Buying guide · Awards
Best steak in the world
There are two honest answers. For steak as a product, the World Steak Challenge’s “World’s Best Steak” title went in 2026 to a Senku Pure Wagyu fillet from Paradigm Foods in Australia; for steak as a restaurant meal, the 2025 World’s Best Steaks list put Don Julio in Buenos Aires first. Both are decided by panels, so neither is a measurement.
At a glance
- Product contest
- World Steak Challenge, yearly since 2015 (none in 2020)
- Latest title (2026)
- Senku Pure Wagyu fillet, Paradigm Foods, Australia
- Most gold medals
- Ireland 154 · Australia 148 · UK 133
- Winning cut, 2017–2026
- Striploin 7 of 9 titles
- Restaurant list
- World’s Best Steaks, 101 restaurants (2025: Don Julio, Buenos Aires)
What is the best steak in the world?
It depends on what is being judged, because two different rankings use the same words. The World Steak Challenge, run by the UK publisher William Reed, judges steaks from producers: samples are scored blind, raw and cooked, by cut, by grass or grain feeding and by breed, and one steak takes the title “World’s Best Steak”. The World’s Best Steaks list ranks 101 restaurants instead.
The 2026 product title went to a fillet of Senku Pure Wagyu from Paradigm Foods in Queensland, chosen by a panel of about 60 industry experts. In 2025 it went to a 32-day-aged Irish Angus striploin from Dawn Meats, sold at Lidl in Ireland and Poland, which the press called a supermarket steak. Neither is a universal verdict: one panel, one year, one sample per entry.
Who won World’s Best Steak each year?
Nine titles since 2017 have gone to six producers from five countries; in 2015 and 2016 the award was named “World’s Best Steak Producer” and went to Jack’s Creek (Australia), and the contest was not held in 2020. The cut has been a striploin in seven of the nine years.
| Year | Winner | Origin | Cut | Feeding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Paradigm Foods, Senku Pure Wagyu | Australia | Tenderloin | Grain-fed |
| 2025 | Dawn Meats (sold by Lidl), 32-day-aged Angus | Ireland | Striploin | Grass-fed |
| 2024 | Albers & Jack’s Creek | Australia | Striploin | Grain-fed |
| 2023 | Albers & Jack’s Creek | Australia | Striploin | Grain-fed |
| 2022 | Starzen Co. | Japan | Striploin | Grain-fed |
| 2021 | JN Meat International | Finland | Striploin | Grass-fed |
| 2019 | JN Meat International | Finland | Ribeye | Grass-fed |
| 2018 | JN Meat International | Finland | Striploin | Grass-fed |
| 2017 | F&M Frąckowiak (entered by ABP Poland) | Poland | Striploin | Grain-fed |
Which country wins the most?
Counting gold medals across all World Steak Challenge editions, Ireland leads with 154, ahead of Australia with 148 and the United Kingdom with 133. Australia won the World’s Best Steak title in 2023, 2024 and 2026, and Ireland once, in 2025.
Medals are not a quality rate. Each country sends a different number of samples, and the contest grew from a handful of golds in 2015 to about 120 a year after 2021, so recent editions weigh far more. “Most medals” is the careful reading; “best beef” is not something the data can show.
| Country | Gold medals, 2015–2026 |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 154 |
| Australia | 148 |
| United Kingdom | 133 |
| Finland | 78 |
| Poland | 59 |
| Germany | 43 |
| Japan | 41 |
| Denmark | 40 |
| Argentina | 33 |
| New Zealand | 26 |
Which cut wins?
The striploin takes most of the top titles, but the contest hands out medals within categories, so counts say more about how many categories exist than about the cut. Of the nine titles since 2017, seven went to a striploin, one to a ribeye (2019) and one to a tenderloin (2026).
Feeding does not decide it either: five winners were grain-fed and four grass-fed. The 2025 and 2026 winners, one grass-fed and one grain-fed Wagyu, show the range; see grass-fed versus grain-fed and Wagyu for what those words mean on a label.
What about the best steak restaurant?
The World’s Best Steaks list for 2025 ranked Don Julio in Buenos Aires first, followed by Margaret in Sydney, Laia Erretegia in Hondarribia, I Due Cippi in Saturnia and Burnt Ends in Singapore. The list describes itself as an annual ranking of 101 restaurants judged on meat quality, cooking technique and service; it does not publish who votes.
That is why Argentina can lead a restaurant list while ranking ninth in World Steak Challenge gold medals: a contest scores a sample and a list scores a meal. Steakpedia does not rank restaurants; its city guides list steakhouses alphabetically with their sources, and every award in this page is itemized, with its source, in the awards table.
Keep reading
- Cut · Rib, the marbled steakRibeyeEye, cap and fat seam from the rib — the marbled steak used to grade the carcass.
- Cut · Loin, the psoasTenderloinThe psoas: the most tender, leanest premium cut — filet mignon, chateaubriand, lomo.
- Breed group · Japan, BMS 1–12WagyuThe four Japanese breeds, BMS 1–12, what A5 really means, and how Kobe and Australian Wagyu fit in.
- Origin · Australia, marble score 0–9+Australian WagyuFullblood, purebred and F1, the AUS-MEAT marble score and the 9+, 300–500 days on grain, the producers on the menus, and where to buy it in Australia.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best steak in the world?
As a product, the 2026 World’s Best Steak title went to a Senku Pure Wagyu fillet from Paradigm Foods, Australia; as a restaurant meal, the 2025 World’s Best Steaks list ranked Don Julio, Buenos Aires, first.
Which country has the best steak?
No country can be called the best from the data. Ireland (154), Australia (148) and the United Kingdom (133) have the most World Steak Challenge gold medals, and Australia won the title in 2023, 2024 and 2026.
What are the best cuts of steak?
The striploin has won seven of the nine World’s Best Steak titles since 2017, with one ribeye and one tenderloin; medals are given within categories, so this is a result, not a ranking of cuts.
Where can you eat the best steak in the world?
The 2025 World’s Best Steaks list put Don Julio in Buenos Aires first, then Margaret in Sydney and Laia Erretegia in Hondarribia. Steakpedia lists steakhouses by city, without ranking them.
Sources
7
- World Steak Challenge. Previous winners and medallists, 2021–2026. William Reed, UK. worldsteakchallenge.com/live/en/page/previous-winners
- World Steak Challenge. 2026 medallists. William Reed, UK. worldsteakchallenge.com/live/en/page/2026-medallists
- Restaurant (William Reed). “Australia reclaims the title of World’s Best Steak at 2026 World Steak Challenge”, Sept. 11, 2026. www.restaurantonline.co.uk/Article/2026/09/11/australia-reclaims-the-title-of-worlds-best-steak-at-2026-world-steak-challenge
- Broadsheet. “An Aussie steak has been crowned world’s best by an international ranking”, Sept. 15, 2026. www.broadsheet.com.au/national/food-and-drink/article/australia-worlds-best-steak-paradigm-foods-senku-pure-wagyu
- Morning Advertiser. “World Steak Challenge 2025 winners revealed”, Nov. 11, 2025. www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2025/11/11/lidl-32-day-aged-irish-angus-striploin-winner-of-world-steak-challenge-2025
- FoodNavigator. “World Steak Challenge winner unveiled”, July 10, 2019. www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2019/07/10/World-Steak-Challenge-winner-unveiled
- En Primeur Club. 2025 World’s Best Steaks: 101 Best Steak Restaurants. www.enprimeurclub.com/lists/2025-worlds-best-steaks-101-best-steak-restaurants