Sonoma County Restaurant Named Among Top 50 in the World

Healdsburg’s SingleThread restaurant has skyrocketed to No. 37 on the carefully curated list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, up from No. 71 in 2019 (the awards were canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic). The news comes on the heels of last month’s announcement that the restaurant, owned by Kyle and Katina Connaughton, had retained its three Michelin stars — the highest ranking for a restaurant — in the 2021 California guidebook.

Other Bay Area restaurants to make the top 50 list, released by a peer-reviewed awards program, include San Francisco’s Benu (No. 28) and Atelier Crenn (No. 48).

The annual list of the world’s finest restaurants, published since 2002, is a snapshot of some of the best destinations for unique culinary experiences, in addition to being a barometer for global gastronomic trends, according to organizers. A panel of more than 1,000 international restaurant industry experts — food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and well-traveled gourmets — selects the restaurants for each year’s list.

Japanese-style garden patio at SingleThread (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)

At the top of the list of international restaurants is Noma, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The restaurant bested all others in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2021 with its seasonal Nordic cuisine. Geranium, also in Copenhagen, was No. 2; with Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain as No. 3; Central in Lima, Peru as No. 4; and Disfrutar in Barcelona, Spain as No. 5.

The highest-ranking American restaurant on the list is Cosme in New York at No. 22.

For more details on the winners, visit theworlds50best.com.

Written by Heather Irwin