We're Smart World: Vegetable Restaurant Rankings

We're Smart World is a global culinary guide that ranks restaurants based on their creative and sustainable use of fruits and vegetables. Founded by Frank Fol, the guide covers over 1,400 restaurants across 52 countries and uses a unique 1-to-5 radish rating system.

We're Smart World occupies a unique position in the restaurant guide landscape: it evaluates restaurants primarily on the proportion and creativity of plant-based ingredients in their cooking, requiring at least two-thirds fruit and vegetable content for consideration. The guide publishes both a comprehensive directory (the Green Guide) and an annual Top 100 ranking of the world's best vegetable-forward restaurants. Founded in Belgium by Frank Fol, known as 'The Vegetable Chef,' the organization also administers Discovery Awards for innovative newcomers and collaborates with agricultural partners on sustainability initiatives. The radish rating system (1-5) evaluates culinary creativity, sustainability practices, and the ratio of plant-based ingredients.

We're Smart World is the only global restaurant guide built entirely around vegetable-forward cooking. The radish rating system (1-5) evaluates how creatively and extensively restaurants use fruits and vegetables, with a baseline requirement of at least two-thirds plant-based content.

This isn't a vegetarian or vegan guide—meat and fish aren't disqualifying. The focus is on restaurants where plant-based ingredients drive the menu architecture, not where they're relegated to side dishes or dietary accommodation. Coverage spans 52 countries and over 1,400 restaurants, from Michelin-starred establishments to casual operations that happen to prioritize produce.

The annual Top 100 ranking provides a competitive benchmark for chefs pushing the boundaries of vegetable-forward cuisine, while the broader Green Guide serves as a practical directory for diners seeking produce-driven menus anywhere in the world.

We're Smart World was founded by Frank Fol, a Belgian chef who earned the nickname 'The Vegetable Chef' through decades of advocacy for plant-forward cooking. The organization grew from Fol's culinary philosophy—branded as 'Think Vegetables! Think Fruit!'—into a formal guide and awards program beginning in 1989.

Based in Leuven, Belgium, the guide expanded from European coverage to a global operation across 52 countries. In addition to the restaurant guide and Top 100 ranking, We're Smart World administers Discovery Awards for new restaurants and collaborates with food industry partners like Greenyard on sustainability initiatives.

The organization positions itself at the intersection of gastronomy and environmental responsibility, arguing that vegetable-forward cooking represents both the future of fine dining and a practical response to sustainability challenges.

The guide's growth has tracked the broader industry shift toward plant-forward menus—a trend that has moved from niche interest to mainstream culinary movement over the past decade.

Restaurants are evaluated by a professional team of inspectors who visit venues worldwide. The primary assessment criteria center on three factors: the percentage of plant-based ingredients on the menu (minimum two-thirds), culinary creativity in using those ingredients, and commitment to sustainable practices.

Restaurants meeting these criteria are awarded 1 to 5 radishes, with higher ratings reflecting greater innovation, execution quality, and depth of the vegetable-forward approach. The annual Top 100 ranking aggregates these assessments into a global leaderboard.

Discovery Awards separately recognize new and innovative restaurants that demonstrate exceptional potential in plant-forward cuisine. The guide maintains that its evaluation focuses specifically on vegetable and fruit usage rather than overall dining quality, distinguishing it from general-purpose restaurant guides.

We're Smart World holds niche authority: it's the global reference for vegetable-forward dining excellence. While this specialization limits its relevance for diners who don't prioritize plant-based cuisine, for those who do, the guide provides validation that no general-purpose guide offers.

A 5-radish rating indicates a restaurant at the pinnacle of creative plant-based cooking globally. The guide's influence has grown alongside broader consumer and industry interest in sustainability and plant-forward dining, and its ratings carry weight among chefs who view vegetable-focused cooking as the frontier of culinary innovation.

The collaboration with agricultural partners adds credibility on the sustainability dimension that purely gastronomic guides lack. However, the guide's focus means it doesn't evaluate many aspects travelers might care about—service quality, wine programs, or overall dining atmosphere fall outside its assessment criteria.