Midtown Eateries Are Only 2 U.S. Spots To Make '50 Best' List

MIDTOWN, NY — Only two restaurants from the United States of America made this year's prestigious list of The World's Best 50 Restaurants.

But the good news? You don't have to travel to San Francisco, Chicago or other supposedly great places to try the world's finest dining because both spots are acclaimed Midtown eateries.

And one landed in the top 10.

Midtown spots Atomix and Le Bernardin both made the 2023 list — the only ones from the U.S. — curated by the international restaurant-ranking organization 50 Best.

French seafood mainstay Le Bernardin was listed at number 44, but hotspot Atomix placed within the top 10, at number eight.

Atomix made last year's list too — at number 33 — a jump that even 50 Best noted.

"This is a restaurant in the ascendancy in every way," reads their 50 Best write up, "sailing into the top 10 of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants by rising 25 spots since last year and earning the Villa Massa Highest Climber Award 2023."

The 14-seat 12-course Korean tasting menu counter spot located in a hyper-modern zen-like basement on East 30th Street and Park Avenue has been stacking up awards and accolades since its opening in 2018. The restaurant also has two Michelin stars, in addition to this James Beard honor.

Earlier this month, Atomix Chef Junghyun Park won a James Beard Award for "best chef" in New York.

"All this from a 14-seat basement counter spot on the edge of Koreatown in Manhattan," the 50 Best group wrote.

Atomix, which Park co-owns with wife Ellia Park, is a follow up to their previous more casual spot, Atoboy. In late 2022, the pair also opened a third spot in Rockefeller Center called Naro.

They both grew up in Korea and are are considered to be "among the leading chefs and restaurateurs of their generation," according to 50 Best.

The annual list was announced earlier this week in Valencia, Spain, and has received criticism in the past for the absurdity of the proposed global culinary evaluations — as well as their continued practice of awarding a "Best Female Chef" award, something that the late culinary giant Anthony Bourdain pointed out in 2013.