New York just got 14 new Michelin restaurants | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Born in 1900 as a road guide showing French motorists where to get services like car repairs and tire replacements, the Michelin guide evolved into what is today one of the most prestigious recognitions that a restaurant can receive.

The three stars are assigned to only a select number of fine-dining establishments meeting the highest standards — Tokyo is the city with the largest number of three-star restaurants in the world — while restaurants without stars can also be recognized in categories such as Le Bib Gourmand, given to places that offer “exceptionally good food at moderate prices”, and Selected Restaurants.

The latter is used for places that have been identified as having great food but not yet rewarded with a star. On July 16, the Michelin Guide announced a series of such additions in New York and Chicago — a total of 19 new or recently-recognized restaurants added to the guide.

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‘Breathes new life into the space’: New Michelin restaurants revealed

In New York City, many newly-recognized restaurants serve cuisines that have previously gone unnoticed by the fine dining market — Laliko and Joomak serving respectively Georgian and Korean cuisine in West Village, Bay Ridge Yemenite hotspot Yemenat and Hungry Thirsty serving Southern Thai cuisine in Carroll Gardens.

“Hungry Thirsty breathes new life into the space formerly occupied by the popular Ugly Baby and now draws lines of its own for its standout southern Thai cooking,” the new guide description reads. “[…] Pla Kra Pong Tod Nam Pla is a beautiful, fried branzino served with dipping sauce that impresses with each bite, and thirteen eggs, a plate of soy sauce-marinated eggs, is a worthy accompaniment.”

Chef Paul Carmichael’s East Village restaurant Kabawa is described as a “deeply personal love letter to the Caribbean” while Cafe Kestrel in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood is singled out for modern French dishes such as the “sage-infused fried halloumi served over honey” and “duck leg confit with rich, creamy rutabaga puree.”

Many of the restaurants also look away from Manhattan and recognize new culinary talent in other boroughs. Il Gigante restaurant in the Ridgewood area of Queens is described as a “neighborhood gem [that] has quickly become a local favorite for its Italian-American dishes served in a cozy setting.

Another 16 restaurants were added to the Michelin guide earlier in 2025. In December 2024, fine dining Korean restaurant Jungsik became the first New York City restaurant to receive the coveted third star in 12 years (the first location in Seoul opened in 2009).

Tama is a Mediterranean-South American fusion restaurant in Chicago.

Tama Restaurant

Going to Chicago? There is more to Michelin dining there than Alinea

Over in Chicago, the four new Michelin-recognized restaurants are a Gilded Age-worthy dining hall inspired by Old Hollywood called Oliver’s, a fine dining regional Indian restaurant called Nadu, Mediterranean-South American fusion eatery Tama, and a trendy Mexican-Indian Mirra in the city’s Bucktown neighborhood.

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“From dum biryani with lamb barbacoa to scallop ceviche packed into crispy fenugreek roti shells, this cross-cultural menu weaves Mexican and Indian narratives in a vibrantly convincing manner,” Michelin says of the latter. “Smooth chutneys, fiery salsas, and carefully calibrated spices make for bold plates that never shy away from flavor.”