Argentina's Don Julio, Latin America's best restaurant on the 50 Best List
The well-known steakhouse, opened by Rivero in Buenos Aires in 1999, ranked tenth among the 50 best in the world this year and also has a Michelin star.
A chef at the Don Julio restaurant in Palermo, Buenos Aires.
The Argentine restaurant Don Julio, led by chef Pablo Rivero, was voted the best in Latin America on Tuesday by the British 50 Best list.
The well-known steakhouse, opened by Rivero in Buenos Aires in 1999, ranked 10th among the world's 50 best this year and also boasts a Michelin star.
"God belongs to everyone but it seems he has a special affection for Argentina," Rivero jokingly said after the awards ceremony, held at Rio de Janeiro's National Historical Museum.
Receiving the recognition "feels nice because we didn't invent the Argentinean grill, but we turned a wheel that has been rolling forever. It is a shared award with 45 million people," added the chef and sommelier.
Don Julio had already crowned the regional ranking of the British magazine "Restaurant" in 2020, when the pandemic prevented the gala from being held.
In second place on Tuesday was the Peruvian Maido, of chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, which in 2023 had been chosen as the best of the 50 Latin American restaurants.
The Lima establishment, renowned for its fusion of Peruvian ingredients with Japanese techniques, has made it four years to the top of the list (between 2017 and 2019, and in 2023).
It is followed by Colombia's El Chato de Bogotá, from chef Álvaro Clavijo, third this year and second in the previous edition.
Bolivian Marsia Taha Mohamed, known for commanding the kitchen of restaurant Gustu, in La Paz, received the award for the best female chef in Latin America in 2024.
The recognition "is a spearhead to position Bolivia within the gastronomies of the world," Taha told AFP.
The chef recently opened her own restaurant, Arami, where local ingredients and Amazonian flavors stand out.
The 50 Best ranking of the best restaurants in Latin America has been carried out since 2013 with the vote of 300 independent industry experts, such as chefs and specialized journalists.
The worldwide list of the 50 Best was launched in 2002 by the British magazine "Restaurant" and has elevated emblematic establishments such as Denmark's Noma and Spain's El Celler de Can Roca, among others.
The ranking has been questioned, however, especially by French chefs, who consider it less rigorous than the Michelin guide.
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