Observations on the Michelin Restaurant guide

Despite its eccentricities, for French food Michelin is generally reliable in its assessments at the top of the restaurant tree, and unlike many guides takes no fees or advertisements, so is in that sense objective. There is no overall index to the various individual Guide Michelin books, so nothing that might tell you what all the 3 star places are. I have brought this information together on my site, together with reviews of these restaurants. In 2004 I had eaten at every 3 star establishment in the world at that time, and caught up with Michelin in this regard in 2008 and 2010. Of course the list of 3 star places is something of a moving target, with Michelin Red Guides coming out from October through to March each year..

Michelin has its flaws. It tends to be cautious both to give stars and to take them away, and outside of French cuisine, it can be less reliable. Michelin only gives four types of recognition to restaurants: 3 star (the best). two star, one star and the “bib gourmand” i.e. for places below a star but which are good value for money. They have also flirted with the “espoir” or “rising star” rating introduced in 2005 for certain places that might one day be promoted, though this has not proved very reliable as an indicator. Michelin offers no notes or description, just the address of the establishment and sometimes a one-liner on any specialities of the chef.

This web site is brought to you by Andy Hayler, a professional food writer based in London. Please visit andyhayler.com to read my restaurant reviews.

This site is entirely independent of, and in no way affiliated with, Michelin.