The Michelin Guide — the international restaurant star rating system run by the French tire company — is coming to Texas for the first time ever in 2024. Michelin’s Texas dining guide will include five cities in the state: Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. The final list of Texas restaurants garnering one, two, or three star-ratings will be announced later this year.
“The Texas Restaurant Association is pleased to welcome the Michelin Guide to Texas — a culinary destination that’s already earned a worldwide reputation for delicious, diverse cuisine and warm hospitality,” says the Texas Restaurant Association’s CEO Emily Williams in a quote. “We look forward to working with the Michelin Guide to drive new visitors and acclaim to Texas, creating new and repeat customers that will benefit the entire industry and the State of Texas as a whole.”
In the press release, the international director of the Michelin Guides, Gwendal Poullennec, explained the appeal of Texas: “The Texas culinary scene has proven to be an exhilarating one, with multicultural influences, homegrown ingredients and talent that is rich in ambition. Foodies and travel enthusiasts alike will find something to enjoy, with such a broad dining scene spanning farm-to-table dishes, fusion cuisine, upscale dining and the famous Texas-style barbecue. Texas is a perfect fit for the Michelin Guide, based on the experiences of our anonymous inspectors.”
Michelin will also expand its hotel guide to Texas, highlighting places it rates as being noteworthy.
Eater Austin reported earlier this year that Texas chefs, including Austin couple Lorin Peters of bakery Cookie Rich and food truck Goldy’s and Mathew Peters of high-end cocktail lounge Prélude and forthcoming tasting menu restaurant Maven, have been rallying for a Michelin Guide to Texa to come for a bit. Knight even said at the time that the Texas Restaurant Association would “always advocate for third-party endorsements that raise the food scene and profiles in cities across Texas.”
Generally, Michelin’s span covers countries and cities in Europe, Asia, South America, and North America. In recent years, the guide has been expanding its American footprint. In the past three years, there have been first-time guides in Florida (since 2022), Atlanta (2023), and Colorado (2023). And, outside of the U.S., the guide published its first Mexico edition in May 2024. The addition of a new Michelin region typically happens because local tourism boards pay Michelin to come, whether it’s through paying to promote the guides or help pay for the inspectors. It’s for that reason that Boston doesn’t have a Michelin Guide.
The format of the Texas Michelin guide is similar to how the Florida and Colorado ones are set up: focusing on specific cities rather than the entire states. Other American guides are only city-specific, like New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The California guide seems to cover the entire state.
The Michelin Guide started in 1900 as a general guide to France to encourage drivers (who ideally were using the company’s tires) to drive around. It expanded throughout Europe, but then paused during World War I, came back, and eventually switched to focusing on rating fine-dining restaurants in 1926. The full one- to three-star rating system was finalized in 1931.
Through the Michelin rating system, anonymous reviewers visit restaurants several times before being deemed good enough to earn stars. It’s also important to note that restaurants earn Michelin stars, not chefs. Those reviews are based on five factors, according to the official site:
- The actual quality of the ingredients
- How the flavors work together
- What the organization describes as “the personality of the chef in his cuisine,” which most likely means how innovative and expressive the dishes are
- How well the dishes, food, and service remain consistent throughout all visits
The inspectors will then decide whether to award the restaurants the number of stars. Zero means it doesn’t make the guide at all. And then, the rest of the star ratings are explained as follows per the guide’s system:
- One star means that the restaurant serves “high quality cooking” that is “worth a stop”
- Two stars denotes that the restaurant does “excellent cooking” that is “worth a detour”
- Three stars — the highest rating — signifies that the restaurant makes “exceptional cuisine” that’s “worth a special journey”
Outside of the main star system, Michelin also offers other types of ratings. There’s its Michelin Green Stars, which highlight highly sustainable and/or eco-friendly restaurants. And there are its Bib Gourmands, which are awarded to restaurants that the organization describe as having the “best value for money,” aka not fine-dining places.
Michelin deeming Texas as an internationally worthy dining destination is a big deal for the state . Typically and ideally, the guide will boost international tourism, where diners will seek out star-rated restaurants (there’s a reason why The Bear’s Carmy is obsessed with getting a Michelin star for his fledgling restaurant in the television series). But then, there can be adverse impacts, too. In Vancouver, it was impossible to book reservations for starred restaurants and prices soared. Likewise, sometimes the chefs behind star-awards restaurants choose to reject the stars.
Nevertheless, the arrival of Michelin in Texas brings the state and Austin into the same high-caliber dining conversations as other major states and cities around the country and the world.
