Michelin Stars, guide finally coming to New Orleans, Gulf Coast. Here's what it means.

New Orleans is famous around the world for food. Soon, the city’s restaurant scene will be getting new attention from a global brand that is a byword for culinary excellence.

The Michelin Guide announced today that it will begin assessing and ranking restaurants in New Orleans and around Louisiana for the first time.

Rankings, including potentially its coveted Michelin Stars, are set to be doled out later this year at an event, the time and place of which have not yet been named.

Michelin said its reviewers, called inspectors, are already at work visiting restaurants for potential inclusion.

Louisiana isn’t alone. It will be part of a regional guide called the Michelin Guide American South that takes in five more states: Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. This reflects a new approach from Michelin, which has previously turned its attention to individual cities or states as its guides expand in the U.S.

The new guide, which will be online, will also include restaurants in Michelin's Atlanta Guide, which was started in 2023. 

Michelin announced the new guide today with the regional tourism marketing group Travel South USA at its conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

Speculation shifts

In New Orleans, the news comes after years of speculation over when the famous food city might be up for inclusion in the Michelin Guide. Arguing over which restaurants would be likely contenders has long been a parlor sport of local dining aficionados. Now, speculation can begin in earnest on which will actually be included.

Some restaurants have set their sights on Michelin attention well before today’s announcement. For instance, after more than 30 years in business, Emeril’s Restaurant emerged in 2023 from a transformative renovation and with a tasting menu format clearly aligned with Michelin star-level standards. This new edition of Emeril's has since drawn other global rankings. 

Michelin deploys its inspectors to anonymously dine at restaurants in its chosen markets and assess them based on the quality of food, service and atmosphere. Some will be awarded stars on a three-star system, the highest rankings Michelin offers. Fewer than 300 restaurants in the U.S. now have a star rating at any level, and just 14 have the highest three-star rank.

Others may get Bib Gourmand recognition, typically for more casual, less-costly restaurants giving good quality and value, and some may also be included as "recommended restaurants" in Michelin's online guide, without a specific award status.

Marketing a food city

New Orleans & Co., the city’s tourism sales and market agency, and the Louisiana Office of Tourism are two of the local groups from the region that partnered with Michelin on the new guide, providing financial support for its entry in the market, a practice that’s become standard as Michelin has expanded in the U.S. The groups did not release financial terms of the partnership.

Walt Leger III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Co., called it a milestone in efforts to attract more international tourism and culinary tourism more broadly.

“New Orleans’ culinary scene is known and celebrated around the world as truly remarkable,” Leger said. “We look forward to aligning with one of the most well-respected travel brands in the world, Michelin, known the world over for excellence in culinary achievement. Michelin’s presence will showcase the incredible creativity of our local culinary professionals and demonstrate our restaurants’ ability to continue pushing the boundaries of cuisine through our own unique lens.”

Global accolades

Even before the guide announcement, New Orleans has increasingly been on Michelin's radar. Last year, the brand started a new rating system for U.S. hotels, called Michelin Keys, similar in concept to restaurant stars, awarding key symbols. Six New Orleans hotels made the list: Columns, The Celestine, Hotel Peter and Paul, Hotel Saint Vincent, Maison Metier and the Pontchartrain Hotel.

Earlier this year, Michelin released a French-language travel guide to New Orleans, part of a new guide division distinct from its restaurant rating system, aimed at overseas tourists coming to the Crescent City.

The city’s restaurants and culinary reputation are a big part of its draw for tourism and events, and lately it has been racking up more important accolades. In March, Time Out named New Orleans the top food destination in the world.

And last year, the city was first in North America to host an event for Bocuse d’Or, known as the World Cup of cuisine. New Orleans will again next year hold the bi-annual qualifying round for countries in North America and South America vying to make it to the Bocuse d’Or and related Pastry World Cup finals in Lyon, France.

Star treatment

While Michelin Stars and reviews have been part of the dining world for more than a century, they were a European institution until relatively recently when a global expansion began.

The first U.S. guide, for New York, appeared in 2005, and since then its range has been gradually expanding, one state or group of cities at a time.

Texas was the latest addition, late in 2024, with 15 restaurants in cities around the state getting one-star reviews and more featured in the guide below star level.

Florida’s Michelin debut in 2022 brought stars to 14 restaurants in three cities, Tampa, Miami, and Orlando, and in 2023 Colorado saw five restaurants get star ratings in its own first year as a Michelin destination.

Michelin guides now expand with financial backing from cities, tourism agencies and other associations and corporate sponsors, which underwrite the expenses of the group’s research and reviews. That’s a practice that has drawn some criticism in the industry, though Michelin has maintained that once it enters a market its culinary judgments and editorial decisions remain independent.

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