Masque and Naar put India back on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list after 22 years

Indian fine dining has finally got its seat back at the world's most talked-about table. Mumbai's Masque has entered The 50 Best Restaurants 2026 list at No. 26, and Naar, chef Prateek Sadhu's Himalayan restaurant in Kasauli, has made the cut at No. 49. They are the first restaurants based in India to appear in the main top 50 since Bukhara at ITC Maurya in 2004 – a gap of 22 years.

The rest of the list has a strong Indian accent too. Gaggan in Bangkok, led by chef Gaggan Anand and famous for its playful take on Indian food, is No. 2 and has been named The Best Restaurant in Asia 2026. Dubai's Trèsind Studio, chef Himanshu Saini's 20-seat Indian tasting room on The Palm Jumeirah, is No. 28 and is The Best Restaurant in the Middle East 2026. The No. 1 spot went to Asador Etxebarri, the famous grill restaurant in Atxondo, Spain.

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Masque: ten courses in an old Mumbai mill

Masque sits in a converted textile mill in Mahalaxmi, Mumbai, and serves only a ten-course tasting menu that changes with the seasons, in vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions. The kitchen is run by head chef Varun Totlani, who joined as a commis when the restaurant opened in 2016, became sous chef in 2021 and took over the kitchen in 2022. The cooking is built on produce from Indian farmers, fishers and foragers – think burnt ghee with saffron, lobster with Goan chorizo, and a seaweed take on the humble bhel.

Its rise shows how far Indian tasting menus have come: a menu that celebrates Indian ingredients is now being judged alongside the best kitchens in Paris, Tokyo and Lima.

Naar: fire, forest and the Himalayas

Naar means fire in Kashmiri, a nod to Prateek Sadhu's childhood home. The restaurant is at the Amaya resort in the pine forests near Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, about a 90-minute drive from Chandigarh. Its tasting menu follows the Himalayan calendar of six seasons and leans on open-flame cooking and mountain ingredients, with dishes such as gahat ka paratha. The organisers have also given Naar the Sustainable Restaurant Award 2026, which makes its debut year even sweeter.

Fun fact for food nerds: Sadhu ran the kitchen at Masque before Totlani took over in 2022, so both Indian entries on the list trace back to the same kitchen.

What it means if you want a table

• Book early. A 50 Best listing usually means waiting lists, especially for weekend dinners. Check each restaurant's own website for dates well ahead of your trip.
• Plan the trip. Masque is an easy dinner in Mumbai. Naar is a proper weekend away – pair it with a stay in the hills.
• Go abroad smartly. If you are headed to Bangkok or Dubai, Gaggan and Trèsind Studio are two more chances to taste Indian food at world-list level.

The FHM take

We think this is the most important night Indian dining has had in two decades. Both restaurants cook Indian food on their own terms, not as fusion for foreign palates, and that is exactly why they made it. If you have been looking for a reason to splurge on one great meal this season, a seat at Masque or a long drive up to Naar is a far better story than another overpriced club night.