10 Michelin Star Restaurants That Live Up To The Hype & 10 That Don't
Foodies, Beware
The Michelin star is a highly sought-after accolade for aspiring fine dining chefs, but perfection doesn’t come easily. Even after you’re in, you have to maintain a certain standard to keep yourself on the map, and a highly connected online world can reveal every one of your hits and misses. Foodies everywhere, take note.
1. Shang Palace, Hong Kong
This restaurant is located in the Shangri-La hotel, but takes you on a journey across Asia with its cuisine. The ambiance is gorgeous, the service is exceptional, and you’ll want to eat more dim sum than you can possibly contain. Currently, Shang Palace has one Michelin star.
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2. Le Bernardin, New York City
Located in the beating heart of the Big Apple, Le Bernardin is a three-Michelin-star experience. Guests who have visited this restaurant speak of its quiet luxury, with an exemplary seafood menu and perfect wine pairings.
3. White Rabbit, Moscow
This Russian restaurant was the first to receive a Michelin star. It offers a dining experience that focuses on local Russian ingredients, and even includes an open kitchen element, so you can watch your meal being prepared as you wait.
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4. Disfrutar, Barcelona
Three stars for three chefs. This multi-person-operated restaurant offers two tasting menus, classic and festival, to flex their culinary skills. The restaurant is praised for its innovation, including solid bubbles and a “living table,” a personal dining experience for 2 to 6 people.
5. El Celler de Can Roca, Domeny
This three-Michelin-star restaurant is located in the northeastern part of Spain, close to the France border. It’s owned and operated by three brothers, each brother taking the lead on savory, wine, and dessert menus. The brothers grow their own vegetables and support botanical projects to push back against climate change.
6. Frantzen, Stockholm
This Swedish restaurant is well-loved for its organization, creative dishes, and solo dining experience. While quite expensive, guests who have visited this highly esteemed restaurant swear up and down that it’s worth every penny.
7. Osteria Francescana, Modena
This Italian restaurant is nothing short of elegant. The menu isn’t particularly fancy, but the chefs put their heart and soul into every dish, as he believes that food should be about the fun rather than the performance. It’s clearly working, as this restaurant has a 3-Michelin-star rating.
8. Cheval Blanc, Paris
Situated next to the Seine is the Cheval Blanc Hotel. This 3-Michelin-star restaurant adopts a variety of local cultures, taking you from Normandy, the Mediterranean, and Paris itself. Chef Arnaud Donckele is said to be a virtuoso when it comes to sauce, making dinner at this restaurant highly sought after.
9. Eleven Madison Park, New York City
This restaurant is located on East 24th Street, around the corner from the Flatiron Building. It’s highly regarded for its plant-based menu, which tastes so good you think you’d be eating animal byproducts. It’s no surprise that Chef Daniel Humm received 3 stars for his hard work and dedication.
10. Tanière³, Québec
Located on the waters of Old Québec, this avant-garde restaurant has been described as a “gastronomic research laboratory.” The food is reflective of the province’s flora and fauna, and the open kitchen will make your trip to this 2-Michelin-star restaurant unforgettable.
1. The Inn At Little Washington, Washington
Well-loved for its local produce and pear dessert, this 3-Michelin-star restaurant is reflective of a time gone by. While guests praise it for its food, service, and ambiance, many folks have left the restaurant with a heavy bill and an empty stomach, stating that there just wasn’t enough food.
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2. The Fat Duck, Bray
This 3-Michelin-star restaurant invokes a sense of play with its dishes, complete with eye masks and edible pillows. Despite its well-deserved accolades, many guests feel that the food was just fine. Normally, that wouldn’t feel like a negative review, but a restaurant this highly regarded should never equate to “just fine.”
3. Daniel, New York City
This Upper East Side staple is located two blocks away from Central Park, and has been awarded 1 Michelin star for its classic French cuisine. Many guests find the dining experience to be worthy of its previous 3-star rating, while others have noticed a decline in service and relative finesse.
4. L’Arpège, Paris
This 3-star restaurant is praised for its vegetarian cuisine and creativity with its dishes due to Chef Alain Passard’s combined love of cooking and gardening. The menu changes day to day to use the best ingredients possible, but several guests found their particular dishes to be lackluster.
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5. Alinea, Chicago
This modern and experimental Illinois restaurant is a whirlwind of different flavors, aromas, and cultures, all of which earned Chef Grant Schatz a 3-star rating. However, many guests found the food to be overly salty or simply not cooked well. The service element has also faced complaints, stating that the servers were disinterested or overwhelmed.
6. HIDE, London
This 1-Michelin-star restaurant is praised for its natural, tree-like aesthetic and excellent breakfast offers. That said, guests have mentioned poor portion sizes, hidden fees, and generally lackluster food offered at a very high price.
7. Le Cinq, Paris
This 3-Michelin-star restaurant is located in the Four Seasons Hotel on George V Rd. It’s been praised for its opulence, timeless cuisine, and outstanding desserts. The restaurant has faced scrutiny, as it was the subject of a scathing review in The Guardian back in 2017. Essentially, the restaurant is way too expensive for most folks, with appetizers and mains starting at €70.
8. Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
This 3-star restaurant is renowned for its masterful seafood preparation, blending dish themes from Chef Dominique Crenn’s French upbringing with her current California location. Unfortunately, many guests found the dishes to be bland and unsatisfactory, even having to get a second meal after leaving the restaurant.
9. Bros’, Martina Franca
This 1-Michelin-star restaurant incorporates ingredients from Puglia and is said to be a creative and contemporary experience. However, the owners of Bros’ faced backlash for their first restaurant (of the same name) back in Lecce, with many calling it the worst Michelin-starred restaurant they’ve ever been to. Unfortunately, Bros’ 2.0 is also apparently lackluster when it comes to service, with guests stating the staff seemed careless and unprofessional.
10. French Laundry, Yountville
This contemporary French restaurant holds 3 Michelin stars, and Michelin’s website even states, “this may be known as the greatest cooking space in America.” A high compliment that’s seemingly not reflected in guests' experience. Many guests find the food uninspired, the atmosphere snooty, and overpriced for the experience you get.
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