Central Otago restaurant Amisfield has been named on another international Best Restaurants list.
Central Otago restaurant Amisfield has been named on another international Best Restaurants list.
Fine dining restaurant Amisfield in Queenstown has been named in the acclaimed The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 51-100 list for 2025, making it the first time its panel has recognised a restaurant in New Zealand.
Amisfield ranked 99th on the list, which will be fully revealed, including the currently unknowntop 50, at an awards ceremony in Turin, Italy, on June 19.
Executive chef Vaughan Mabee, who has been with the restaurant since 2012, said being named on the list is an “extraordinary honour — not just for Amisfield, but for New Zealand."
Amisfield Executive Chef Vaughan Mabee. Photo / Sam Stewart
“It marks a defining moment in our journey and a proud milestone for our team. This is a recognition of the years of hard work, creativity, and belief that have gone into building something truly reflective of this place. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together, and I hope this brings a global spotlight on the whole of Aotearoa’s unique cuisine,” Mabee told Viva.
William Drew, director of content at 50 Best, told Viva that the inclusion of Amisfield is a “significant milestone for New Zealand gastronomy”.
“Each year the global spread of restaurants continues to increase further, and with this inclusion we are already eagerly anticipating what this could mean for the future of New Zealand’s restaurant scene over the coming years,” he said.
The announcement adds to the restaurant’s growing number of accolades. In April, the Amisfield placed third in Food & Wine’s third-annual Global Tastemakers Awards. It was named Restaurant of the Year in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by the Cuisine Good Food Awards. Mabee was awarded the Innovation Award at the Cuisine Good Food Awards in 2022 and 2024, and Cuisine Magazine named him Chef of the Year 2019/2020.
The extended 51-100 list for the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025.
On its website, Amisfield says it sets out to celebrate the craftsmanship of a select group of fishermen, hunters, gatherers and farmers by transforming raw ingredients into “culinary fine art”. Dishes from its example dinner menu, at $440 per person, include New Zealand king crab, wild putangitangi and mountain sheep’s horn.
The extended list of 51-100 includes restaurants in 25 territories and 37 cities across six continents. Europe boasts 20 restaurants in the list, with Germany grabbing four spots. There are 12 new entries from 12 different cities, ranging from São Paulo and San Francisco to Macau and Tulum.
Since 2002, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants annual list has aimed to celebrate the tapestry of the global culinary scene. This year, restaurants were voted for by 1120 international restaurant industry experts and “well-travelled gourmets”.
