A foodie dream come true: Charlotte restaurants could soon earn a Michelin star
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Does Michelin have its starry eyes on North Carolina for a Guide?
The Michelin Guide is a review of the best restaurants in the world.
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For the first time, a Michelin Guide will showcase the best restaurants in the American South — including North Carolina.
Taking a regional approach, the Michelin Guide American South will target the “food culture” of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee while incorporating its pre-existing Atlanta Guide.
“We are excited to embark on this new journey for the MICHELIN Guide as this will be the first time since the Guide’s North American debut in 2005 that we are launching a regional selection,” Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, said in a news release.
“The cuisine of the American South is a unique product of diverse influences creating an iconic array of specialties prepared by proud and impressive culinary talent.”
Michelin Inspectors are already at work, scouting for exceptional restaurants throughout the guide’s coverage area. The full 2025 restaurant selection will be revealed at a later date.
“Michelin focuses on destinations that meet its rigorous criteria and has yet to establish a presence in many cities and regions where the culinary scenes have gained substantial traction in recent years,” Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority’s senior director of brand marketing and strategy, Laura White, said..
“While recognition is not guaranteed, we firmly believe Charlotte’s dynamic culinary identity and growing influence in the Southeast food scene make it a strong candidate for consideration by the Michelin Guide American South. We are proud to partner with Visit NC and Travel South USA on this debut initiative.”
A first for the U.S.
The multi-state guide will be the first of its kind in North America, perhaps akin to how the Michelin Guide for The Nordic Countries covers Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. There are guides covering all of Canada and Mexico, but U.S. guides up to this point have covered cities or individual states.
Until now, North Carolina restaurants haven’t even been recognized by the Michelin Guide — only its hotels.
Chef Sam Hart, who owns the Charlotte tasting restaurant Counter- and focuses his travel on Michelin Star restaurants, has told CharlotteFive that the Guide’s arrival in the area will bring big changes in the city’s dining scene.
“The biggest thing that’s going to take place is a realization and understanding of Charlotte from a global perspective. ... We really only look at it from the perspective of what’s inside our bubble.
“What the Michelin Guide will do is show what our city looks like in comparison to these international cities. Being a part of the Michelin Guide is something like a massive lightning bolt,” Hart said.
The Michelin Guide’s evolution
The next step: Michelin Guide inspectors will decide if restaurants are worthy of a Michelin Star, a Bib Gourmand rating or a recommendation.
Michael Chilly Winters, a Charlottean whose hobby involves travel to restaurants covered in the Michelin Guide, said it used to exclusively focus on high-end, fine dining establishments. But that has begun to change.
“Back in the day, it would have only been like white tablecloth, fine dining that would get stars, 100% ... These days, the guide is recognizing excellence in any style of cuisine,” he told CharlotteFive.
For example, a hawker stall in Singapore received a Michelin Star in 2016 to much surprise, although that star was later lost. And when the guide expanded to Texas in 2024, four barbecue restaurants were awarded Michelin Stars, with others recognized as Bib Gourmands (high-quality food at a reasonable price) or “recommended” spots.
However, Winters points out that despite the “branching out,” the “vast majority” of Michelin Stars still go toward “more elevated fine dining.”
“This is not to say that it can’t be delicious if it has a Star or not — it’s just, that is what historically the guide has done,” he said.
Hart shared the same thought: “As mysterious as Michelin is, they’re very up front about how they rate a restaurant,” they said. “A one-Star showcases exemplary cooking. A two-Star is worthy of a detour. A three-Star is worthy of a special journey.”
Charlotte restaurants to watch
No one can say for sure what will happen, but there are a handful of Charlotte restaurants that well-versed onlookers think will be under consideration by Michelin Guide inspectors — including several that have gotten attention from the James Beard Awards.
“There are definitely a few restaurants that people are keeping eyes on,” Hart said.
For Hart, that would include: L’ Ostrica, Customshop, Kappo En and the Omakase Experience by Prime Fish — in addition to their own restaurant, Counter-.
“Based on flavors alone,” Winters’ contenders for a one-Star restaurant in Charlotte would be Supperland, Customshop and Restaurant Constance.
Others he mentioned with potential for some kind of consideration are Kappo En, L’Ostrica and Counter-.
“But the problem is — and what I think a lot of people don’t understand, because I just watched this happen when the guide came to Texas ... — is that it’s not a question of the food is good, or it is even delicious or anything like that. It’s, does it fit into how does it stack up with the five criteria that the guide officially is looking for? ... If they aren’t meeting those, you’re not going to get a Star.”
Hart also pointed out similarities with North Carolina and Texas barbecue culture, noting that some of the area’s casual restaurants could be under consideration, as well.
“I think the biggest surprise of North and South Carolina, if a guide happens, that John G’s barbecue would get a Michelin Star. I firmly believe that,” Hart said.
What the Michelin Guide will change
Beyond Charlotte’s restaurants, Hart sees the potential for a carryover impact from the Michelin Guide’s arrival on local farmers in North Carolina, too.
“I’ve always said that California and Florida, they can grow anything, so they only grow the few things that can’t grow anywhere else. Whereas here in North Carolina [there] is just a crazy diversity that has grown here — and just a beautiful amount of small farmers instead of these massive conglomerate farmers. And hopefully, you know, this will promote more small farming,” they said.
Food-and-drink tourism is another area for potential growth, as well.
“I think it will start the conversation of having people at at least consider coming to Charlotte to dine,” Winters said.
“Maybe they won’t make a trip specifically to dine here — in my experience, that is generally reserved for like places with two or three Stars, especially if you go by the shorthand definitions of what the guide says their stars are worth.
“But it has an undeniable impact on bringing people in and bringing more chefs into the city to try and chase those stars,” Winters said.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 9:53 AM with the headline "A foodie dream come true: Charlotte restaurants could soon earn a Michelin star."
