It’s finally here: Michelin — the tire company behind the international dining review system — announced the awardees of its first-ever Texas guide on November 11, spanning Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. The ceremony was presented in Houston and live-streamed on YouTube.
Michelin Guide Texas includes so many Austin restaurants. Seven received one star; 15 Bib Gourmands; 23 recommended designations. Absolutely no two or three stars were awarded to any Texas restaurants. The full Austin list follows below; check out Houston’s and Dallas’s lists on their respective sites.
Four Texas barbecue restaurants have received first-ever stars for American-style barbecue, including Austin’s Interstellar BBQ, La Barbecue, and LeRoy . They joins Singapore’s Australian-style barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends and Japanese wagyu barbecue restaurant Oretachi No Nikuya in Taiwan,
The first Michelin award of the evening went to Dallas cocktail bar Rye manager Julian Shaffer for the Exceptional Cocktails Award. Beckman shared that she was “panicking a little bit but completely honored” on stage. The first Austin award went to Edgar Rico of Mexican restaurant Nixta Taqueria for the Young Chef Award. Only two Austin chefs won the Michelin Green stars — Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due and Emmer & Rye’s Kevin Fink.
For San Antonio, Mexican tasting menu restaurant Mixtli’s Hailey Pruitt and Lauren Beckman won the Service Award; the restaurant also received a star. Emmer & Rye’s San Antonio dessert menu restaurant Nicosi got a recommended designation.
Well before Michelin’s Texas announcement in July, its famously anonymous inspectors have been on the ground in the state reviewing restaurants in the five cities and determining which dining establishments are worthy of its stars. Their criteria is based on the quality, creativity, and consistency of the food, ingredients, and dishes. Notably, the website notes that they “do not look at the interior decor, table setting, or service quality.”
Michelin’s star designations breaks down as follows:
- Three Michelin stars indicate restaurants that serve “exceptional cuisine” that is “worth a special journey,” per its website.
- Two stars are given to restaurants that offer “excellent cooking” that is “worth a detour.”
- Single stars are awarded to restaurants that have “high quality cooking” that’s “worth a stop.”
Then there are Michelin’s Bib Gourmands, which are typically given to what the organization describes as places with “good cuisine at reasonable prices,” which is basically just comparatively more affordable and casual restaurants than starred ones. Then there are its Michelin Green Stars given to restaurants that implement highly sustainable and/or eco-friendly practices. And finally, there are its recommended list, which includes restaurants that are good, but not good enough for any of the labels above.
To bring Michelin to Texas, for three years, the state and respective cities’ tourism boards are paying a collective $2,700,000 (Visit Austin’s share of that is $90,000 per year, using the city’s hotel occupancy tax).
Young Chef Award
Edgar Rico of Mexican restaurant Nixta Taqueria (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
Three Star Austin Restaurants
Two Star Austin Restaurants
One Star Austin Restaurants
Bib Gourmands in Austin
- Lockhart barbecue restaurant Barbs B Q (and one of Eater’s best new restaurants)
- Biscuit barbecue truck Briscuits
- Food truck Cuantos Tacos
- New Texan restaurant Dai Due
- African American barbecue truck Distant Relatives (and Eater Award-winning food truck)
- New Texan restaurant Emmer & Rye (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
- Barbecue restaurant Franklin Barbecue
- Japanese Texan izakaya Kemuri Tatsu-ya (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
- Egyptian Texan barbecue truck KG BBQ (and Eater Award-winning food truck)
- Barbacoa food truck La Santa Barbacha
- Barbecue food truck (turning into a physical restaurant later this winter) Micklethwait Craft Meats
- Mexican restaurant Nixta Taqueria (its second of the evening)
- New Texan restaurant Odd Duck (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
- Mexican Japanese restaurant Ramen del Barrio (and Eater Award-winning restaurant)
- Mexican restaurant Veracruz Fonda & Bar (from the Veracruz team)
Michelin Recommended Austin Restaurants
Michelin Green in Austin
- New Texan restaurant Dai Due (its second of the evening)
- New Texan Emmer & Rye (its third of the evening)
