Best. It’s a significant milestone for the city’s dining scene — here’s why.
The World’s 50 Best is widely regarded as one of the hospitality industry’s most influential international awards, recognising the world’s leading restaurants, bars and hotels. Alongside the Michelin Guide, it remains one of the most trusted benchmarks for both industry professionals and travellers.
The World’s 50 Best portfolio comprises three flagship rankings: The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, The World’s 50 Best Bars and The World’s 50 Best Hotels, each celebrating the world’s most outstanding destinations in its category.
At Syo-Syo, the 50 Best experts highlighted the creativity of the food and drinks, the vibrant cocktail programme and the restaurant’s relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere. The venue has previously caught the attention of the 50 Best team: its alcohol-free Signs of Peace menu was featured by the editorial team at 50 Best Stories.
Domashniy earned its place in 50 Best Discovery for its club-like atmosphere and cocktails designed to be recreated at home. Head bartender Maxim Abramov builds his drinks around ingredients found in almost any household fridge. Served in vintage Japanese glassware, these simple yet inventive cocktails are joined by all-night parties and a menu that brings together many of the world’s defining cocktail trends — reason enough to pay the bar a visit.
Yellow Door is a hidden cocktail bar that has upheld the traditions of the speakeasy for more than a decade. Guests speak in hushed voices, sip cocktails by candlelight, listen to jazz and enter by reservation only. According to the 50 Best experts, it’s the bar’s collection of 140 classic cocktails, signature drinks inspired by local ingredients and unmistakable atmosphere that make it worth seeking out. We’ve also rounded up more of the city’s hidden bars here.
Alongside its flagship rankings, The World’s 50 Best also publishes special projects, including The World’s 50 Best Discovery. The standalone guide features venues recommended by the 50 Best voting academy, extending beyond the main rankings to include restaurants, bars and hotels recognised by an international panel of more than 1,100 industry experts, including restaurant critics, chefs, restaurateurs and food writers. This year, four venues from Kazakhstan earned a place in the guide.
The guide also featured Qazaq Gourmet and Temple in Astana, alongside Almaty’s Auyl, all of which were included in the 2025 edition of 50 Best Discovery.
French 42 stood out for its Moulin Rouge-inspired French bistro setting and extensive gin collection, spanning both established labels and lesser-known varieties. The selection is served neat or mixed into classics such as the Negroni and gin and tonic, as well as the bar’s signature French 42.
