The Micheline Star ratings system was established in 2006. They were made to help diners determine where the best food and service are.
New York City has 73 restaurants that have one Michelin star or more. That’s more than any other city in the US.
They differ in quality and style but typically offer a combination of multiple cuisines to create a menu all their own. They use the freshest, rarest ingredients such as foie gras and caviar. They also give diners multi-course meals that provide a memorable experience.
Keep watching to learn what the best Michelin-star restaurants in NYC are.
3-Star Restaurants
If you’re looking for fine dining in NYC, you want to start with the best of the best. There are only five that earned the distinction of those coveted 3 stars, but they’ve earned them for a reason.
La Bernardin
This restaurant consistently earns its title as one of the best Michelin-star restaurants in NYC. It was also ranked by La Liste as one of the world’s 50 best restaurants. It opened in Paris in 1972 but has been a 3-star Manhattan staple since the ratings were first delivered in the city.
Chef Eric Ripert has created a seafood menu with three categories; almost raw, barely touched, and lightly cooked. Standouts include their salmon served raw with a spice blend or in a French stew known as pot-au-feu. Others include the Maine lobster tail, monkfish, and peekytoe crab cake. The wine list by sommelier Aldo Sohm is also worth a taste.
A meal of 4 courses is $198. The tasting menu is $298, with wine pairing upping the price to $469. Lunch is $90, and dinner is $160. Make sure to get a reservation at least a month in advance, but you can get dining room menus at the bar and lounge at any time.
Eleven Madison Park
This best-of-the-best restaurant is located on Madison Avenue and is rated as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. It has an art-deco atmosphere thanks to the building it sits in. It’s ’run by Chef Daniel Humm who serves upscale American food.
Each seasonal menu item focuses on the main ingredient, such as a mushroom dish for fall. They even temporarily went meatless during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You’ll get a customized eating experience here. The staff will ask if you have any allergies before they serve you.
Each dish is plated better than almost anything else in NYC. The foie gras has streaks of pickled red cabbage, slivers of pearl onions, and a puck of blood sausage. Other options include cucumbers with black truffles and strawberry gelatin for dessert.
Visitors will get 8-10 simple courses. They cost $315 per person with a tasting menu that’s $175 per person. There are also options for light snacks and cocktails.
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
Despite its name, this restaurant is now located in Manhattan. It has an intimate feel with only 18 seats. What makes it even more unique is that it sits right next to a supermarket.
Chef Cesar Ramires combines Japanese and French cuisine. He makes the foods of these two vastly different cultures work together in a way that few other chefs have, and fans of either one should give his food a try.
The tasting menu has a wide variety of seafood. It changes every day to keep things fresh and stick with what’s in season. Plates are small and focused on the main ingredient. They may include a scallop with burdock root and fried monkfish liver and spicy sansho.
Guests can watch the chef cook while sitting around a stainless-steel bar. The restaurant’s wine menu is award-winning thanks to its 7,000-bottle cellar.
Their most expensive meal includes 15-20 courses with a bit of meat, shellfish, and dessert. The entire experience takes 3 hours and costs $394.36 per person.
Masa
This restaurant always passes the eye of passersby in Columbus Circle. It only lets in 26 diners at once and has no windows. You’ll feel like you’re in a secret Japanese paradise with clay, cast iron, ceramic, and glass decorations.
Masa is led by Japanese Chef Masayoshi Takayama. His menu uses seasonal ingredients to create dishes such as fish in shabu-shabu broth, saltwater eel with yuzu zest, wagyu, tataki, and summer truffles.
Masa is also the most expensive of the best Michelin Star restaurants in NYC, so be prepared to empty your wallet. Your final bill depends on what you order; each of their meals is an experience of its own.
Meals in the dining room cost $595 per person, with add-ons or drinks costing even more. It can take two hours or more to savor all 27 courses. Lunch isn’t available on Thursday and indoor dining is only available from Tuesday-Saturday.
Pay a bit more to sit at the Hinoki counter if you want to see it all being made. You’ll also get delicious wagyu beef ohmi tataki and seasonal truffles to eat while you do.
Per Se
This is another restaurant in Columbus Circle that deserves to call itself one of the best Michelin Star restaurants in NYC. It opens up the ambiance to let diners get a beautiful view of Central Park. It’s also larger than most of the others. There’s a 64-seat dining room, 10-seat private dining room, lounge, bar, and wine cellar.
