Smyth in Chicago is named The Best Restaurant in North America at the North America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 awards, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, held in New Orleans on May 28th.
The highly anticipated list returns for its second edition to celebrate restaurants across the region
- Smyth in Chicago, Illinois, is named The Best Restaurant in North America 2026, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna
- Ranking includes restaurants from across 20 cities in the region
- Emeril Lagasse of Emeril’s in New Orleans, Louisiana, receives the SevenRooms Icon Award
- Eunji Lee of Lysée in New York City wins North America’s Best Pastry Chef Award 2026, sponsored by Valrhona
- North America’s Best Sommelier Award 2026, sponsored by Vik, is presented to Aldo Sohm of Le Bernardin and Aldo Sohm Wine Bar in New York City
- Corey Lee of Benu in San Francisco, California, is announced the winner of the Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award 2026
- Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, California, receives the Sustainable Restaurant Award 2026
- Mashama Bailey from The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, receives North America’s Best Female Chef Award 2026
- Albi in Washington DC is the winner of the Highest Climber Award for 2026, sponsored by Lee Kum Kee
- Eight in Calgary, Alberta takes home the Highest New Entry Award 2026
(RestaurantNews.com) Leading figures from across the culinary world convened in New Orleans for North America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, where Smyth in Chicago, Illinois, was named The Best Restaurant in North America 2026. Hosted at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, the ceremony celebrated the breadth and excellence of the region’s dining scene, with standout restaurants and industry leaders from across the region recognized both in the list’s second edition and within the special and pre-announced award categories.
For the full 1-50 list, please see the attached graphic or see the bottom of this release.
Smyth, led by husband-and-wife chefs John Shields and Karen Urie Shields, has been named The Best Restaurant in North America 2026, rising from No.4 on the inaugural 2025 list. What sets Smyth apart is its deeply personal approach to cooking, rooted in a tight network of growers and purveyors. The result is an ever-evolving tasting experience that feels both intimate and precise, and one in which each dish reflects the season of the time.
Set within a calm, minimalist space in Chicago, Smyth feels quietly immersive, with the focus kept firmly on the food. An open kitchen adds a sense of openness and connection between the guest and the kitchen team, and each course is designed to let the ingredients speak for themselves, resulting in food that feels refined, expressive, and closely tied to its surroundings.
Following Smyth in the top 10 is Eight (No.2) in Calgary, named The Best Restaurant in West Canada 2026,