A jamon display at the reception for the 2025 Texas Michelin Awards Ceremony at the Wortham Center in Houston on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
Similar to last year, a little voice kept echoing in the background as I scanned the latest Michelin list for Texas: Does the typical diner actually care about a French tire company’s selection of the best restaurants?
Stars — which restaurants get them, lose them or want them — dominate the conversation whenever Michelin strolls into town. But few people, from avid diners to self-proclaimed food obsessives, forget about the Bib Gourmand (“great food at a great value”) and Recommended (“simply a good meal”) spots.
Michelin dropped its third roster of Texas stars, Bib Gourmand and Recommended restaurants Thursday with few surprises and stirred little excitement for Houston — unless you looked beyond a star’s shiny gleam.
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Even with all six local-area restaurants keeping their one-star status and no new additions, Houston still stood out as Texas’ most exciting food city when you break down the accolades.
Austin may boast the most stars, but Houston dominated everywhere else: Five of the new Bib Gourmands operate in our backyard. More than half of the freshly minted Recommended places also call the Bayou City home. We won three of the four special awards for exceptional cocktails, sommelier and the young chef/culinary professional award.
We already knew it, but Michelin’s latest tally for Houston doubled down on our restaurants’ emphasis on value and deep talent.
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MICHELIN DROPS TEXAS LIST: Houston’s six Michelin-starred restaurants retain their status in 2026 Texas guide
Chef Manabu Horiuchi at his restaurant Katami, which neighbors his Michelin Recommended Sushi Horiuchi next door.
Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle
At first glance, Houston may not stand out when all the attention focuses on the new one-starred restaurants, including Kappo Kappo and Fabrik in Austin plus Goldee’s BBQ in Fort Worth.
The hurrah and headlines given to the stars overshadow the Bib Gourmand and Recommended restaurants. Michelin’s own tight-lipped process doesn’t help: Its inspectors are anonymous, and its judging standards are vague. The guide’s $2.7 million, three-year Texas agreement — which is up for renewal — also raises questions about the independence Michelin claims.
Let’s take a look at Sushi Horiuchi, the six-seat omakase counter in Montrose where customers pay at least $300 per person. I’ve been trying to get in since early this year, but reservations disappear within minutes of opening at the top of each month. The restaurant has kindly offered to hold a spot for me, but I’ve kept declining because it breaks my rules about avoiding special treatment as a restaurant critic.
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Sure enough, chef Manabu Horiuchi’s hot-ticketed Japanese restaurant landed on Michelin’s Recommended list.
I assumed it was based on more than one visit because Michelin’s site includes this bit: The different categories awarded by the guide are never the result of one Inspector’s assessment. MICHELIN Stars are given by a collective of inspectors who visit the establishment multiple times.
I followed up with a Michelin spokeswoman, who clarified over email: “It is true Star decisions are based on multiple visits, but this is not necessarily the case for the Recommended restaurants. However, for all decisions, regardless of distinction, the decision to add a restaurant to the Michelin Guide selection is based on the Inspector’s expertise and experience.”
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Michelin held a ceremony last year, here, but revealed the latest Texas guide via press release on Oct. 8, 2026.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
But when you dig deeper, you start to wonder whether Michelin’s lists truly reflect what’s happening in Houston right now.
Xolo sits on the Bib Gourmand list, which recognizes “great food at a great value.” My initial visits to this Mexico City-inspired bar in Montrose also impressed me. Ice-cold martinis paired with dishes that looked like they came from a fine-dining kitchen: hamachi crudo tucked between slices of grapefruit and avocado, tostadas with foam on top and thinly shaved beef on heirloom corn tortillas.
Based on my third and latest visit over the summer, I’m less confident the food is at the same level. While the head bartender and part-owner, Angel Bautista, was named for a Michelin Exceptional Cocktails Award and is still part of Xolo, his kitchen counterpart, Javier Becerra, is no longer on the team.
At least this isn’t as bad as Michelin’s first year in Texas, when the team included a closed restaurant — Nikki Tran’s trailblazing Viejun cuisine at Kau Ba — on the inaugural list. Maybe we should expect more from a guide with so much influence.
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That said, the recognition means something. A Michelin nod can boost business. International travelers turn to the guides not only in the Lone Star State but also in Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Denver.
My issue: The attention falls heavily on the starred restaurants, which land all over the place (as a subjective process always does). People who follow Michelin will often say their favorite restaurants end up on the Bib Gourmand and Recommended lists anyway, as if to ignore Michelin’s decisions or brush aside the weight a star carries.
I have no big issues with stars. The Chronicle uses a star system for my reviews, and I make it a mission to review and recognize a diverse range of restaurants.
The Michelin stars may get all the headlines, but they don’t always tell us what’s happening or what’s worth visiting on Houston’s restaurant scene today.
