A Michelin Star is awarded to unique restaurants to symbolize a hallmark for exceptional and high-standard services. It also means the food at any Michelin Star restaurant, especially in Las Vegas, is expensive and out of reach for those who prefer a budget dining experience.
Las Vegas is booming with many five-star restaurants from Guy Fieri’s impressive chains of eateries and the controversial Heart Attack Grill. Despite these restaurants’ remarkable portfolio and food curation, only a handful have received the Michelin Star.
This is shocking considering the late Joël Robuchon held an astounding 32 Michelin Star record, which has not been broken to date. The recognition is given to restaurants instead of the respective chefs of the restaurants. However, if a chef runs a Michelin star restaurant, then they can be recognized as a Michelin Star chef indirectly.
Each restaurant gets a maximum of 3 stars and a minimum of zero. Which is to say, if a chef owns several restaurants with Michelin Star ratings, then they can accumulate the sum of all those stars like Joël Robuchon.
So, what is so special about this Michelin Star?
What is a Michelin Star?
A Michelin Star is a rating, mark of quality, or an approval stamp that shows the culinary excellence of top-notch restaurants. The mark is given based on the high standards of each restaurant with keen attention to every service provided in the restaurant. However, the Michelin Star excludes certain aspects that include the cuisine style and price.
Even though the rating system excludes the price, you will often find that Michelin Star restaurants have a relatively expensive menu. You would think the rating system would use a five-star rating, with one being the lowest and five the best of the best; however, this is not the case for Michelin.
There are three Michelin Star categories: 1 star, two stars, and three stars. Any of these ratings indicate exceptional services. Three stars on a restaurant is rarely attainable, but a 1-star rating is still incredible for any restaurant.
10 Michelin Star Restaurants in Las Vegas
1. Joel Robuchon
- Michelin Star Rating: 3 Stars
- Address: MGM Grand Hotel 3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
- Website: mgmgrand.com
- Telephone number: (702) 891 7925
Joel Robuchon, this is an infamous Michelin Star restaurant in Las Vegas that has held a 3-star rating for years. The restaurant was designed to look like an Art Deco townhouse. It is filled with a lush garden terrace and also has marble floors.
Joel Robuchon was named one of the most influential chefs globally and even got the ‘Chef of the Century” honor from Gault Millau in 1989. This is just one of the restaurants that were named after him, and it indeed does not disappoint.
The restaurant serves unique dishes like the osetra caviar served atop king crab in a crustacean gelee, all dotted with cauliflower puree. There is king crab and broccoli that is served as a cold appetizer and a hard-boiled egg stuffed with king crab.
Another unique dish is the Le crabe royale which has Alaskan King crab, salad of avocado and tomato in the heart of romaine and olive oil.
2. Restaurant Guy Savoy
- Michelin Star Rating: 2 stars
- Address: Caesars Palace 3570 S Las Vegas Blvd
- Website: caesarspalace.com
- Telephone number: (702) 731 7286
Restaurant Guy Savoy is a fine French restaurant at Caesars Palace that is sometimes referred to as the best restaurant in Las Vegas.
The restaurant is filled with Chef Guy Savoy’s signature dishes, including the Octopus terrine, colors Caviar, and the artichoke and black truffle soup that comes with toasted mushroom brioche and black truffle butter.
3. Picasso
- Michelin Star Rating: 2 Stars
- Address: Bellagio Hotel 3600 S Las Vegas Blvd
- Website: Bellagio.com
- Telephone number: (702) 693 8865
Picasso is a Forbes Travel guide five-star and AAA restaurant that celebrates Pablo Picasso’s renowned paintings in style. The meals are laid well by the executive Chef Julian Serrano, whose dishes are inspired by France and Spain cuisines.
The Fountains of Bellagio romantic artistry is strategically placed for guests to admire while dining on the patio. The main course consists of butter-poached Maine lobster, sauteed filet of black bass, roasted milk-fed veal chop, roasted pigeon, and sauteed medallions of fallow deer.
Also Read: Most Romantic Restaurants in Las Vegas
4. Wing Lei
- Michelin Star Rating: 1 star
- Address: Wynn Las Vegas 3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
- Website: wynnlasvegas.com
- Telephone number: (702) 770 3388
Wing Lei is the first Chinese eatery in the United States to earn a Michelin Star. The restaurant holds this honor in high regard, and it shows in its impeccable services. The restaurant serves amazing cuisines that hold flavors from Cantonese, Szechuan, and Shanghai.
The main menu consists of Alaskan king salads, Crispy Wagyu beef rolls, honey-glazed BBQ spare ribs, garden dim sum, marinated jellyfish, chilled abalone, and pan-seared pot stickers, just to mention a few. You can expect to spend between $18 and $36 per dish.
