Michelin’s culinary cathedrals beckon while Canada awaits first three-star spot

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Since it was first published in 1900, the Michelin Guide has evolved from a general-purpose booklet for French motorists to a predominantly digital culinary bible that rates more than 16,000 restaurants in dozens of countries (including Canada as of 2022).

Of those eateries, which now number 72 in Toronto and 60 in Vancouver, less than a quarter have earned at least one Michelin star, and about 0.8 per cent have earned three stars, the guide’s top rating. Stars invariably boost a restaurant’s fortunes, with the late Joël Robuchon, the most Michelin-starred chef of all time, saying one etoile yields 20 per cent more business, two means 40 per cent more, and three leads to 100 per cent more.

What hasn’t changed is the guide’s mission: “To foster a culture of travel and eating out.” Indeed, culinary exploration is at the heart of Michelin’s rating system, with one star denoting “high-quality cooking” that’s “worth a stop,” two identifying “excellent cooking” that’s “worth a detour,” and three stars afforded only to restaurants that offer “exceptional cuisine” that’s “worth a special journey.”

With Canada still waiting for its first three-star selection — Toronto’s Sushi Masaki Saito leads the way with two as it stands — Canadian gourmets must leave their home and native land to make special journeys that are more numerous and widespread than ever before. There are now 137 three-star restaurants worldwide, up from 109 in 2013, with the most recent Michelin Guides to South Korea, Southern California, Extremadura (Spain) and St. Gallen (Switzerland) including top-rated establishments for the first time.

Here are seven of the newest additions to the global list.

La Marine, Noirmoutier, France

Set on the northern tip of the beach-ringed island of Noirmoutier, La Marine earned its first three-star rating in the 2023 edition of the Michelin Guide France. According to the guidebook’s incognito inspectors, “the quality of fish, seafood and vegetables is exceptional” because chef Alexandre Couillon “rises at dawn to go to Noirmoutier’s fish auction, which sells the best Atlantic fish, before stopping by his own vegetable garden, just a few minutes from the restaurant.”

Of special note are “the mackerel cooked over hot embers and accompanied by confit beetroot,” an “incredible lettuce grilled over a flame,” and a “dessert of buckwheat, caramel mousse, confit citrus fruits, and sea lettuce sorbet.”

Addison, San Diego, California

Set on the lush grounds of the opulent Fairmont Grand Del Mar hotel, the first SoCal restaurant to earn three Michelin stars brings the Golden State’s top-tier tally to seven. “Global inspiration and Californian sentimentality are at the heart of (chef William Bradley’s) approach,” Michelin’s inspectors report, “and no dish captures this better than sesame-seasoned Koshihikari rice finished with applewood-smoked sabayon and crowned with Regiis Ova reserve caviar.”

From chicken liver churros to a riff on chips and dip, “dishes are playful yet polished,” with opening bites such as Kumamoto oysters with pickled green strawberry, or Iberian ham folded over a golden potato, “displaying finely tuned flavours.”

Atrio, Cáceres, Spain

Accessed via the Medieval cobblestoned streets of Extremadura’s first World Heritage Site, this restaurant-hotel combo “exudes elegance, enthusiasm and sincerity, matched by impeccable service to enhance the experience to the full,” Michelin’s inspectors note. Local chef Toño Pérez prepares “creative cuisine of the highest technical level on a single yet extensive tasting menu inspired by the Iberian pig and the natural bounty of Extremadura. He pays full respect to the DNA of local traditions by showcasing the myriad nuances of his native land.”

Atrio’s “spectacular” wine cellar, meanwhile, “features labels and historic vintages that are almost impossible to come across anywhere else.”

Memories, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

One of six restaurants in the palatial Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Memories is helmed by Sven Wassmer, the former head chef at the two-starred 7132 Silver restaurant in the similarly scenic Swiss village of Vals. At Memories, the Michelin inspectors report that Wassmer “steers clear of gimmicks and technical trickery … what seems so pleasingly spare and straightforward on the plate is actually rife with elaborate details that make for deep and well-balanced flavours. Bold and full of contrasts, honest and accessible – this is the kind of food you wish you came across more often!”

Memories’ ambiance, meanwhile, is described as “chic and casually elegant,” with a “relaxed and charming” front-of-house team that “provides professional service, ensuring your experience here ticks all the boxes.”

Mosu, Seoul, South Korea

While chef Sung Anh reportedly moved his acclaimed Mosu restaurant from San Francisco to the South Korean capital to be closer to his family, the Michelin inspectors praise the relocated eatery’s “consistent quality improvement” in giving it three stars in 2023.

“Different as the food may be, Anh continues to do what he does best, highlighting the subtle nuances of seasonal produce on a plate,” they note. “Burdock bark, the signature dish, features a single burdock chip prepared by coating a thinly shaved sheet of burdock root with syrup, dehydrating it, and repeating the process several times to render it supremely crisp.”

Villa Crespi, Orta San Giulio, Italy

Steps from Piedmont’s scenic Lake Orta, Villa Crespi serves unique Mediterranean cuisine in the elegant dining rooms and on the panoramic veranda of an ornate Moorish-style hotel.

Antonino Cannavacciuolo “has poured heart and soul into this restaurant,” Michelin’s inspectors report. The Campano chef uses “all his technical skill and precision to create dishes full of clean and distinct flavours” that take diners on a journey across Italy “with all the confidence that only truly great chefs can muster.”

This confidence is expressed with dishes like Gragnano linguine with squid and rye bread sauce, bean tagliatelle with lemon and tuna bottarga, and a dish of Sicilian scampi with octopus broth.

Cocina Hermanos Torres, Barcelona, Spain

While its cabin-shaped exterior stands out amid the unremarkable apartment blocks of Barcelona’s Les Courts district, the interior of the Torres twins’ namesake restaurant is like something from another world entirely. According to Michelin’s inspectors, “three cooking stations dominate the centre of the room, around which tables are arranged beneath romantic ‘clouds’ of light.”

Although à la carte ordering is an option, “the most popular request is for the superb tasting menu, a gourmet journey that extols the very best seasonal and local ingredients, using them in such a way as to extract maximum impact and flavour with a minimum of intervention.”

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