2 Korean fine-dining restaurants get international nod
Summary
Mingles and Onjium ranked 17th and 41st, respectively, at the 2026 World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday evening. Mingles rose from 29th last year after first entering the list at No. 44 in 2024. Onjium’s cuisine draws on Korean culinary traditions, seasonal ingredients and regional recipes. Eatanic Garden and Mosu also made the extended list, ranking 72nd and 78th.
Key Facts
- Mingles was opened by chef Kang Min-goo in 2014 in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.
- Mingles is described as Korea’s only three-Michelin-star restaurant.
- Onjium is located near Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, and its name means to build or create something with care and integrity.
- Asador Etxebarri in Biscay, Spain, took first place, while Gaggan in Bangkok ranked second.
- More than 1,000 people, including food critics and chefs from around the world, vote to determine the ranking.
Mingles ranks 17th, Onjium 41st on World's 50 Best Restaurants list
Mingles, the country's only restaurant with three Michelin stars / Courtesy of Mingles
Two Korean restaurants have been named among the world's best, with Mingles and Onjium securing places on the prestigious World's 50 Best Restaurants list.
According to Peruvian daily El Comercio on Thursday (local time), Mingles ranked 17th and Onjium 41st at the 2026 World's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony, held at the Municipal Theater in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday evening.
Mingles, the country's only three-Michelin-star restaurant, is a Korean fine-dining establishment opened by chef Kang Min-goo in 2014 in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. It first entered the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2024 at No. 44, climbed to 29th last year and rose sharply to 17th this year.
Located near Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, Onjium is a Korean fine-dining restaurant whose name means "to build or create something with care and integrity." Restaurant, the British magazine that organizes the awards, described its cuisine as drawing deeply on "the culinary traditions of yangban noble families, royal court cuisine of the Joseon Dynasty, locally sourced seasonal ingredients and humble regional recipes from across the country."
The extended list, covering restaurants ranked 51st to 100th, also included two other Korean establishments: Eatanic Garden in Seoul at No. 72 and Mosu, also in Seoul, at No. 78.
Asador Etxebarri in Biscay, Spain, took the top spot, followed by Gaggan in Bangkok, Thailand, in second place.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants ranking is determined by votes from more than 1,000 people, including food critics and chefs from around the world. It is widely regarded as one of the most influential rankings in the global fine-dining industry.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
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