For the second year running, only one Australian restaurant has been named in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants longlist. Josh and Julie Niland’s innovative fish-focused fine diner Saint Peter ranked at 66th place in the annual countdown from 100 to 51.
It is a move up the ranks from last year, when Saint Peter placed at number 98.
“What an outstanding achievement,” wrote Josh Niland on Instagram. “[Julie Niland] and I couldn’t be more grateful and proud of the superhuman efforts of the entire team … Alongside our own team, we celebrate the long list of suppliers, producers and artisans that make [Saint Peter] the special place it is.”
The Paddington fine diner relocated from its original site of eight years at the end of 2024. It is now housed in the Grand National Hotel, a revamped boutique hotel also owned by the Nilands.
“Not every restaurant can legitimately claim to be spearheading a movement,” writes World’s 50 Best. “Yet this uber-cool concept from Josh Niland takes the great Australian seafood tradition to previously unexplored heights.”
The extended list features restaurants in 37 cities across the world. It is compiled from votes by 1,120 independent culinary experts, including chefs and food writers.
This year marks the first time a New Zealand restaurant has placed in the longlist; Queenstone’s Amisfield Restaurant ranked at 99. The highest new entry in the 51 to 100 list is Mexico’s Arca in Tulum, coming in at 67.
Last month Bundjalung restaurateur and former MasterChef Australia contestant Mindy Woods won the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Champions of Change award for her contribution to community through food.
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 awards ceremony will be held in Italy on 19 June.
