Michelin Guide Adds Only Three New Stars To Texas in 2025

The Michelin Guide brought its magic wand to Texas for the first time last year, adding its coveted stars to the sky of the Lone Star State. The famous culinary standard-bearer revealed its 2025 selection of The Michelin Guide Texas edition on October 28. The ceremony was held in Houston at the Wortham Theater Center. Here’s where Texas culinary shines, according to Michelin.

After the 2024 awards ceremony, I think it’s safe to say there was an air of disappointment throughout the state. Only 15 one-stars were awarded, with zero two or three-star stars achieved. Two green stars were awarded in Texas last year, as well.  The category of Bib Gourmand saw 44 awards in total, and 56 restaurants earned a spot on the Michelin Guide’s site as recommended restaurants. The meaning of each award is defined a bit further down.

By way of recap from the 2024 Michelin Guide Texas awards, Austin was the big winner last year with seven one-star restaurants and 14 Bib Gourmand awards. That was a big surprise for Houston, the fourth-largest city in the nation, which received a single one-star honor and 14 Bib Gourmands. While Austin is the capital of Texas, no one really believes it’s the culinary capital of the state. I think it means that Michelin inspectors simply spent more time in Austin than anywhere else during their first year here in Texas.

Dallas had only one restaurant achieve a one-star rating, with six Bib Gourmands, last year. San Antonio, likewise, had one one-star of its own with just four Bib Gourmands. Fort Worth earned zero stars and only one Bib Gourmand at the inaugural awards ceremony. San Antonio and Fort Worth are often overlooked, as they were earlier in October when Michelin awarded keys to outstanding hotels and resorts.

And the 2025 Michelin Guide Winners Are ― Few and Far Between

I think it’s safe to say that disappointment hangs heavy in the air throughout the state again tonight.

Houston racked up five new Bib Gourmand awards for Annam, ChopnBlok, Da Gama Canteen, Maximo, and Papalo Taqueria. Austin added two more with Mercado Sin Nombre, and Parish Barbecue. And, San Antonio’s only addition was Mezquite. None were announced in either Dallas or Fort Worth.

In Fort Worth’s only (and I do mean only) mention of the evening, Goldee’s Bar-B-Q maintained its Bib Gourmand status in 2025.

All fifteen of the one-star restaurants from 2024 maintained that honor. The shocker was that only three new restaurants in the entire state were added this year. Only three! That’s not much to show after a year’s worth of exploring the culinary scene in the vast state of Texas.

San Antonio added two more one-star restaurants this year. They were Isidore with its Chefs Danny Parada and Ian Lamphear, as well as Nicosi with Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph. And Dallas added another one-star as well at Mamani with Chef Christophe De Lellis. We congratulate them all.

Defining The Michelin Guide Star System

Since Michelin is new to Texas and often misunderstood, let’s start by defining terms. It’s good to understand how rare stars are and how difficult they are to both earn and maintain. Otherwise, we might really get our feelings hurt. Consistency is key; the entire dining experience is being critiqued. Inspectors make multiple visits to be sure of that consistency.

The famous one, two, and three Michelin stars designate establishments “serving exceptional cuisine that’s rich in flavor, remarkably executed and infused with the personality of a talented chef.” Exceptional. Remarkable. Infused with personality.

In the entire country, there are only 16 restaurants that have achieved three stars. And, only 35 have a two-star plaque posted outside their door. One-star ratings account for the vast majority of starred restaurants, with just 213 in America receiving and maintaining a one-star designation.

​“The Bib Gourmand,” they say, “is a designation given to select restaurants that offer good quality food for a good value ― often known as personal favorites among the inspectors when dining on their own time.”

​Other categories include the Michelin Green star honors, which are awarded to restaurants that are “pioneers in sustainable gastronomy.” And, finally, the Guide includes many other notable restaurants on its list. These are seen as “recommended” and are listed on the official Michelin site.

The Michelin Guide Slowly Marches Across North America

Michelin has been slowly gaining ground in North America ever since it announced its first Guide for New York in 2005. That’s right, they’ve only been stateside for the past 20 years total. Guides were added for Chicago in 2011, and Washington, D.C. was added in 2017. When it came to California, they launched a guide for San Francisco only in 2007, before going statewide in 2019 ― yes, a full 12 years later.

That means that until just six years ago, the only chefs and restaurateurs in North America who could achieve a Michelin star were located in precisely four cities: New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. That was it, until 2019.

Michelin added its Florida Guide just three years ago  ― beginning with Greater Miami, Orlando, and Tampa in 2022, before adding Greater Fort Lauderdale, The Palm Beaches, and St. Pete-Clearwater in 2025, and they’ll finally go statewide next year, beginning in 2026.

Then Michelin turned its gaze to the “great white north,” showing Canada some love by adding a Toronto Guide and Vancouver Guide in 2022. In 2023, the entire state of Colorado, as well as the city of Atlanta, garnered Michelin’s gaze. Last year, in 2024, Michelin arrived in Mexico, Texas, and Québec, Canada.

This year, the guide will begin its exploration of a vast region they are calling The American South, plus two of America’s most historic cities, Boston and Philadelphia, will get their first Michelin mentions. So, over the past two decades, the guide has been slow to add new culinary awards, and they are just getting their feet wet in Texas

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