This article contains a complete list of Michelin 3-star restaurants in the United States. Michelin stars are a rating system used by the red Michelin Guide to grade restaurants on their quality. The guide was originally developed in 1900 to show French drivers where local amenities such as restaurants and mechanics were. The rating system was first introduced in 1926 as a single star, with the second and third stars introduced in 1933. [1] According to the Guide, one star signifies "a very good restaurant", two stars are "excellent cooking that is worth a detour", and three stars mean "exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey". [2] The listing of starred restaurants is updated once per year.
The Michelin Guide began reviewing restaurants in the United States in 2005 beginning with New York City. In subsequent years, Michelin expanded its reviews to other major US cities. [3]
As of the 2023 Michelin Guide, there are 13 restaurants in the US with a rating of 3 Michelin stars. [4]
Restaurant | Chef(s) | Cuisine | Location | Current | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year to star | ||||||||
Addison | William Bradley | California | San Diego | 2019 | 2021 | 2022–present | [5] | |
Alain Ducasse at the Essex House | Alain Ducasse | French cuisine | New York City | — | — | 2006 | Closed | [6] |
Alinea | Grant Achatz and Doug Alley [7] | Molecular Gastronomy | Chicago | — | — | 2011–present | [8] | |
Atelier Crenn | Dominique Crenn | French | San Francisco | 2012 | 2013–2018 | 2019–present | [9] | |
Benu | Corey Lee and Brandon Rodgers | Asian-inspired New American | San Francisco | — | 2012–2014 | 2015–present | [10] | |
Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare | César Ramírez [a] Max Natmessnig and Marco Prins [12] | Seafood, Omakase-style | New York City | — | 2011 | 2012–2022 | — | [13] |
Coi | Daniel Patterson | Seafood | San Francisco | 2008 | 2009–2016 2019–2021 | 2017–2018 [14] | Closed | [15] |
Daniel | Daniel Boulud | French | New York City | — | 2006–2010 2016–present | 2011–2015 | ||
Eleven Madison Park | Daniel Humm and Brian Lockwood | Plant-based Contemporary American | New York City | 2010–2011 | — | 2012–present | [13] | |
Grace | Curtis Duffy | Progressive | Chicago | — | 2014 | 2015–2018 | Closed | [b] |
Jean-Georges | Mark LaPico | French | New York City | — | 2018–present | 2006–2017 [18] | ||
Joël Robuchon | Christophe De Lellis | French | Las Vegas | — | — | 2008–2009 | Las Vegas is no longer reviewed | [c] |
L2O | Laurent Gras | Seafood | Chicago | 2011 | 2012–2014 | 2010 | Closed | [d] |
Le Bernardin | Éric Ripert, [21] Chris Muller, [22] and Eric Gestel [23] | French | New York City | — | — | 2006–present | [24] | |
Manresa | David Kinch [25] [26] and Nicholas Romero [27] | California | Los Gatos, California | — | 2006–2015 | 2016–2022 | Closed | [28] |
Masa | Masa Takayama | Japanese and sushi | New York City | — | 2006–2008 | 2009–present | [29] | |
Per Se | Thomas Keller [30] and Corey Chow [31] [32] | New American | New York City | — | — | 2006–present | [24] | |
Quince | Michael Tusk and Neil Stetz | Contemporary Californian & Italian | San Francisco | 2006–2013 | 2014–2016 | 2017–present | [33] | |
Saison | Richard Lee | New American | San Francisco | 2011 | 2012–2014 2019–present | 2015–2018 | ||
SingleThread | Kyle Connaughton | Japanese and New American | Healdsburg, California | — | 2018 | 2019–present | [9] | |
Smyth | John Shields | Contemporary | Chicago | 2017 | 2018–2022 | 2023 | [34] | |
The French Laundry | Thomas Keller and David Breeden [35] [36] | French with California influences | Yountville, California | — | — | 2007–present | [37] | |
The Inn at Little Washington | Patrick O'Connell | Nouveau American | Washington, Virginia | — | 2017–2018 | 2019–present | [38] [39] | |
The Restaurant at Meadowood | Christopher Kostow | California | St. Helena, California | — | 2008–2010 | 2011–2019 | Closed | [e] |
Indicates a restaurant with one Michelin star | |
Indicates a restaurant with two Michelin stars | |
Indicates a restaurant with three Michelin stars |
Benu is the first restaurant in San Francisco to have received Three Michelin Stars. Located in the SoMa district, Benu was opened in 2010 by chef Corey Lee, the former Chef de Cuisine at the French Laundry.
