The Voting System

Organised by William Reed, the people behind The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants is a snapshot of the opinions and experiences of more than 300 restaurant industry experts in Asia.

What constitutes ‘best’ is left to the judgment of these trusted and well-travelled gourmets. The list is the result of a simple computation of votes. Given that this list is based on personal experiences, it can never be definitive, but we believe it is an honourable survey of current tastes and a credible indicator of the best places to eat across Asia.

How the voting works

The list is created by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of more than 300 leaders in the restaurant industry across Asia, each selected for their expert opinion of Asia’s restaurant scene.

The Academy is divided into six regions: India & Subcontinent; South-East Asia – South; South-East Asia – North; Hong Kong, Taiwan & Macau; mainland China & Korea; Japan. The divisions are designed to represent the Asian restaurant scene as fairly as possible at the current time and are agreed with the Academy Chairs.

Each region has its own panel of 53 members including a chairperson to head it up. The panel is made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded 'foodies'.

Prior to 2021, each Academy member voted for 10 restaurants, with at least four of these from outside their home country/SAR. Since the global pandemic has restricted international travel, the voting rules have been revised to reflect this change. This year voters could nominate a total of 10 restaurants, including up to seven from their home country, but with no obligation to vote for restaurants outside of their home country/SAR.

The results of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2023 list were announced on 28th March at an awards ceremony held at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore.  

The main rules of voting are:

• Voting is strictly confidential before the list announcement
• Panellists normally vote for ten restaurants, at least four of which must be outside their own country. In 2023, panellists could vote for a total of ten restaurants, at including up to seven from their home country, with no obligation to fill in the international votes
• Voters must have eaten in the restaurants they nominate within the previous 18 months
• Voters are not permitted to vote for restaurants they own or have a financial interest in
• Nominations must be made for the restaurant, not for the restaurateur or the chef
• Panellists submit their choices in order of preference (this information is used to decide on positions in the event of a tie)

These criteria are designed to allow our panellists to vote far and wide. They could vote for a small, unknown restaurant in a secluded area of Asia, or select the best-known restaurants in their own country or region – it is their opinion and the experiences they have had that matters.

This method also means that restaurants cannot apply to be on the list, and cannot be nominated, and no external influences (from William Reed or our sponsors) can influence the list. It also means that every restaurant in Asia is eligible, unless the restaurant is closed at the time that the list is announced, or we receive notice that it will be closing in the near future.

There are no criteria that a restaurant has to meet. They certainly do not have to sell a certain product. They do not need to have been open a certain number of years and they do not need to have won any other culinary accolades. None of the employees of any of the sponsors associated with the awards, including the main sponsor, votes or has any influence over the results.

Independent Adjudication

Professional services consultancy Deloitte is the official independent adjudicator of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. Deloitte has been granted full and independent access to the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants voting process and data and has performed certain procedures to confirm the integrity and authenticity of the voting process and the resulting list.

In order to guarantee a fair relationship between the percentage of votes a region receives and their proportionate representation in the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list, in the event of a significant variance, Deloitte will apply a normalisation process to the voting data.

Read more about Deloitte