Kann, the renowned wood-fired Haitian restaurant created by Portland’s celebrated chef Gregory Gourdet, proudly secured the 27th position on the newly unveiled North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list during a lavish ceremony in Las Vegas on Thursday night.
This recognition marks a significant achievement for Kann, which was the sole representative from Oregon on this prestigious list.
The announcement was made as Gourdet entered the ballroom at Wynn Las Vegas clad in the distinctive red scarf awarded to chefs and restaurant owners who make the esteemed cut.
Expressing his feelings about this honor, Gourdet shared, “It feels good. I wasn’t as nervous because it’s not like the James Beard Awards where you don’t know if you’re going to win. Tonight I was just excited to be on the list; I’m excited it’s in North America, and I’m just happy to be here.”
This latest accolade is just one of many for Kann, located at 548 S.E. Ash St. Since its opening, the restaurant has garnered nearly every award available in the culinary world.
It quickly achieved the top spot on Esquire magazine’s best new restaurants list and earned the title of Restaurant of the Year in 2022, followed by receiving the James Beard Award for America’s best new restaurant the next June.
The accolades have continued to roll in, with Kann topping the annual guide for Portland’s best restaurants in July.
Recently, it was also ranked fourth by Resy among American restaurants that purportedly “define dining in 2025,” and recognized by Eater as one of the “most influential restaurants of the past two decades.”
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list was first published by the British magazine Restaurant in 2002, and has since evolved into an opulent annual gala celebrating premier dining destinations, extending from London to Tokyo and Lima, Peru.
The organization also oversees awards shows for the World’s 50 Best bars and has since expanded its rankings to a top 100.
The group hosts specific regional award shows, including those focused on Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
According to the organization, the selection process involves voters who are given no specific criteria to define “best” but are instead asked to name their top eight restaurant experiences during the voting period.
For the North American list, Academy chairs from eight sub-regions curated panels comprising anonymous voters, including food writers, critics, chefs, restaurateurs, and well-traveled gastronomes.
Earlier this year, five American establishments made the global edition of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in a ceremony held in Turin, Italy.
Among these were New York’s Atomix, ranked 12th, and the two Michelin-starred Le Bernardin, ranked 80th, alongside California’s SingleThread at 80th and Atelier Crenn at 95th.
While chefs listed are informed of their inclusion beforehand and invited to the ceremony, they are not disclosed their exact rankings until the live event unfolds.
The World’s 50 Best list, alongside the Michelin guide, serves as a crucial cornerstone for international tourism to restaurants honored on the list.
Since 2019, the organization has initiated a tradition of “retiring” its top restaurant each year, creating a de facto dining Hall of Fame that highlights globally recognized culinary destinations like El Bulli in Spain, The Fat Duck in England, and Noma in Denmark.
In a noteworthy development, Thursday evening saw the unveiling of the 50 Best list for North America, a first for the region that encompasses Canada and parts of the Caribbean while excluding Mexico, which remains aligned with the Latin American list.
Here is the complete rundown of the North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list:
No. 50: Beba, Montreal.
No. 49: Stush in the Bush, St. Ann, Jamaica.
No. 48: Quince, San Francisco.
No. 47: Providence, Los Angeles.
No. 46: Atelier Crenn, San Francisco.
No. 45: Alma Fonda Fina, Denver.
No. 44: Mhel, Toronto.
No. 43: Alma, Montreal.
No. 42: Holbox, Los Angeles.
No. 41: Buzo Osteria Italians, Bridgetown, Barbados.
No. 40: Penny, New York.
No. 39: Café Carmellini, New York.
No. 38: César, New York.
No. 37: Dōgon, Washington, D.C.
No. 36: Corima, New York.
No. 35: Jungsik, New York.
No. 34: Albi, Washington, D.C.
No. 33: Saga, New York.
No. 32: Royal Sushi & Izakaya, Philadelphia.
No. 31: Kasama, Chicago.
No. 30: Emeril’s, New Orleans.
No. 29: Le Violon, Montreal.
No. 28: Published on Main, Vancouver, B.C.
No. 27: Kann, Portland.
No. 26: Kato, Los Angeles.
No. 25: Lazy Bear, San Francisco.
No. 24: Aska, New York.
No. 23: Kono, New York.
No. 22: Montréal Plaza, Montreal.
No. 21: Saison, San Francisco.
No. 20: Locust, Nashville.
No. 19: Chubby Fish, Charleston.
No. 18: Via Carota, New York.
No. 17: Moon Rabbit, Washington D.C.
No. 16: Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia.
No. 15: The Four Horsemen, New York.
No. 14: Californios, San Francisco.
No. 13: Benu, San Francisco.
No. 12: Baan Lao, Richmond, B.C.
No. 11: Quetzal, Toronto.
No. 10: Le Veau d’Or, New York.
No. 9: Le Bernardin, New York.
No. 8: Single Thread, San Francisco.
No. 7: Kalaya, Philadelphia.
No. 6: Dakar Nola, New Orleans.
No. 5: Tanière3, Quebec.
No. 4: Smyth, Chicago.
No. 3: Pearl Morrissette, Lincoln, Ontario.
No. 2: Mon Lapin, Montreal.
No. 1: Atomix, New York.
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