Intimate Wisconsin Spot Named One Of The 50 Best Restaurants In America

Wisconsin has a passion for its food and drinks, and there's real data to back that up. The restaurant and foodservice industry supports more than 253,000 jobs and pumps roughly $24.47 billion in direct economic output into the state.

From Friday fish fries to supper clubs to Door County's tucked-away kitchens, eating out is a big part of the social scene.

So, when the New York Times releases its 2026 list of America's 50 Best Restaurants, and a tiny, harbor-side Wisconsin spot makes the cut, it's a big deal.

What "The Restaurant List" Actually Is

For the 2026 edition, the Times says its scouting team was bigger than ever, with 16 critics crisscrossing the country and eating everywhere from small gems to popular spots in major cities on the coasts.

The picks aren't ranked, and any restaurant that appeared on a previous year's list is left off to make room for new finds.

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The credibility comes from the ground rules. The scouts brave the reservation apps, stand in the lines, and walk in unannounced, and they pay for every meal with no freebies. What they're chasing, in their words, is a feeling — that sense that you're somewhere like no other.

The Door County Spot That Made The List

La Sirena in Ephraim is the Wisconsin restaurant that landed among the nation's 50 best.

Set in downtown Ephraim with sweeping views of Eagle Harbor, the intimate 22-seat spot is run by chef Carlos Salgado and Emilie Coulson Salgado, the team behind the acclaimed Taco María in Orange County, California, who reoriented their whole approach for this small Door County village.

The concept is deceptively simple: Mexican preparations built on Midwestern ingredients.

Since opening in the summer of 2025, the woman- and BIPOC-owned restaurant has leaned into what the peninsula grows, from sweet corn and sour cherries to spring ramps and morels, milling heirloom corn into tortillas by hand and pouring wines from small producers around the world.

SEE NOW: 9 New Restaurants To Try In Wisconsin's Door County

As for what earned the national nod, the New York Times highlighted La Sirena's stunning natural setting and its ever-changing, season-driven menu — noting that the food shifts with the calendar, just as Ephraim itself does.

Reviewers also singled out an exemplary Caesar salad that locals have come to anticipate, a small dish that captures the restaurant's big idea: world-class technique, rooted in a place.

Wisconsin wasn't alone, either. A Minnesota spot made the same list, which says something about the whole Upper Midwest: some of the best food in America is not too far away.