Michelin Guide

The Michelin Guide is a special book about restaurants that has been made by the French tire company Michelin since the year 1900. It helps people find the very best places to eat around the world. Each restaurant that is really excellent can get up to three special awards called Michelin stars. Only a few special restaurants in certain places ever get these awards.

Besides the restaurant guide, Michelin also makes another set of books called the Green Guides. These books give general information about different cities, areas, and countries. The Michelin Guide is very important because it shows which restaurants are the most delicious and well-prepared, making it a big honor for any chef to have their restaurant chosen.

History

In 1900, there were very few cars on the roads of France. The brothers Édouard and André Michelin, who made car tires, created the Guide Michelin to help drivers. They gave away nearly 35,000 copies of this first guide, which had maps, advice for fixing tires, lists of mechanics, hotels, and gas stations across France.

The guide was made to encourage people to drive more, which would help sell more tires. Over the years, the guide expanded to many countries. During World War I and World War II, the guide was not published. After World War II, the guide started charging for copies and began listing restaurants. In 1926, the guide began giving out stars to restaurants. At first, only one star was given. Later, restaurants could receive up to three stars for being very special.

The guide has continued to grow, covering many countries and cities around the world. It now includes guides for places like New York City, Tokyo, and many others.

Transition to digital publication

The Michelin Guide stopped printing paper copies in 2021 for most places. After 121 years, it switched to being available online through a special app. This change lets more people see the guide for free. As of 2024, only a few popular areas like France, Italy, Japan, and Spain still get printed copies.

Methods and layout

Red Guides have listed many restaurants, using symbols to describe them in just two lines. They also add short summaries to help describe the restaurants better.

Stars

See also: List of Michelin 3-star restaurants

Michelin inspectors visit restaurants without telling anyone who they are. They give one, two, or three stars to restaurants that are at least very good:

•  : "High-quality cooking, worth a stop"
•  : "Excellent cooking, worth a detour"
•  : "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey".

One star means the restaurant uses top quality ingredients and makes dishes with distinct flavors. Two stars show the chef's talent in making refined and inspired dishes. Three stars is the highest award for chefs who make cooking into an art form.

Green stars

In 2020, the Michelin Guide started a sustainability emblem to show excellence in sustainable eating. Restaurants with this green star can explain their vision on the Guide's website. They can still have other awards like Michelin stars or a Bib Gourmand.

Bib Gourmand

Since 1997, the guide has highlighted restaurants that offer "exceptionally good food at moderate prices", called "Bib Gourmand". These restaurants must have meals priced below a certain amount based on local costs.

Selected Restaurants

In 2016, a new symbol called "the Plate" was added to recognize restaurants that "simply serve good food". In 2022, this tier was renamed "Selected Restaurants".

Keys, for hotels

Michelin began awarding "keys" to hotels starting in 2024. The key award is given after anonymous stays by Michelin Guide teams, using five criteria: excellence in design, quality of service, personality, value for the price, and contribution to the neighborhood. The Michelin Guide recommends over 6,000 hotels around the world.

Guides

Countries

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

Regions and cities

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

Non-restaurant food

In 2014, Michelin added a special list for gastropubs in Ireland. In 2016, the Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau began listing well-known street-food places. That same year, the Singapore guide gave the first Michelin stars to street-food spots, including Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.

Other ratings

All restaurants listed, no matter their star rating, Bib Gourmand, or Plate status, also get a "fork and spoon" rating. This shows how comfortable and nice the restaurant is, from one to five. One fork and spoon means a "comfortable restaurant" and five means a "luxurious restaurant". Red-colored forks and spoons mean the restaurant is also "pleasant".

Restaurants can also get special symbols:

• Coins show restaurants with menus at a set price or less. In 2010 in France, 2011 in the US and Japan, the highest "coin" prices were €19, $25, and ¥5000.
• Interesting view or Magnificent view symbols are for restaurants with great views.
• Grapes, a sake set, or a cocktail glass show restaurants with good choices of wines, sake, or cocktails.

Green Guides

The Michelin Green Guides review and rate places to visit that are not restaurants. There is a guide for all of France, and more detailed guides for ten regions inside France. There are also Green Guides for many countries, regions, and cities outside of France. Many of these guides are available in several languages. They provide background information and list points of interest in alphabetical order. Like the restaurant guides, the Green Guides use a three-star system to recommend sites, from "worth a trip" to "worth a detour" and "interesting".

Controversies

Allegations of lax inspection standards and bias

Pascal Rémy, a Michelin inspector from France, wrote a book in 2004 about his experiences. His job involved visiting restaurants alone and under pressure to finish reports quickly. Rémy claimed that Michelin did not visit restaurants as often as they said and might favour well-known chefs over others. Michelin denied these claims but did not share exact numbers about their inspectors.

Allegations of prejudice favouring French cuisine

Some critics outside France felt the guide preferred French-style restaurants. For example, when Michelin first gave out stars in New York City, many of the top-rated restaurants had a French style. Some people thought this showed a bias toward formal, fancy dining over more relaxed styles.

Allegations of leniency with stars for Japanese cuisine

When Michelin gave out stars in Tokyo and other Japanese cities, some wondered if the ratings were too generous. With many more restaurants in Tokyo than in Paris, some felt the stars might have been given more easily to please local customers and help Michelin's parent company sell tires in Japan.

Unwanted stars

Some restaurant owners did not want to keep their Michelin stars because they felt it changed how customers acted or made the restaurant too expensive to run. For example, a chef in Spain did not like the dishes that earned his restaurant a star and later stopped offering special menus.

Losing stars

Losing a Michelin star can be very hard for a restaurant, as many depend on the fame it brings.

Mistakes

In 2017, a café in France was accidentally given a star because it had the same name as a different restaurant.

Influence on cuisine and working conditions

Some chefs felt that aiming for Michelin stars pushed restaurants to look and act too much alike, focusing on fancy ingredients and styles. This style of dining can require long hours and hard work from staff, and some workers have complained about unfair treatment. However, many chefs still value the chance to earn a Michelin star because it brings more customers and can improve restaurant quality.