation from our expert Academies, 50 Best Discovery provides a resource to discerning travellers, diners and drinkers looking to explore restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards outside of the ranked lists. We found ourselves sitting on a veritable mine of data from all the thousands of votes cast annually across our lists – 50 Best Discovery allows us to dig deeper into these votes and provide consumers with a greater range of expert-approved venues than ever before. 50 Best Discovery has allowed the 50 Best organisation to further widen its scope and reinforce its position as one of the world's most respected restaurant, bar, hotel and vineyard guides, acting as a search site for consumers to use as a base when planning international travel.

What are the expert Academies?

The Academies are the independent voting bodies responsible for creating the 50 Best rankings. Each Academy is made up of industry experts selected for their knowledge of the international or regional restaurant, bar, hotel and vineyard scenes, with a 50/50 gender balance.

To ensure fair global representation, the world is divided into a number of geographical regions. Each region is led by an Academy Chair, chosen for their expertise, who in turn selects a diverse panel of voters. With the exception of Chairs and Vice Chairs, all voters remain anonymous, and at least 25% of each Academy is refreshed every year to maintain a dynamic and current perspective.

Importantly, no employees of any award sponsors are involved in the voting process or have any influence over the results.

How can I apply to be part of 50 Best Discovery?

Restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards appear on 50 Best Discovery based on the votes of our various voting Academies for our different lists, such as Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, Asia's 50 Best Bars, Europe's 50 Best Bars, Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants, Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants, North America's 50 Best Restaurants and North America's 50 Best Bars, as well as The World's 50 Best Restaurants, The World's 50 Best Bars, The World's 50 Best Hotels and The World's 50 Best Vineyards. This totals more than 3,000 voters overall; each of these voters is an expert in their local restaurant, bar, hotel or vineyard scene. They are not voting specifically for 50 Best Discovery, simply for their best restaurant, bar, hotel or vineyard experiences, and then the lists and consequently the wider 50 Best Discovery database, are born from these votes. This means that establishments cannot apply to be on 50 Best Discovery.

How many votes does a restaurant, bar, hotel or vineyard need to qualify for 50 Best Discovery?

We do not reveal the specific number of votes required to reach the threshold for 50 Best Discovery, just as we do not reveal the number of votes required to make it onto any of our annual rankings. This is to guard against potential lobbying. To qualify for 50 Best Discovery, a restaurant, bar, hotel or vineyard needs to receive a certain number of votes in the most recent round of polling for The World's 50 Best Restaurants, The World's 50 Best Bars, The World's 50 Best Hotels, The World's 50 Best Vineyards, or any other of our annual regional rankings. 50 Best is ultimately responsible for the curation of the database. Restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards cannot apply to be part of 50 Best Discovery.

Is inclusion on 50 Best Discovery an endorsement or ranking?

50 Best Discovery operates as an extension of the annual 50 Best rankings of restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards though is not itself a ranking. Inclusion indicates that a venue received sufficient votes from Academy members to meet the threshold for inclusion, but venues are not ordered or scored against one another on the platform.

Why is a restaurant, bar, hotel or vineyard on one of your ranked lists also featured on 50 Best Discovery?

Any restaurant, bar, hotel or vineyard that features on our world or regional lists also features in 50 Best Discovery as it has received the minimum threshold of votes to be included on the platform.

What makes 50 Best Discovery unique?

There is arguably no more authoritative search engine of expert-approved restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards in the world. An Academy totalling more than 3,000 members votes for the venues and each of these voters are experts in their local restaurant, bar, hotel and vineyard scenes, meaning wherever you go in the world, if you are choosing from the 50 Best Discovery city guides, you are being guided by the world's best restaurant, bar, vineyard and travel experts.

Why is there no/only one/only two restaurant(s) in my city/country?

This is a developing concept and, as it matures over the years, we will be able to upload and feature more restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards as and when they receive sufficient votes. In the 2026 update, there were 75 new cities added across the platform.

How is 50 Best Discovery helping restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards?

50 Best Discovery spotlights restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards all over the world, whether in big cities or small towns, highlighting hidden gems or well-kept secrets which may not have received as much coverage as the most highly-ranked establishments. Being listed on Discovery, we hope, will help drive business their way. It is part of our 50 Best ideology to shine a light on the best in gastronomy, bars, hotels and vineyards all over the world, no matter the location or price point.

How often will 50 Best Discovery be updated?

The collection of restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards will be refreshed annually, based on the most recent round of voting for our annual 50 Best rankings (The World's 50 Best Restaurants; Asia's 50 Best Restaurants; Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants; Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants; North America's 50 Best Restaurants The World's 50 Best Bars; Asia's 50 Best Bars; North America's 50 Best Bars; Europe's 50 Best Bars; The World's 50 Best Hotels, The World's 50 Best Vineyards). The last refresh we carried out to 50 Best Discovery was in July 2026, adding more than 650 new venues to the platform. The timing of the updates varies; there is no set time of year that a refresh will take place.

How many venues have been added in this latest refresh?

More than 650 venues have been added in July 2026, comprising approximately 210+ new restaurants, 110+ new bars, 130+ new hotels and 190+ new vineyards. There is now a total of 3,500+ venues on the 50 Best Discovery platform across 800+ cities and towns.

What new destinations have been added?

In the July 2026 refresh, for the first time, venues from Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Jamaica feature on 50 Best Discovery.

Are vineyards being newly added to 50 Best Discovery as part of the July refresh?

As part of the recent integration of The World's 50 Best Vineyards into the 50 Best website, more than 190 vineyard profiles were incorporated into the 50 Best Discovery platform. While these venues were previously available on a standalone platform (Vineyards Explores), their inclusion marks the expansion of 50 Best Discovery to now encompass restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards within a single global ecosystem.

There are no additional vineyard profiles being added as part of the July refresh beyond those already integrated. However, from a user perspective, vineyards represent a new category within the 50 Best Discovery platform and are reflected as part of the platform's expanded offering.

Why has the total number of venues on 50 Best Discovery decreased since the last update?

50 Best Discovery is refreshed annually based on the most recent voting results from our global Academies. While new venues are added each year, others may be removed if they have closed, undergone significant change since the time of voting, or no longer meet the voting threshold required for inclusion.

As a result, the total number of venues featured on 50 Best Discovery may not increase with every annual update. This approach helps ensure the platform remains a current, relevant and expertly curated collection of restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards from around the world.

What does 50 Best mean by a venue having undergone "significant change" since the time of voting?

50 Best may remove a venue from 50 Best Discovery if it has undergone significant change since the time it was voted for by Academy members. This assessment is made at the discretion of the 50 Best organisation and may include, but is not limited to, key changes from the original venue such as its location or concept. As every venue is unique, changes are considered on a case-by-case basis. The aim is to ensure that 50 Best Discovery remains a current and accurate reflection of the venues originally recognised by Academy members.

If the number of venues on the platform has decreased, how is this providing a wider and more diverse array of establishments?

The objective of 50 Best Discovery is not simply to maximise the number of venues featured, but to provide a current, diverse and expertly curated collection of recommendations from around the world.

Each annual refresh introduces new restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards that have received a certain number of votes from our Academy members, while venues may be removed if they have closed, undergone significant change since the time of voting, or no longer meet the voting threshold required for inclusion.

As a result, the overall number of venues may fluctuate from year to year. What remains constant is our commitment to ensuring that 50 Best Discovery reflects the most relevant, diverse and up-to-date recommendations from our global network of experts.