SingleThread in Healdsburg was the only California restaurant included in The 50’s latest worldwide restaurant rankings, placing 93rd on the extended list covering positions 51 through 100. The three-Michelin-starred Bay Area destination earned its recognition in a year when no California restaurant reached the global top 50.
The 50, a UK-based international media company previously known as World’s 50 Best, publishes annual rankings of restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards. Its latest global top 50 restaurant list was announced at a Nov. 4 ceremony in Lima, Peru. Atomix in New York City was the sole U.S. restaurant in that group.
In its description of SingleThread, The 50 highlighted chef Kyle Connaughton’s 10-course tasting menu, which draws inspiration from kaiseki and features rare Japanese fruits and vegetables. His wife, Katina, the restaurant’s head farmer, grows the produce on SingleThread’s nearby 24-acre farm. The publication also emphasized sustainability across farming, food waste, sourcing, community engagement and storytelling.
SingleThread ranked higher on the separate North American list released earlier this year, taking 16th place. Other Bay Area restaurants recognized in that top 50 were all in San Francisco: Saison at 22, Benu at 33, Atelier Crenn at 44 and Sons & Daughters at 45.
Restaurants on the worldwide top 50 list spanned six continents. Asador Etxebarri, in Atxondo in northern Spain’s Basque Country, claimed first place. Bangkok had the largest representation with five restaurants, followed by Copenhagen and Lima with three apiece. Hong Kong and Seoul each had two.
California also appeared in The 50’s separate Best of the Best category, which the company describes as its Hall of Fame. The French Laundry in Yountville, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, was the only California establishment among its 12 members. New York City’s Eleven Madison Park was the only other U.S. restaurant in the group.
The French Laundry entered the Hall of Fame in 2019 after making the top 50 on 12 occasions between 2002 and 2015. It also appeared four times on the extended list, according to Jee Won Park, chief client officer of BECCA and CO., the hospitality communications agency representing The 50. Restaurants inducted into the Hall of Fame are no longer eligible for voting.
The restaurant rankings draw on votes from more than 1,100 anonymous experts across 28 regions worldwide. Park said the panel includes chefs, food critics and industry professionals, and at least 25 percent of its membership changes each year.
The company also released its extended worldwide vineyard rankings on Monday, Nov. 9. Three Bay Area properties appeared: Château Montelena in Calistoga at 59, Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello in Santa Clara County at 67 and Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville at 88. That announcement precedes the unveiling of the 2026 top 50 vineyards, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 18, in Santiago, Chile.
