Vietnam surprised many food fans by disappearing from the latest Readers’ Choice list of the world’s best food countries. Last year the country was ranked fourth, just behind Thailand, Italy and Japan.

This year Italy earned the top spot with 96.92 points out of 100. Greece came second, Portugal third and Japan fourth. Thailand slipped to eighth place, and the rest of the top ten were Turkey, Indonesia, Spain, Croatia and South Africa.

Industry insiders are disappointed because Vietnam’s cuisine is now a big draw for tourists. The country was recently named the world’s top culinary destination for 2026 in the NZ Herald Travel Readers’ Choice Awards, and since the Michelin Guide entered Vietnam in 2023 it has given one star to 11 Vietnamese restaurants.

The contrast shows that even with new international recognitions, Vietnam can still be left out of some major food rankings. It highlights a puzzling gap between the country’s growing fame and its absence from this year’s list.