World’s best: Saint Peter cracks the top 50 restaurants

It’s been almost a decade, but a Sydney restaurant has landed at number 50 in the world’s 50 best restaurants list, which was recently rebranded The 50.

Sydney’s Saint Peter has ended the near-decade drought for Australian fine diners, with the fish-focused restaurant, run by husband-and-wife team Josh and Julie Niland, the first Australian venue to make the top 50 since Melbourne’s Attica, which peaked at number 20 in 2018 under chef Ben Shewry.

This is Saint Peter’s first appearance on The 50, formerly known as the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. It ranked 66th on the longlist last year, after debuting at number 98 in 2024.

At Wednesday night’s ceremony in Lima, Peru, Josh Niland also collected the award for best restaurant in Oceania. Chef Hugh Allen took home the one to watch award for his Melbourne fine-dining venue, Yiaga.

Spain’s Asador Etxebarri claimed the top spot, up from second place in 2025. Bangkok’s Gaggan took second and Copenhagen’s Alchemist third.

Speaking in Lima before the ceremony, Niland said the past year had centred on service. “Saint Peter turned 10 this year, and in the last 12 months we’ve really tried to analyse every service touch,” he said.

“The food, our point of view and the way we work with fish is very unique and quite special, but only in the last 12 months have we really been able to put a bow on it.”

Australia deserves better recognition

Niland said Australian dining deserved greater international recognition. “We don’t need Michelin and 50 best to tell us what’s wonderful, because we all know we’re spoiled. But we do need a bit of global awareness … This is less about Saint Peter and more about Australia.”

Allen said stronger local representation on the world stage lifted the whole industry.

“The more Aussie restaurants that do well, it helps everyone, because it gets more people wanting to hopefully come out and see what we do,” he said. “It’s one of those tyranny of distance things.”

Opened in 2016, Saint Peter is known for its head-to-tail approach to cooking fish, using parts usually discarded. Past menus have featured pasta made from fish bones, fish-eye ice-cream and tuna aged for 20 days.

The list was first published in 2002 and is voted on by an academy of more than 1,000 chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and well-travelled diners. 

Jonathan Jackson, 11th November 2026