Michelin will reveal the Texas restaurants in its latest guide on Thursday via press release, instead of a live ceremony.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
In its third year in Texas, Michelin will reveal the list of restaurants included in its esteemed guide Thursday morning.
Unlike in prior years, which included a lavish in-person ceremony, the announcement will be made to the media via press release.
Six Houston restaurants currently have one Michelin star, and 22 earned Bib Gourmand recognition. Another 16 restaurants were designated as Recommended on the guide. Restaurants must earn their distinctions each year, and new restaurants can be added to the list.
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Here’s what to know ahead of the announcement.
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What is Michelin?
Michelin launched in France in 1889 as a tire company. The guidebook developed when founders and brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin created a little red book with information like maps and fuel spots, meant to encourage road-tripping.
In 1926, the company began awarding stars to restaurants, primarily fine dining spots. Since then, it has grown into a restaurant rating behemoth that says it ranks more than 40,000 establishments across the world.
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Today, restaurants can receive up to three stars, Michelin’s highest recognition. A single star, per the Michelin Guide, indicates high quality cooking “worth a stop.” Two stars recognize food “worth a detour” and three stars are “worth a special journey.” (No restaurants in Texas earned more than one star last year.)
Beyond the star system, Michelin also recognizes a larger group of restaurants as Bib Gourmand spots, meaning critics think they serve excellent food at reasonable prices. “Recommended” establishments provide “simply a good meal,” in the words of former Michelin Guide international director Michael Ellis.
Michelin Guide inspectors, who decide which restaurants deserve what recognition, are all anonymous. They profess to judge restaurants entirely on the quality of the food, rather than service or ambiance.
Why come to Texas?
Michelin debuted in North America in 2005 with a guide to New York and has since expanded to about 15 locations across the continent.
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It came to Texas after years of growth in the local restaurant scene, covering five cities: Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
But the expansion into Texas wasn’t free. Over the contract’s duration, the five cities each paid $270,000, for a combined total of $1.35 million, which the state matched.
Now that the three-year, $2.7 million contract is coming to a close, questions about Michelin’s future in Texas have surfaced. Neither the state nor the cities — Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio — has provided concrete details on the contract’s status or ongoing negotiations. Michelin has said it plans to stay in a market once it enters, as the Austin American-Statesman first reported.
Who did Michelin recognize last year?
Eighteen restaurants in Texas earned a one-star rating last year, retaining their stars from the year before: six in Houston, seven in Austin, three in San Antonio and two in Dallas.
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Beyond that, 52 restaurants received Bib Gourmand status and 70 were named Recommended.
The guide also awarded four special awards, including one for service to Elliot Wood of Credence. Three restaurants in Austin and one in San Antonio received sustainability-focused Green Stars. In total, Michelin recognized 140 restaurants.
Michelin stars in the Houston area primarily went to fine-dining establishments.
At Spanish restaurant BCN Taste & Tradition, for example, the guide praised both the seafood and suckling pig, describing their “flair and familiarity.” French spot Le Jardinier offers “accomplished sauces, seasonal vegetables and thoughtful cocktails,” the guide said, and Galleria fine-dining Indian restaurant Musaafer has “high style and utterly gratifying substance.”
The guide described fine-dining spot March as “utterly disarming,” with “gorgeously plated dishes.” Maiz-driven Tatemo “delivers a beautifully pitched and portioned experience.”
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And Spring’s CorkScrew BBQ, the only more affordable local restaurant to earn a star, was hailed for smoking “some of the finest brisket and beef ribs in the state.”
Notably, for the Texas Guide, Michelin emphasized barbecue. Beyond CorkScrew, seven barbecue spots in the Houston area landed on the Bib Gourmand list and two on the Recommended list. In Austin, three of the seven starred establishments focus on barbecue.
Here’s the full list of Houston-area restaurants that received Michelin recognition.
Annam
ChopnBlok
Da Gama Canteen
Maximo
Papalo Taqueria
Belly of the Beast
Blood Bros. BBQ
Casaema
Killen’s (since closed)
Killen’s BBQ
Mala Sichuan Bistro
Nam Giao
Nancy’s Hustle
Nobie’s
Pinkerton’s Barbecue
The Pit Room
Rosemeyer Bar-B-Q
Rosie Cannonball
Street to Kitchen
Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue
Theodore Rex
Truth BBQ
Agnes and Sherman
Bar Bludorn
Baso
Bludorn
Brisket & Rice
Candente
Credence
Hidden Omakase
Hong Kong Food Street
J-Bar-M Barbecue
Josephine’s
Late August (since closed)
The Marigold Club
Neo (temporarily closed)
Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
Perseid
What might change this year?
If this year is anything like last, there may not be a big shakeup in honorees. Only three restaurants received new stars last year — one in Dallas and two in San Antonio — while the 15 starred restaurants from 2024 retained their honors.
Some of the newest honorees could be Camaraderie, the casual-sleek Heights restaurant with upscale plating. Chef Manabu “Hori” Horiuchi’s restaurants have gone without Michelin recognition for two years, but his sushi restaurant, Katami, could be a strong candidate. This year he debuted Sushi Horiuchi, a six-person omakase. Zaranda could be a contender for recognition from chef Hugo Ortega.
But these are only our guesses; with Michelin’s exact processes shrouded in secrecy, anything could happen.
The biggest difference from the past two years is that the new honorees will not experience the moment their names are called on stage at a grand Michelin ceremony. Michelin doesn’t host a ceremony for every new guide in the regions where it operates.