An Atlanta restaurant landed on North America’s 50 Best list for 2026.
Critically acclaimed Atlanta restaurant Avize grabbed the number 29 spot in a ceremony held in New Orleans on May 28. The night saw chef and co-founder Karl Gorline and co-founder and Director of Beverage and Hospitality Taurean Philpott honored with the global restaurant and bar guide’s coveted red scarves. Philpott was also a James Beard semi-finalist this year for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service.
But Georgia wasn’t done yet for the night in New Orleans.
James Beard Award-winning chef Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah and L’Arrêt by The Grey in Paris took home a special award for North America’s Best Female Chef of 2026.
The number one spot – deemed the best restaurant in North America – went to Chicago’s Smyth.
The 2026 ceremony also revealed special award winners for categories like hospitality and up-and-coming restaurant to watch, along with the chef icon award, which went to New Orleans chef and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse.
Related stories:
• Atlanta’s Best New Restaurants of 2025
• 2025 Michelin Guide to the American South
Avize rising
Opened in 2025 along Brady Avenue in Atlanta, Gorline taps into his family’s Bavarian heritage and countries bordering the Alps to create many of the dishes at Avize. While not a literal interpretation of Alpine cuisine, Gorline instead pays tribute to his roots and the Alpine region through foraged and seasonal ingredients, such as serviceberries, vegetables, grains, and herbs harvested weekly from local and regional farms and the restaurant’s Bremen, GA farm. With a wine list leaning into Alpine producers, Philpott carefully curates pairings for each dish on Gorline’s menu, but is always at the ready with further suggestions.
Avize now counts itself among some of Atlanta’s best restaurants, having racked up numerous accolades from local and national publications, including being named one of Rough Draft’s Best New Restaurants of 2025. Michelin also listed Avize as a recommended restaurant in its 2025 Guide to the American South.
How 50 Best voting works
The North American guide, voted on by more than 300 chefs, restaurateurs, food journalists, and industry experts, features restaurants from the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. A separate 50 Best list spotlights restaurants in Latin American countries. Most people are likely familiar with the organization’s premier guides: The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and The World’s 50 Best Bars.
Voters remain anonymous and are recruited for the job by one of eight 50 Best regional chairpersons. James Beard Award-winning food journalist Mike Jordan chairs the USA South region. Appointed voters cannot vote for restaurants they have financial ties to and must have dined at the restaurants they’re voting for within the last two years.
In April, Ticonderoga Club landed at number 85 on 50 Best’s top North American bars. Ticonderoga Club partner Greg Best traveled to New Orleans this week as part of the North America’s 50 Best festivities, slinging drinks behind the bar at Peychaud’s in the French Quarter.
