Quintonil Puts Mexico Among the Global Elite as Fourth Best Restaurant in the World

Quintonil, in Mexico City, reached fourth place at The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2026 and received the recognition for Best Restaurant in Latin America, during a ceremony held this November 4 in Lima, Peru. First place went to Asador Etxebarri, from Spain, followed by Gaggan, from Bangkok, and Alchemist, from Copenhagen, according to the official list.

The restaurant led by chef Jorge Vallejo and Alejandra Flores dropped one spot compared with 2025, when it held third place, but it remained among the top five in the world and headed the Latin American selection.

Quintonil's proposal combines local ingredients with traditional Mexican flavors and techniques reinterpreted in contemporary preparations. Its name refers to an edible herb present in some of its dishes and drinks, and some of the products it uses travel barely 30 meters from the urban garden to the kitchen, according to the restaurant's description published by The 50 Best.

Among its seasonal dishes may appear roast duck with manchamanteles coconut mole, wild mushroom chileatole soup with cacahuazintle corn and beans, or ice cream made with honey from melipona bees. The restaurant also offers a shorter menu at the bar, from where diners can watch the open kitchen and try tacos with insects such as chapulines and chicatana ants.

Vallejo and Flores opened Quintonil in 2012, in Polanco. Before founding the restaurant, the chef worked in kitchens such as Noma, in Denmark, and Pujol, in Mexico; Flores, trained in hotel administration in Switzerland, had collaborated with the group of chef Enrique Olvera.

Quintonil was the only Mexican restaurant among the top 50 places of this edition, but five other establishments from the country appeared on the extended list, from position 51 to 100: Alcalde, from Guadalajara, at 55; Huniik, from Mérida, at 79; Arca, from Tulum, at 87; Rosetta, from Mexico City, at 96; and Fauna, from Valle de Guadalupe, at 99.

The 2026 ranking was compiled with the votes of more than 1,100 international specialists, including chefs, restaurateurs and food journalists, organized into 28 regions.