Also Read: 18 Best Chinese Restaurants in Las Vegas
5. Aureole
- Michelin Star Rating: 1 Star
- Address: Mandalay Bay Resort 3950 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV 89119
- Website: mandalaybay.mgmresorts.com
- Telephone number: (702) 632 7401
Aureole offers wine-inspired cuisines that are paradise to any wine lover. The four-story climate-controlled wine tower is the perfect location for such a fantastic restaurant. They feature an all-inclusive menu with seasonal delicacies prepared and managed by Chef Charlie Palmer and Award-Winning Chef and Chef Anthony Taormina.
The tasting menu includes beets and burrata (prosciutto, pistachio, arugula), truffle fagottini (parmigiano brood), Alaskan Halibut (chestnut, soubise, Romanesco), wagyu rib cap (shishito pepper, black garlic), and coffee panna cotta.
6. Michael Mina
- Michelin Star Rating: 1 star
- Address: 3600 S Las Vegas Blvd at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino
- Website: Bellagio.com
- Telephone number: (702) 693 8199
Michael Mina is the internationally renowned Chef Michael Mina runs a Seafood restaurant. The restaurant is an award-winning dining place that has been featured in Forbes and other major news outlets. Michael Mina focuses on freshness, precision, and flavors that surpass many seafood restaurants.
The meals are well prepared and use high-quality ingredients, which are flown in by private planes daily. The restaurant features five-star services and cuisines that will make anyone outside envious.
The menu consists of Michael Mina’s signature caviar selections that feature Mina’s caviar parfait and traditional royal caviar service. There is a golden osetra on the choices as well as Kaluga and Russian osetra.
Also Read: 12 Best Restaurants in Bellagio Las Vegas
7. Le Cirque
- Michelin Star Rating: 1 star
- Address: 3600 S Las Vegas Blvd at the Bellagio Hotel
- Website: lecirque.com
- Telephone number: (702) 693 8100
Le Cirque is a coveted Strip destination with a plethora of awards from the AAA five Diamond Award to the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Rating, and a telling one-star from the Michelin Guide.
Le Cirque is a French restaurant located by the lakeside, providing transcendent meals that are complimented with the breathtaking surroundings. The cuisines range from basic but well-made foods like the egg roll tasting sea bass to the impeccable truffle over sea bass.
Other must-try dishes include the potato-crusted Mediterranean Sea bass, Ossetra caviar, Hawaiian Kampachi, and Rocotta Gnudi.
The wine list blows every Strip restaurant out of the water. It is an attentive list with great selections from all over the world. Opt for the sommelier’s pairing at just $188 per person.
8. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
- Michelin Star Rating: 1 Star
- Address: 3799 Las Vegas Blvd S at the MGM Grand Hotel.
- Website: mgmgrand.com and jrbuchon.com
- Telephone number: (702) 891 7358
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon is a 2009, one-Michelin Star rated restaurant named after Joel Robuchon, famously referred to as France’s ‘Chef of the Century. The restaurant obtained its Michelin Star from its unique concept of preparing food right before your eyes. The high-quality cuisines are a plus to the friendly and interactive ambience.
The restaurant delivers a top-of-the-line experience with constant innovation from its lead Chef. All the renditions are owed to Chef Joel Robuchon’s motto – ‘I constantly strive; my work is permanent research, my permanent obsession with the quality of one’s labor.’
Feast on the Le Burger, a beef and Foie gras burger that comes with Sauteed Bell Peppers. If that doesn’t entice you, choose the Le Foie Gras that is constricted by moi. Another great option is the Le Cailler, a caramelized quail dish filled with foie gras and served with potato puree.
9. DJT
- Michelin Star Rating: 1 Star
- Address: 2000 Fashion Shor Dr at The Trump International Hotel
- Website: trumphotels.com/las-vegas/dining/fine-dining-las-vegas
- Telephone number: (702) 982 0000
DJT is an American restaurant that serves modern American and Nouveau American cuisines. Dishes include jumbo shrimp cocktail, carrot-ginger soup, mignon, salmon, shrimp, chicken, and Chinese braised short ribs.
The décor of DJT is filled with purples- and eggplant-colored walls. There are booths at the center of the restaurant, and the curtains are plush. You can eat in peace due to the private dining room that has a separate entry. There are also semi-private banquets that are amazing for a romantic evening with your loved one.
10. Nobu
- Michelin Star Rating: 1 Star
- Address: Caesars Palace at 3570 S Las Vegas Blvd and 4455 Paradise Rd Virgin Hotel and Casino
- Website: noburestaurants.com
- Telephone number: (702) 693-5090
Nobu is a Japanese and Asian restaurant located in the Virgin Hotels and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It is known for its imported seafood and exotic delicacies that cater to vegan, gluten-free, and meat-loving clientele.
Their menu is exciting and full of high-quality selections, which earned it the 1-star Michelin rating. They have a well-dressed salad that you can have with the firecracker shrimp. The miso steak is to die for. The restaurant is fusion, bringing together Japanese and Peruvian cuisines to the American people.
A few recommendations from us include: the rockfish tempura has some crunch and a lot of shrimp, the rib eye smothered with tasty sauce and has a light scrip, and finally the yellowtail jalapeno.
