The MICHELIN Guide was first published in the early 1900s to boost tyre sales by encouraging riders and drivers to be on the road for longer periods of time. This guide, originally given away for free, included useful information for travellers, such as fuel stations, maps, tyre-changing tips, and a list of places to sleep or eat at during their journey.

The founding Michelin brothers realised the rising significance of the restaurants’ section within their guide, and decided to employ diners to visit and review places anonymously. This unique guide now lists ratings for over 30,000 establishments in 30+ territories across three continents. More than 30 million MICHELIN Guides have been sold worldwide to date.

One Star

According to the MICHELIN Guide, restaurants with One Star are worth a stop and have a high-quality cooking standard. Though it is the lowest of the awards, earning even a single MICHELIN Star is a worthy accolade. The best way to earn a star is by crafting a quality menu and preparing great dishes consistently.

Two Stars

Rarer than ‘One Star’ dining establishments, there are only about 450 restaurants in the entire world that have been honoured with two stars by MICHELIN inspectors.

Owned by some of the best chefs in the world, two-MICHELIN-starred restaurants consistently deliver top-quality food and are likely to be well-known in the world of fine dining. The cuisine on offer at two-star dining places is so delightful that the MICHELIN Guide deems it worthy of a detour.

Three Stars

The MICHELIN Guide lists three-star fine dining places as those with exceptional cuisine that are worth a special journey. Only about 135 restaurants worldwide have been awarded with three stars.

The crème de la crème of restaurants worldwide, three-star establishments are at the pinnacle of fine dining and offer once-in-a-lifetime dining experiences. These restaurants are managed by world-renowned chefs with exceptional culinary expertise. Such restaurants are always in high demand, boasting month-long table reservation schedules.

MICHELIN’s inspectors use 5-point criteria to award Stars to deserving dining places. The criterion includes the quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavour and cooking techniques, personality of the chef in his cuisine, its overall value for money, and the consistency between visits. 

Since the assessment criteria is based solely on the quality and taste of the food, MICHELIN’s inspectors never consider the décor or the service quality of the restaurant before awarding them a Star.

Dining establishments, however, can get a ‘fork and spoon’ symbol from MICHELIN inspectors based on their unique ambience, and/or their outstanding customer service. Some other MICHELIN awards include the Bib Gourmand and The Plate.

The MICHELIN Guide also acknowledges restaurants based on regional and local variances. For example, UK/Ireland based pubs are recognised by beer mug symbols, whereas tapas bars in Spain can be distinguished by a ‘wine and toothpick’ symbol.

MICHELIN Star winning restaurants are often reinspected to ensure that their high standards are maintained.

Restaurants can lose their Star status if the food quality dips during subsequent visits. Unlike dining establishments, individual chefs cannot win MICHELIN Stars. Chefs who run multiple restaurants (in different cities or countries) can then technically hold more than three stars.