Restaurant Magazine started publishing the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2002. Anything proclaiming itself to be world's 50 best of anything is inviting controversy, the obvious response being, 'Best? Says who?'

In 2006, the organisers expanded the voting pool for the first time, to include panellists from outside Europe in an effort to counter claims of Eurocentrism.

Since then, the list has slowly become more international: the 2010 results show two from Japan and two from Singapore in the top 50, while several from the Restaurant Magazine-designated Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan 'region' made it into the list of 50-100 (although their locations were incorrectly given as mainland China): l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (53), Robuchon a Galera (at the Hotel Lisboa, Macau, 55), Lung King Heen (59), Bo Innovation (65), Amber (90) and Cepage (96).