(26 November 2025) - A German restaurant has once again taken the top spot in the French restaurant ranking La Liste, with the Schwarzwaldstube at Traube Tonbach in Baiersbronn joining nine other restaurants in first place. As in the previous year, Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Switzerland, Guy Savoy in Paris, Lung King Heen in China, Le Bernardin and Single Thread in the USA and Matsukawa in Japan all achieved the same score. New to the top group are Da Vittorio in Italy, Martin Berasateugi in Spain and Robuchon au Dôme in China. They have 99.5 out of a possible 100 points in the ranking.

Jörg Zipprick, editor-in-chief of La Liste, explains: "The Schwarzwaldstube epitomises what great cuisine in Germany is all about: precision craftsmanship, meaningful creativity and world-class continuity. A combination that has become rare, even internationally." "We are naturally delighted that we are once again at the top of La Liste with many esteemed colleagues," confirms head chef Torsten Michel. His cuisine for the Schwarzwaldstube is characterised by classic French elements combined with a carefully refined modernity. The focus is on uncompromising product quality, precise craftsmanship and dishes without superfluous effects. "Our claim in the Schwarzwaldstube remains unchanged - we cook for our guests. My menu is about what they like, and these are dishes that arise from the logic of the product, remain comprehensible and still have depth."

This year, Heiner Finkbeiner, owner of Traube Tonbach, accepted the award in Paris on behalf of Torsten Michel. At the press conference before the ceremony, the hotelier emphasised: "I am delighted to be able to present this special award to Torsten Michel and our team in Tonbach. To see the Schwarzwaldstube once again at the top of the global rankings makes us all very proud." For him, the repeated top ranking is also confirmation of a long-term approach: "It's great to see that reliable quality, a clear signature and authentic hospitality have been appreciated for decades. The brigade works passionately every day to achieve this long-term success and I am very grateful for that." The Finkbeiner hotelier family has been running the Schwarzwaldstube in the Traube Tonbach since 1977.

As in the previous year, the second grade of 99 points was achieved by the Waldhotel Sonnora in Dreis. The Aqua in Wolfsburg improved by 0.5 points and is now also in the second-highest grade category. Victor's Fine Dining by Christian Bau in Perl-Nennig achieved the third-highest score, while the Bareiss in Baiersbronn (+0.5 points) and the JAN in Munich are once again in the top 100

Restaurants from 26 countries are represented in the top 100 - one more than last year. These include 30 from France (-5), 13 from Japan (+3), ten from Spain (-3), nine from Italy (+1), eight from China(+6), seven from Austria (+5), six from Germany (unchanged) and the USA (+1), four from Switzerland (unchanged), the UK (+2), Thailand (+1), three from Singapore (unchanged) and Mexico (+2), two from Australia (unchanged), Denmark (unchanged), Monaco, (+1), as well as one each from Brazil, Belgium, Canada (+1), the Netherlands (-1), Portugal (-1), Sweden, Slovenia, South Korea (+1) and the United Arab Emirates (+1).

On the overall list, which comprises 1,350 restaurants, France is the most strongly represented country with 118 restaurants, followed by Japan (114) and the USA (106). With 74 restaurants, Germany is in seventh place of the 72 countries represented.

The La Liste ranking is compiled on the basis of restaurant guide scores and user ratings. The scores of the guides are taken into account with 90% and user reviews with 10%. The list includes restaurants that achieve more than 75 out of a maximum of 100 points. Restaurant-Ranglisten.de also calculates a world ranking list, which will be updated shortly. In our method, the classic guides are the main deciding factor for the ranking. Only when the scores are equal do the scores on review portals determine the ranking. We pay less attention to these, as we believe that they are not based on regular tests but on one-off visits by different guests and are therefore less consistent. In addition, our ranking list is updated several times a year, which means that different editions of a guide may be included in the points values than in La Liste, resulting in deviations.