Thomas Aloysius Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, including Best California Chef in 1996 and Best Chef in America in 1997. The restaurant was a perennial winner in the annual Restaurant list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World; the voting process has since been changed to disallow previous winners from being considered.
The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredients; she was a visionary chef and pioneer of California cuisine. Since 1994, the chef and owner of The French Laundry is Thomas Keller. The restaurant building dates from 1900 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Thomas Patrick Colicchio is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, which includes Craft, Temple Court (NYC), Craftsteak and Small Batch restaurants. Colicchio is the recipient of five James Beard Foundation Awards for cooking accomplishments.
Eric Ripert is a French chef, author, and television personality specializing in modern French cuisine and noted for his work with seafood.
Le Bernardin is a three-Michelin star French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Eric Ripert is the executive chef, and he is co-owner along with Maguy Le Coze.
Per Se is a New American and French restaurant at The Shops at Columbus Circle, on the fourth floor of the Deutsche Bank Center at 10 Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City. It is owned by chef Thomas Keller, and the Chef de Cuisine is Chad Palagi. Per Se has maintained three Michelin stars since the introduction of the New York City Guide in 2006.
David Kinch is an American chef and restaurateur. He owned and operated Manresa, a restaurant in Los Gatos, California, which was awarded three Michelin stars in 2016. Kinch's California cuisine has strong French, Catalan and Japanese influences. Kinch opened a second restaurant in Los Gatos, called The Bywater, on January 12, 2016.
The Restaurant at Meadowood was a Michelin Guide 3-star restaurant at the Meadowood Napa Valley resort in Napa Valley, California which specialized in local, sustainable California cuisine. The restaurant applied a "slightly more modern approach" with the use of emulsifiers, gelling agents and stabilizers.
Daniel Humm is a Swiss plant-based chef and owner of Daniel Humm Hospitality, the New York-based hospitality group behind the highly acclaimed Eleven Madison Park, Clemente Bar, and direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand Eleven Madison Home. In September 2024, he was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for food education due to his advocacy for sustainable food systems.
Manresa was a restaurant in Los Gatos, California that specialized in California cuisine. It was founded in 2002 by chef David Kinch. The Michelin Guide: San Francisco, Bay Area and Wine Country conferred two Michelin stars on the restaurant in 2007, and upgraded it to three stars in 2016.
Christopher Kostow is the executive chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, California. Under chef-owner Kostow, The restaurant was awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide consecutively from 2011 to 2019. In 2013, Chef Kostow was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Chef: West".
Bouchon is a French-style restaurant with locations in Yountville, California and Las Vegas. The restaurant was founded by Thomas Keller in 1998.
Gilbert Le Coze was a French chef known for his innovative methods in seafood preparation. Le Coze's cooking has been compared to Japanese cuisine and has influenced a generation of American cooks.
Quince is a restaurant in the Jackson Square neighborhood in San Francisco, California. Opened in 2003 by chef Michael Tusk and his wife, Lindsay, in Pacific Heights, the restaurant has been located in Jackson Square since 2009. A sister restaurant, Cotogna, opened next door in 2011.
Maguy Le Coze is a restaurateur and the co-owner of Le Bernardin in New York City.
SingleThread is a farm, restaurant, and inn, located in Healdsburg, California.
Corey Lee is a Korean-American chef and restaurateur based in San Francisco. In 2014, his flagship restaurant, Benu, became the first in San Francisco to receive three Stars from the Michelin Guide, making Lee the first Korean chef to garner that accolade. In 2019, Benu made its debut on The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Lee is also a two-time James Beard Award winner and a goodwill ambassador to Seoul.
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