How Many Restaurants In NYC Have Michelin Stars?

Along with its many iconic monuments and buildings, New York City is full of the hustle and bustle of tourists and locals alike. With millions of people embracing busy city life each day, a strong, versatile food service industry is necessary to fuel the Big Apple. For this reason, restaurants and food trucks can be found in seemingly all of the nooks and crannies of the city. Each restaurant develops its own unique personality through its menu and experimental business practices such as testing out remote Zoom-based cashiers.

For exactly 74 of restaurants scattered across the New York City landscape, being awarded at least one Michelin Star for 2024 is one of the things that sets them apart from the crowd in a good way. It's worth noting that not only are new stars granted on an annual basis, but they are also reassessed each year (and, as Gordon Ramsay has learned, restaurants can lose Michelin Stars).

While many of New York City's restaurants with Michelin Stars are concentrated in Manhattan, there are few sprinkled along the East River from Queens to Brooklyn. The sheer variety of menus found in this group underlines the diverse culinary landscape of New York City. If there is anything to learn from NYC innovations like the iconic Brooklyn-style pizza, it is that the culinary creativity is nigh limitless in the Big Apple.

Michelin Stars are not awarded for a restaurant's style, formality, or even the quality of their service. Instead, a Michelin Star is awarded for cooking and cooking only. Within this framework, evaluators take into account a handful of different criteria: ingredient quality, flavor harmony, technique mastery, expression of personality through the food, and consistency across the menu and over time. Considering the rigorous process behind how restaurants get a Michelin Star, you can be sure that restaurants with this accolade will more than meet your expectations.

There are other accolades restaurants can receive through the Michelin Guide. Proving that delicious, well-made food does not need to come at a steep price are restaurants that have been awarded the Bib Gourmand award. These restaurants are recognized for skillfully cooked food served at an affordable price. Also featured in the Michelin Guide are Green Star restaurants. The Green Star award is given to restaurants that center preparing, serving, and enjoying food in a sustainable manner.