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What the Michelin Star Ratings Mean and How They Are Ranked
Here are what the stars mean:
- One star rating – any restaurant in this category is referred to as an excellent restaurant’. This indicates high-quality cooking that surpasses most restaurants of its caliber. The rating was first established in 1926.
- 2-star rating – any restaurant in this slot is said to have ‘excellent cooking that is worth a detour.’ This rating was added in 1933 together with the 3-star rating.
- 3-star rating – any restaurant in this category is said to have ‘exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.’ The category is filled with restaurants that provide a one-of-a-kind experience that you would not find in many high-class restaurants. It is the less occupied mark of quality.
The system is not based on the reviews of customers. Instead, the Michelin Star rating system focuses on the investigation and opinions of a group of food experts. These experts go undercover anonymously to the selected restaurants to test the food and rate the overall service by themselves. Nobody knows who the experts are, and this is by design to make sure no restaurant is given any favors.
The criteria for ranking the restaurants are based on the quality of food ingredients, the taste, and the methods used to prepare the food. Aspects like restaurant décor are not considered, and neither are the prices or style of the cuisines.
To ensure the ratings are perfect and unbiased, the anonymous experts visit the restaurant 3 to 6 times to have various experiences for comparison. The restaurants will receive several inspectors; this helps get a broad perspective on the joints.
Any restaurant with a Michelin Star can lose it if their standards decrease over time. The experts inspect Michelin Star restaurants frequently to ensure they uphold their ranking criteria.
In fact, the famous chef, Gordon Ramsey, lost a Michelin Star rating in 2013 on his eatery, Gordon Ramsey, at the London in New York City. In this case, the reason was due to a change in the management from Gordon himself to the London Hotel. This led to an inconsistency in the food quality and lost him the 2-star rating.
But how did all of this come to be? Who started the Michelin Star system, and what were its roots?
The Backstory of the Michelin Star Rating
The Michelin Star rating system was a product of the Michelin Tire Company founded in 1889 in France by two brothers, Edouard Michelin and Andre Michelin. This was a time when there were less than 3,000 cars on the roads in France.
As a form of marketing, the Michelin Tire Company began creating guide books for motorists in 1900. The guide books were used to guide motorists to convenient restaurants, gas stations, and mechanics. It was not long before people started getting the Michelin Guide to help them get around and find all the best places they wanted to visit along the road.
The Michelin Guide became so popular that the company began to print country-specific editions for regions like Belgium and Europe. The guide was free since its purpose was to promote tire sales for the company. However, in 1920, Andre noticed the market value of the product and started charging people 7 francs per copy.
The star system was then introduced in 1926 when the restaurant section of the guide became popular. Private inspectors were hired to do the scouting, and any paid advertisement in the restaurant guides were eliminated. This made the Michelin Star system very popular and highly valuable.
The Michelin Guide introduced the Bib Gourmand award in 1957 to celebrate restaurants with ‘good meals at moderate prices.’
Check this video to know more about the history:
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why Are There No New Michelin Star Restaurants in Las Vegas?
If you are an avid diner in Las Vegas, then you may have noticed that there are currently no new Michelin Star restaurants in the region. Michelin Star ratings are only valid for a year. This implies that the restaurants have to be scouted year after year to ensure they maintain their status.
This is the case for Michelin Star restaurants in Las Vegas. However, the process of rating these eateries is usually labor-intensive and quite expensive. The last Michelin Guide that covered Las Vegas restaurants was published in the 2008-2009 edition. Sadly, the edition did not sell well, and this may have indicated a lack of interest in the Michelin Star restaurants in Las Vegas.
The restaurants that earned the star ratings in the 2008-2009 edition still uphold the ratings. This is because for them to lose the stars, they have to be vetted by the Michelin experts. Many of these restaurants still uphold Michelin Star standards due to the grand benefits of the system and are yet to be demoted.
2. How Many Restaurants in Las Vegas have a Michelin Star?
There are currently ten restaurants in Las Vegas that meet the Michelin Star standards. These include Nobu, DJT, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Le Cirque, Michael Mina, Aureole, Wing Lei, Picasso, Restaurant Guy Savoy, and Joel Robuchon.
As per the Michelin Guidelines, the chefs of these Michelin Star restaurants are considered the best of the best. With that in mind, people associate the Michelin Stars to them and any restaurant they manage.
3. Are There Michelin Star Chefs in Las Vegas?
Michelin Star chefs in Las Vegas include 2 star Michelin Chef Jose Andres (owns Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres, Jaleo, and e by Jose Andres), 2 star Michelin Chef David Chang (runs Momofuku in Cosmopolitan Las Vegas), 3 star Michelin Chef Pierre Gagnaire (runs Twist in Waldorf Astoria), and 3 star Michelin Chef Gordon Ramsay who runs Hell’s Kitchen – the infamous restaurant known for the TV show of the same name.