How many restaurants with three Michelin stars are there in the world?

Lovers of haute cuisine find in the Michelin Guide an unparalleled gastronomic treasure. A map with which to travel around the world and discover the most distinguished tables at an international level. The highest distinction is three Michelin stars, a recognition that not everyone can access and that, according to the inspectors of the guide, is awarded to those restaurants that offer a "exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey." Currently, there are 137 restaurants with three Michelin stars worldwide, with France and Japan as the two countries with the most three-starred establishments, with a total of 31 and 21 respectively.

The fact that France leads this privileged ranking is not breaking news to many, especially if we bear in mind that the origin of the guide is French. Without forgetting that France continues to be the gastronomic cradle of the world, the rise of oriental haute cuisine and the culinary relevance that Japan has been acquiring over the past few years is a fact. As a matter of fact, Japan is the country where the two cities that accumulate the most Michelin stars worldwide are located —Tokyo and Kyoto. When adding up the three categories awarded by the Guide (three, two and one star), France is still ahead with 624 restaurants compared to Japan's 427.

The United States ranks third, with 13 establishments with the highest decoration, followed by Spain and Italy, tied with 11 three-stars each. The relevance of Asia on the Michelin map is becoming more and more patent with cities like Macao, Hong Kong or Taipei & Taichung debuting in the ranking of restaurants with three stars. Michelin stars do not know about borders or type of cuisine, but about culinary quality and certain criteria the guide takes into account when awarding its stars: selection of products, creativity, mastery of doneness and flavors, quality/price ratio and regularity. As true lovers of gastronomy, we are ready to travel the world -guide in hand- to discover which countries reign in the exclusive three-stars firmament and how many establishments each one has. Can you come with us? This is the full itinerary of the 137 three-starred restaurants:

• France: 31
• Japan: 21
• United States: 13
• Spain: 11
• Italy: 11
• Germany: 9
• United Kingdom: 8
• Hong Kong: 7
• Continental China: 4
• Belgium: 3
• Macao: 3
• Singapore: 3
• Switzerland: 3
• South Korea: 2
• Denmark: 2
• The Netherlands: 2
• Austria: 1
• Norway: 1
• Sweden: 1
• Taipei & Taichung: 1

Restaurants in France with three Michelin stars

France is the country with the most three-star restaurants in the world, adding up to 31 establishments with the highest distinction. Among them, there are two great novelties in the 2022 edition, La Villa Madie and Plénitude. Both are added to the largest Michelin starry night —the complete list of French establishments that have managed to ratify their three decorations:

• Les Prés d'Eugénie - Michel Guérard
• Auberge du Vieux Puits
• Le Petit Nice
• AM par Alexandre Mazzia
• L'Oustau de Baumanière
• La Villa Madie
• Christophe Bacquié
• La Vague d'Or - Cheval Blanc St-Tropez
• Régis et Jacques Marcon
• Maison Pic

Maison Pic

• Christopher Coutanceau
• Le Louis XV - Alain Ducasse à l'Hôtel de Paris
• Troisgros - Le Bois sans Feuilles
• Mirazur
• René et Maxime Meilleur
• Georges Blanc
• Le 1947 à Cheval Blanc
• Le Clos des Sens
• Flocons de Sel
• Maison Lameloise
• Le Pré Catelan
• Arpège
• Guy Savoy
• L'Ambroisie
• Plénitude - Cheval Blanc Paris
• Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen

Philippe Vaures

• Le Cinq
• Kei
• Pierre Gagnaire
• Épicure
• Assiette Champenoise

Restaurants in Japan with three Michelin stars

Followed by France, Japan is the second country with the most three-star establishments. As we said, the rise of oriental haute cuisine has made the prestigious French guide pay attention to the extreme culinary quality that this country has to offer to the entire world. There are 21 restaurants with three Michelin stars in Japan altogether, among which there is also room for other world cuisines beyond the traditional Japanese. Here you have the complete list:

• Isshisoden Nakamura
• Hyotei
• Maeda
• Mizai
• Gion Sasaki
• Kikunoi Honten
• Kashiwaya
• Hajime
• Taian
• Kagurazaka Ishikawa
• Kohaku
• L'Effervescence
• RyuGin
• Kanda
• L’Osier
• Azabu Kadowaki
• Sushi Yoshitake
• Sazenka

Sazenka

• Joël Robuchon´
• Quintessence
• Makimura

Restaurants in the United States with three Michelin stars

If we had to pick one unique feature of the United States, that would be the multiculturalism of its people, its culture, its places and, of course, its gastronomy. Cuisines from all corners of the planet make the American country a place with an almost infinite and incomparable culinary appeal. Therefore, the United States has become the third country with the most three-starred restaurants in the world, with a total of 13. Here is the comprehensive list:

• Masa
• Per Se
• Le Bernardin
• Eleven Madison Park
• Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
• The Inn at Little Washington
• Alinea

Alinea

• The French Laundry
• SingleThread
• Quince
• Benu
• Atelier Crenn
• Manresa

Restaurants in Spain with three Michelin stars

The Michelin Guide has been recognizing for years the gastronomic quality that reigns throughout the Spanish territory. The list of restaurants in Spain with three stars has in its 2022 edition a grand total of 11 establishments, a figure that has remained unchanged for two years when chef Jesús Sánchez’s Cenador de Amós, was added for the first time to the select group of three-starred restaurants. This is the complete list:

• Quique Dacosta
• DiverXO
• ABaC
• Lasarte
• El Celler de Can Roca
• Martín Berasategui
• Arzak
• Akelarre
• Azurmendi
• Cenador de Amós

