Chicago’s Michelin-Starred Restaurants to Be Announced Today

The Michelin Guide will announce on Tuesday, November 7, which restaurants in Chicago will receive coveted Michelin stars this year. The awards are set to be doled out at a glitzy ceremony in New York City.

Last year four Chicago restaurants received stars for the first time, one of which has since closed. The remaining three—Kasama, Esmé, and Galit—all received a single star. Of last year’s honorees, Kasama (featured in the second season of FX’s The Bear) in particular made headlines for becoming the first Filipino restaurant to receive a Michelin star.

In the run-up to this year’s ceremony, the tire company and lauded award-granting body added eight new restaurants to its guide, all of which could potentially receive Michelin stars or Bib Gourmand status, an honor recognizing more affordable—and often less formal—restaurants. Michelin’s new additions to its Chicago guide include another Filipino restaurant, Boonie’s in the North Center neighborhood, along with Logan Square’s Cellar Door Provisions (which Bon Appétit described as “the perfect restaurant” way back in 2019), and GG’s Chicken Shop. There are also two izakaya and sushi restaurants on the list of potential honorees—Kyoten Next Door and Itoko—along with Obélix, a French restaurant, and the New American Atelier. Yao Yao, a Sichuan restaurant specializing in seafood, is also up for nomination this year.

If announcing Chicago’s award recipients in the Big Apple seems a little, well, weird, that’s because it’s a major change of practice for the decades-old guide. Up until last year, Michelin’s Chicago honorees were announced in the spring at a local celebration. This year, the organization will instead announce the Windy City’s star and Bib recipients in a joint ceremony recognizing restaurants in Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. While Michelin is regarded for its commitment to tradition, the guide has shaken up its announcement strategy in recent years, creating a cycle of constant hype and news through rolling reveals, teasers, and large star-studded ceremonies.

Check back tonight for the full list of Chicago’s starred and Bib Gourmand restaurants.