Most chefs worth their salt have a dream to captain the kitchen of a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant.
The award of 3 stars is an indication that the anonymous reviewers of the Red Michelin guides thought the entire restaurant, not just the kitchen, was “worth a special trip.”
Many starred chefs claim it’s them who received the Michelin stars or other Michelin recognitions. In reality, however, stars aren’t given to an individual chef. Of course, the accolade does have a great deal to do with the quality of the kitchen’s product.
But the award is given to the entire restaurant after a number of anonymous visits to ascertain the quality, originality, and consistency of the dishes, continuing with the expertise of the bar and cellar, and ending with the restaurant’s ambience, décor, and demeanor at the front of the house.
I don’t want to brag, but through the years, I have been lucky enough to eat in many Michelin-rated restaurants – several in Spain where starred establishments are almost a dime a dozen, a couple in Scandinavia, and a few in Rome, Torino, and Milan, as well as one in Piraeus, Greece and a number in New York City.
In the past, I never had the chance to eat at El Bulli, which was repeatedly voted as the best restaurant in the world. But I have eaten at El Celler de Can Roca, which has been frequently voted best in the world, at The French Laundry in California, The Fat Duck in Bray, England, and René Redzepi’s Noma in Copenhagen, also frequently named as best in the world.
I ate at The Fat Duck and The French Laundry years ago before they were ever awarded their stars, and I definitely agree with the Michelin reviewers.
I have eaten in the outstanding Catalan El Celler de Can Roca in Girona and at Lasarte and Disfrutar in Barcelona. Also at Azurmendi, Arzak, Elkano, and Akelarre in or very near San Sebastian and at Atrio in Cáceres.
There are two 3-starred restaurants in New York City – 11 Madison Park and the classic Le Bernardin – started originally in Paris in 1972. I enjoyed both very much. I have also partaken of Thomas Keller’s cosmopolitan Per Se, and the tasting menus there are quite spectacular.
Interestingly, Chef Daniel Humm of 11 Madison Park, the Manhattan-based 3–star recipient, was just named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Food Education.
There is also one 3 Michelin starred Japanese restaurant called Masa in New York City that has some of the most impressive omakase (chef’s choice) sushi I have ever experienced. Unfortunately, Masa is also one of the most expensive restaurants I have ever dined in, so if you don’t want to drop about $750 per person to eat their omakase, there are many other exceptional Japanese establishments to try in NYC.
To be honest, however, as far as I’m concerned, a restaurant with very good food doesn’t need stars to be enjoyable. I have loved hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Manhattan’s Chinatown, where a roast duck is as authentic and tasty as possible, just as much as eating at the venerable 21 Club (now unfortunately gone) back when Chef Erik Blauberg was in charge of the kitchen.
I also enjoyed Din Tai Fung at Taipei 101 that offers the best Xiao Long Bao I’ve ever had, though it’s actually one in a chain of international city restaurants.
And some of the restaurants near my home, such as Halifax in the W Hotel in Hoboken; the Avenue, Le Club, in Long Branch; and the Troutbeck Estate Dining Room in Amenia, New York don’t have any stars. But they all have a large number of great dishes that rival any Michelin-starred restaurant I have experienced.
What about you? Have you eaten in Michelin-starred restaurants? If so, did they live up to their reputations?
Manos Angelakis is one of the founders, the former Managing Editor for 25 years, the current Managing Editor Emeritus, and Senior Food & Wine Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. He is an accomplished travel writer, photographer, and food and wine critic based in Hackensack, New Jersey. As a travel writer, he has written extensively about numerous cities and countries. Manos has also been certified as a Tuscan Wine Master and has traveled to wine-producing areas in order to evaluate firsthand the product of top-rated vineyards. In the past year, he has visited and written multiple articles about Morocco, Turkey, Quebec City, Switzerland, Antarctica, and most recently the South of France. Articles in other publications include Vision Times and Epoch Times.
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