Cenador de Amós

• Aponiente

Restaurants in Italy with three Michelin stars

Tied with Spain, we have Italy, with a total of 11 restaurants with three stars in the 2022 edition. With no new incorporations since last year, the 67th edition of the Italy Michelin Guide puts on the map these restaurants that elevate the apparent simplicity of Italian cuisine to a higher level. Here is the full list:

• Piazza Duomo
• Enrico Bartolini al Mudec
• Enoteca Pinchiorri
• Da Vittorio
• Dal Pescatore
• Osteria Francescana
• La Pergola
• La Calandre
• Uliassi
• Reale
• St. Hubertus

Restaurants in Germany with three Michelin stars

We continue to look up to the most select of world gastronomy and we now reach Germany, where a total of nine restaurants with three Michelin stars are gathered in the 2022 edition. The restaurant Schanz, by chef Thomas Schanz, has been this year’s greatest novelty, when it got his third decoration for the first time, therefore adding to the exclusive list of the three-starred eateries in Germany:

• Schanz Restaurant.
• Restaurante Bareiss
• Schwarzwaldstube
• Victor's Fine Dining by christian bau
• Waldhotel Sonnora
• Restaurant Überfahrt Christian Jürgens
• Aqua
• The Table Kevin Fehling
• Rutz

Restaurants in the United Kingdom with three Michelin stars

The Red Guide now takes us to the United Kingdom, where the category of three Michelin stars is completed with a total of eight establishments. Among them, L'Enclume stands out, chef Simon Rogan's flagship restaurant, which has achieved his third decoration in the 2022 edition. This is how the UK list looks:

• L’Enclume
• Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
• Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester
• Fat Duck
• Waterside Inn
• Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
• CORE by Clare Smyth
• Sketch (The Lecture Room and Library)

Restaurants in Hong Kong with three Michelin stars

The Hong Kong Michelin Guide has completed its fourteenth edition, and it does so by celebrating the gastronomic quality of the territory, which remains still unknown by many globally. In total, there are seven restaurants with three Michelin stars in Hong Kong, mandatory stops for those who visit the Asian country in search of the best gastronomic offer. These are the three-starred establishments:

• Caprice
• Lung King Heen
• T’ang Court
• L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
• Sushi Shikon
• 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo – Bombana
• Forum

Restaurants in Continental China with three Michelin stars

The new selection of the Michelin Guide in Mainland China includes a new addition with three decorations, the restaurant Taian Table (located in Shanghai) that has gone from two stars to three five years after first opening. A grand total of four establishments have the highest distinction:

• King’s Joy
• Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road)
• Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet
• Taian Table

Restaurants in Belgium with three Michelin stars

The Restaurant Boury, run by chef Tim Boury and his wife Inge Waeles, has received its third Michelin star this year. It is the great novelty for the Belgian gastronomic firmament, adding up to a total of three three-starred restaurants..

• Boury
• Hof van Cleve
• Zilte

Restaurants in Macao with three Michelin stars

Three triple decorations as well for Macao, an autonomous region on the southern coast of mainland China which is unknown to many on the world gastronomy map. The Michelin Guide recognizes the rise of Asian cuisine and awards the highest distinction to these three houses, among which The Eight stands out for being the first Chinese restaurant in Macao awarded three stars for nine consecutive years.

• The Eight
• Robuchon au Dome
• Jade Dragon

Jade Dragon

Restaurants in Singapore with three Michelin stars

Let’s continue our journey to reach Singapore, the world’s gastronomical temple. With the promotion of Zén, this Asian country now has three restaurants with three stars, including Les Amis and Odette, which were elevated to this category in 2019’s edition. They are worth the journey!

• Les Amis
• Zén
• Odette

Odette

Restaurants in Switzerland with three Michelin stars

Good food, excellent service and an incomparable gastronomic experience guaranteed. This is what the three restaurants in Switzerland with the highest distinction awarded by the Michelin Guide promise.

• Restaurant de l’Hotel de Ville
• Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl
• Schloss Schauenstein

Restaurants in South Korea with three Michelin stars

We continue our tour of the three stars, visiting South Korea this time. There, the Michelin Guide has recognized the impeccable work and the exquisite gastronomic offer of two restaurants, both located in the city of Seoul and both a reflection of how Korean haute cuisine is establishing itself as a gastronomic reference point in the world. The three decorations in South Korea belong to:

• La Yeon
• Gaon

Restaurants in Denmark with three Michelin stars

Denmark remains with same amount of restaurants holding three Michelin stars in the 2022 edition of the Michelin Guide. The first one, Noma, not only has three stars but also holds the title best restaurant in the world for five years in a row, according to ‘The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’. It is located in Copenhagen and is run by renowned Chef René Redzepi.

• Noma
• Geranium

Restaurants in the Netherlands with three Michelin stars

We end our journey through the countries with three Michelin stars in the Netherlands. At the pinnacle of Dutch gastronomy the names Jonnie Boer and Jannis Brevet shine. They are the two chefs who have carried their respective restaurants to the top of the Michelin gastronomic map. These are:

• Inter Scaldes
• De Librije

Other countries with one restaurant holding three Michelin stars

The list of three Michelin stars is completed by Austria, Norway, Sweden and Taipei & Taichung, the last four stops on our trip. Each of these countries keeps, like a culinary treasure, one single restaurant with three Michelin stars, so booking a table there becomes almost an obligation if you ever visit any of these destinations.

• Austria: Restaurant Amador
• Noruega: Maaemo Restaurant
• Suecia: Restaurant Frantzén
• Taipei & Taichung: Le Palais

The summary of our gastronomic journey is one three-stars shower that shines over a total of 137 restaurants worldwide. Only they manage to hold the longed-for three Michelin stars, living up to the demanding criteria of the guide's inspectors. For the diner, they are stops that, as they guarantee, "are worth the journey!"