The biggest news for New York from the Tuesday night 2023 Michelin Guide ceremony was the upgrade of two Japanese spots from one to two Michelin stars: luxury Upper East Side edomae-style Sushi Noz, with chef Abe Nozomu; and kaiseki Flatiron restaurant, Odo, from Hiroki Odo.
Major Food Group is also back in the Michelin mix, after ZZ’s Clam Bar and Carbone fell off the list last year. The tough to get into Torrisi Bar and Restaurant in Little Italy, with chef Rich Torrisi at the helm, landed a Michelin star.
And perhaps the bittersweet award goes to two-starred Al Coro in the former home of Del Posto, and one-starred Oxalis in Prospect Heights, both on track to close by the year’s end.
Adam Richman emceed a fast-moving awards ceremony in Tribeca at Spring Studios, the first in which three cities’ announcements were combined. Once the night began, he rattled off Michelin stars for New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, in rapid-fire, alphabetical order to the backdrop of a music loop that sounded like being trapped in the intro theme song of Chef’s Table.
The top restaurants did not change this year, with four three-Michelin-star winners, including Eleven Madison Park, Le Bernardin, Masa, and Per Se, the latter of which closed for remodeling over the summer and reopened in September. Only one restaurant dropped from the three-star list, with the brief closing of Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, which has reopened with a revamped kitchen team after an ownership breakup.
In all, there were 14 restaurants awarded two Michelin stars, with only Momofuku Ko, which closed, dropped from the list. Chef Odo was not at the ceremony to accept his award; a spokesperson says he was at a catering job, following along on YouTube.
Eight new one-star restaurants joined the list of 55 New York restaurants with a single Michelin star. The additions are Bōm, the tasting-menu restaurant from chef Brian Kim and the Oiji Mi team; Essential by Christophe from Christophe Bellanca; subterranean Jōji with chefs George Ruan and Daniel Boulud; and Meju, a chef’s counter with a focus on fermentation in Long Island City’s Little Banchan Shop. Sushi Ichimura joins the list, from Eiji Ichimura, chef behind the former two-Michelin-starred Ichimura at Uchū, and, before that, Brushstroke. Shmoné from Eyal Shani, was also added, along with French-Japanese tasting menu spot, Restaurant Yuu, the only new Brooklyn restaurant to get a star.
Michelin’s anonymous inspectors dropped a handful of restaurants from the one-star list, including the now-closed Batard; Casa Enrique in Long Island City; Contra in Manhattan which has closed and will become a new restaurant from the same owners; Mexican restaurant Claro in Brooklyn; the wildly popular Don Angie in Manhattan; Kanoyama; River Cafe; and Sushi Ginza Onodera, which closed.
According to the guide, one star means, “high quality cooking, worth a stop;” two stars indicates, “excellent cooking, worth a detour;” three stars signifies, “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.” The rating process for this year’s guide ended in late September, according to Andrew Festa, a spokesperson for Michelin.
On November 1, Michelin added 11 new restaurants to the Bib Gourmand category, which recognizes good value. There are now a total of 102 restaurants on the list, down from 125 last year. The category honors restaurants where customers can order two courses of food and a drink or dessert for around $50 before tax and tip.
Before the awards were announced, several in the industry were recognized, including Madalyn Summers of Cafe Mars in Gowanus, for outstanding service; Enrique Olvera’s Cosme, for exceptional cocktails; and Yannick Benjamin of Harlem’s Contento for the top sommelier award. New York’s young chef award went to Telly Justice of HAGS and the Michelin mentor chef award went to Emma Bengtsson of Aquavit. Dirt Candy got a jacket for the Michelin green star, for its sustainable practices practices, along with Family Meal at Blue Hill.
The full list of 2023 starred selections for New York
Three-star restaurants
Eleven Madison Park
Le Bernardin
Masa
Per Se
Two-star restaurants
Al Coro
Aquavit
Aska
Atera
Atomix
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Daniel
Gabriel Kreuther
Jean-Georges
Jungsik
The Modern
Odo (new)
Saga
Sushi Noz (new)
One-star restaurants
63 Clinton
Bōm (new)
Casa Mono
Caviar Russe
Clover Hill
Cote
Crown Shy
Dirt Candy
Essential by Christophe (new)
Estela
Family Meal at Blue Hill
Four Horseman
Francie
Frevo
Gramercy Tavern
Hirohisa
Icca
Jeju Noodle Bar
Jōji (new)
Joomak Banjum
Jua
Kochi
Kosaka
L’Abeille
Le Coucou
Le Jardinier
Le Pavillon
Mari
Meju (new)
The Musket Room
Noda
Noz 17
Oiji Mi
One White Street
Oxalis
Oxomoco
Red Paper Clip
Restaurant Yuu (new)
Rezdora
The River Cafe
Semma
Shion 69 Leonard Street
Shmoné (new)
Sushi Amane
Sushi Ichimura (new)
Sushi Nakazawa
Sushi Yasuda
Tempura Matsui
Torien
Torrisi (new)
Tsukimi
Tuome
Vestry
Yoshino
