Multiple Boston restaurants made history Tuesday night as inaugural members of the city’s first-ever Michelin Guide.
The Michelin Guide unveiled its Boston selections during a ceremony at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia on the evening of Nov. 18.
Boston joined fellow first-timer Philadelphia, as well as guides for New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. All of these cities comprise the 2025 Michelin Guide Northeast Cities edition.
After Meet Boston announced in May that The Michelin Guide would rate Boston restaurants for the first time in 2025, anonymous Michelin Guide investors set out to try and find the best establishments in all of Boston’s 23 neighborhoods as well as Cambridge and Somerville.
Inspectors judged restaurants on five criteria: product quality, mastery of cooking techniques, harmony of flavors, the personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine and consistency over time and across the entire menu. The Michelin Guide awards up to three stars to top eateries that meet these criteria, and vary based on how accurately they achieve those standards.
Restaurants that are not quite worthy of a star get the Bib Gourmand designation. These eateries are often regarded as personal favorites by inspectors when they eat out on their own time, according to Michelin. Additionally, Recommend Restaurants are considered to serve good food, but have not yet received a star or Bib Gourmand. The Michelin Green Star also recognizes restaurants that are pioneering sustainable gastronomy.
The following Boston restaurants have received recognition from The Michelin Guide:
Recommended Restaurants
- Asta
- Carmelina’s
- Giulia (Cambridge)
- La Padrona
- Lenox Sophia
- Mooncusser
- Moeca (Cambridge)
- Neptune Oyster
- Nightshade Noodle Bar (Lynn)
- Oleana (Cambridge)
- Pammy’s (Cambridge)
- Select Oyster Bar
- Somaek
- Thistle & Leek (Newton Centre)
- Toro
- Urban Hearth (Cambridge)
- Wa Shin
- Woods Hill Pier 4
- Zhi Wei Cafe
Bib Gourmand
- Bar Volpe
- Fox & The Knife
- Jahunger (Cambridge)
- Mahaniyom (Brookline)
- Pagu (Cambridge)
- Sumiao Hunan Kitchen (Cambridge)
1 Star
- 311 Omakase
2 Stars
3 Stars
In addition, Chompon “Boong” Boonnak of Mahaniyom in Brookline was bestowed the Michelin Cocktail Award.
The first edition of The Michelin Guide was released in 1900 in France. It originally served as a free booklet for French motorists that included information on car mechanics, maps, hotels and restaurants. In 1926, the Guide started awarding stars and established the three-star system in 1931.
Michelin announced its first North American Guide in 2005 for New York and has since expanded to several more cities in the U.S. and Canada. While it keeps changing, an estimated 15,000 restaurants are part of The Michelin Guide.
Boston’s Michelin Guide is available online or via the free Michelin Guide app.
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