Czech Republic and the UAE: the Gault&Millau 2026 guides and award winners
Oldřich Sahajdák is Czech Chef of the Year, while Trèsind Studio and FZN by Björn Frantzén become the first five-toque restaurants in the UAE.
Two Gault&Millau guides have unveiled their 2026 editions at a gala: the second Czech edition in Prague and the fifth UAE edition in Dubai.
Czech Republic
The second Czech edition of the guide was unveiled at the National House in Vinohrady. It features 421 restaurants, 334 of which score at least 11/20 and receive toques, plus 146 venues in the POP category. No restaurant reached five toques, but the number of four-toque restaurants rose to three: Restaurant Papilio, LEVITATE and La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise. A further 17 restaurants earned three toques, including Field Restaurant, TARO and Mlýnec.
- Chef of the Year 2026: Oldřich Sahajdák (La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise)
- Great Chef of Tomorrow: Khanh Ta (TARO)
- Young Talent of the Year: Jan Horák (Reason)
- Pastry Chef of the Year: Sabina Keltnerová (Štangl)
- Sommelier of the Year: Vít Eliáš (Zlatá Praha)
- Chef of Traditional Cuisine: Jiří Hrachový (Výčep)
- POP of the Year: DOK
- Gourmet Hotel of the Year: Fairmont Golden Prague
The gala also introduced Stay & Dine, a new hotel guide featuring 176 properties that combine quality accommodation with a restaurant rated at least 10/20. The guide’s general partner is MAKRO Cash & Carry ČR.
United Arab Emirates
The fifth edition of the Gault&Millau UAE guide was unveiled at Atlantis The Royal, where more than 250 of the country’s top chefs and hospitality leaders gathered for the annual black-tie gala. For the first time, two restaurants earned the five-toque rating (19/20): Trèsind Studio and FZN by Björn Frantzén.
Trèsind Studio was the standout winner of the night, with Restaurant of the Year 2026, Homegrown Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year for chef patron Himanshu Saini and a Gault&Millau Impact Award.
La Dame de Pic, Al Muntaha and Row on 45 received four toques, and a total of 88 toques went to restaurants scoring 13/20 and above. Further Impact Awards went to Grégoire Berger, Mika Ueda, Omar Shihab and Samuel Lacroix for their influence on the UAE’s culinary evolution. The 2026 guide features 203 restaurants across four emirates, up from 193 last year.
Main photo: Chef patron Himanshu Saini and the Trèsind Studio team at the Gault&Millau UAE 2026 gala © Ajith Narendra / Gault&Millau UAE
Download the press release (PDF)
Press photos: Czech Republic · UAE