Chef Thomas Keller combines American and French cuisine. One of his most famous dishes is his oysters and pearls; caviar and oysters atop tapioca pudding. Others include the tagliatelle with black truffles and 48-hour braise beef short ribs with carrots and artichokes.
There are two 9-course options, a seasonable vegetable or chef’s tasting menu. They change with the seasons and both cost $340. There’s also a vegetarian version for $355. You can also get a 5-course tasting menu in the salon for $225.
Like and subscribe to ViewCation for more on the best restaurants in your favorite cities. Keep watching to learn about more of the best Michelin Star restaurants in NYC that haven’t earned three stars.
Two-Star Restaurants
3 Stars may indicate that a restaurant is the best, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other options out there. There are plenty of other restaurants with lower grades that still belong among the best Michelin Star restaurants in NYC.
Aquavit
Aquavit is within Park Avenue Tower. It was recently renovated to make its design match its Nordic menu. Chef Emma Bengtsonn created dishes such as crab fritters, fried cod sandwiches, matjes herring, and arctic birds’ nests for dessert.
An 8-course chef’s tasting costs $275 and $225 for a wine pairing. A smaller menu is $175 and $145 for a wine pairing. Lunch is more affordable at $75 for two courses and $85 for three.
The Modern
The Modern is another worthy 2-star restaurant on the floor of the MoMA or Museum of Modern Art. It has 5-foot-ceiling windows that give you a beautiful view of the sculpture garden. You’ll enjoy dishes such as tartar, wagyu with potatoes and black truffles, charred beets with tamarind and saffron, and other French delicacies.
Dinner is 6 courses, and you can choose what you want for appetizers, entrees, and desserts with treats in between. The cost is $250 for dinner and $150 for lunch. Tips aren’t required.
Daniel
Daniel is a two-star restaurant owned and managed by Chef Daniel Boulud. Its neoclassical architecture and modern furnishings set the mood for its seasonal French menu.
A 7-course tasting menu is $275, with wine pairings available for $175 or $225. The bar offers an a la carte menu for smaller bites.
1-Star Restaurants
You can get an inexpensive meal from the best Michelin-star restaurants in NYC. Just go to the ones that are at the bottom of the list and remember that they did plenty of hard work to be there and sit above their competitors.
Aureole
This 1-star wonder is a block from times square. It has a Liberty Room for casual dining and a formal dining room. A few of their best dishes include the warm goat cheese salad, soft ramp dumplings, wagyu beef cheek goulash, crispy wild striped sea bass, and peanut and chocolate gateaux. Six courses and two drinks are only $150.
Cafe Boulud
Cafe Boulud only has one Michelin star, but it has earned three stars in the New York Times. It’s owned by Chef Daniel Boulud who also has 14 other restaurants.
Go here for a French dining experience for less money. It’s close to Central Park and sits within the Surrey Hotel.
A few of the best dishes here include paupiette of sea bass, foie gras torchon, crescent farm dutch bread, and molten chocolate cake. They even provide Madelines for dessert for free!
Recent Changes to the Ratings
The full list of Michelin-star restaurants in NY as of 2022 has been released. It was fully established on October 6.
17 new NYC restaurants got a 1-star rating for the first time in 2022, including One Wine Street, The French American Clover Hill, and Dirt Candy. Semma became the only Indian restaurant to earn a star. Korean restaurants such as Joomak Banjum, Yoshino, and No 17 also joined the list.
11 restaurants got dropped from the list. Peter Luger’s Steakhouse couldn’t bounce back from a terrible review by Pete Wells. Italian spot Marea also lost its accolade, and so did ZZ’s Clam Bar and Major Food Group.
Two new restaurants earned a two-star status. They include Italian spot Al Coro (which only opened three months ago) and Saga, a tasting spot.
New awards in addition to stars were given out. The Bib Gourmand is given to those that give two courses and a glass of wine for $49. It makes them ineligible for stars and is considered a “lesser award” but still an honor for chefs.
All of the three-star restaurants maintained their standing. Eleven Madison Park’s vegan menu didn’t go over well, but it wasn’t enough to ruin its reputation. The others also continued to provide a fine dining experience worthy of the best rating in the business.
Have you ever been to a Michelin Star restaurant in NYC? Let us know in the comments below.