Born in Angostura, Chile, in 1987, Diego Briones opened Z’SOM in Vienna with his sommelier-wife Judith Lergetporer in 2022. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in 2025, celebrated for dishes that weave South-American roots with European precision.
Raised on the aromas of his family’s empanadas, Diego Briones left Chile at 18, cooking in Santiago and Lima—most notably in the Astrid y Gastón brigade—before stints in Canada, Spain and Asia that honed nikkei and French techniques.
In 2019 he enrolled in the Basque Culinary Center for a master’s in creativity, then joined two-star David Toutain in Paris, where the idea of a casual fine-dining space anchored in Latin identity took shape.
Choosing Vienna as “the perfect city to grow,” he and Judith launched Z’SOM—Tyrolean dialect for together—in April 2022: 22 seats, an open kitchen and a seasonal tasting menu where scallop ceviche with kombu, corn in seven textures and char-grilled pigeon meet European craft.
After just 20 months the inspectors granted a Michelin star (2025), praising “a modern mix of South-American influences and global precision.” Z’SOM joined Austria’s 82-strong constellation of starred restaurants.
Briones’ mantra—persistence, discipline, joy of flavour—also drives “Amigos Latinos,” guest-chef evenings with Latin American cooks and winemakers. His aim: “show Latin freshness beyond clichés, while honouring local Austrian produce.”
