🍽️ HOUSTON’S 2026 MICHELIN GUIDE EXPLAINED! ⭐ The 2026 Texas MICHELIN Guide is officially out, and Houston has more recognized restaurants than any other major Texas metro area! Here’s everything you need to know about the additions, restaurants no longer listed, special awards, and biggest takeaways. 👇 🆕 14 NEW HOUSTON-AREA RESTAURANTS 🏅 5 New Bib Gourmands: • Bar Buena • Khói Barbecue • Kitchen Rumors • Murray’s Pizza & Wine • Xolo A Bib Gourmand recognizes restaurants serving good-quality food at a good value. Houston actually received FIVE of the SIX new Bib Gourmands awarded across Texas! 🍽️ 9 New MICHELIN Recommended Restaurants: • 1111 • Angie’s • Di An Pho • Jantra • Levant BBQ • Mayahuel • Oru • Osteria di Mercato • Sushi Horiuchi Recommended means Michelin’s anonymous inspectors recognize a restaurant for good cooking, even without a Star or Bib Gourmand. And importantly, Recommended doesn’t automatically mean worse than Bib Gourmand. The Bib specifically emphasizes value. ⭐ ZERO NEW MICHELIN STARS Despite 14 new additions, Houston received no new Stars. However, all six existing Houston-area Starred restaurants retained their recognition: • BCN Taste & Tradition • CorkScrew BBQ • Le Jardinier • March • Musaafer • Tatemó 🏆 3 HOUSTON SPECIAL AWARDS 🍸 Angel Bautista at Xolo: Exceptional Cocktails Award 🍷 Jessica Cano at Sushi Horiuchi: Sommelier Award 👨‍🍳 Jacques Varon & Max Lappe at Baso: Young Chef / Culinary Professional Award Houston took home THREE of the FOUR special awards given out across Texas! 📉 5 RESTAURANTS NO LONGER LISTED IN THE PUBLISHED SELECTION Compared with the 2025 selection, these five restaurants are absent from the 2026 press-release list: • Brisket & Rice • Hidden Omakase • Killen’s • Late August • Neo Important context: Several of these restaurants have closed or changed operations. Their absence doesn’t necessarily mean Michelin downgraded them. Some may still appear in Michelin’s online directory. Also, Killen’s is different from Killen’s BBQ, which retained its Bib Gourmand. 📊 HOW TEXAS METROS COMPARE Based on my count of the published restaurant selections, including surrounding suburbs: 🥇 Houston: 53 restaurants 🥈 Austin: 44 restaurants 🥉 Dallas–Fort Worth: 33 restaurants 🏅 San Antonio: 16 restaurants These are metro-area counts, not official Michelin-published city rankings. 🔥 MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS Houston leads Texas in total restaurant recognition and Bib Gourmands, but Austin still leads in MICHELIN Stars. Houston received no new Stars, while Austin added two and Fort Worth added one. The biggest Houston growth came from Bib Gourmand and Recommended restaurants, showing the diversity of our dining scene across everything from barbecue and pizza to sushi and Mexican cuisine. And while I’m happy to see 14 new restaurants recognized, I still think there are plenty of Houston restaurants that deserve a place in the Guide. What do y’all think? Did Michelin get Houston’s selections right this year, or were there some major snubs? 👀 #michelinguide #michelinstar #texas #houstontexas #texasfood - @shawnthefoodsheep