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Michelin Guide to the American South drops Nov. 3, and Metro Atlanta will represent the entirety of Georgia
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The inaugural Michelin Guide to the American South drops Nov. 3, with the ceremony taking place at the Peace Center in downtown Greenville, SC.
Michelin formally announced its intention to debut the new regional guide to the South in April, with the annual reveal ceremony rotating to different cities each year. Greenville is home to the Michelin North America headquarters.
The 2025 dining guide folds in the previously released Atlanta guide, along with restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. Outside of metro Atlanta, however, the 2025 American South guide will not feature any other Georgia restaurants, including those in nationally celebrated dining scenes like Macon, Athens, and Savannah.
“The MICHELIN Guide Atlanta launched in 2023, as it proved to be a culturally diverse city with a vibrant culinary scene. Beginning in 2025, the Atlanta MICHELIN Guide selection will be included in the American South regional edition,” a Michelin representative told Rough Draft in April when asked about omitting Georgia as a whole.
“This is only the beginning of our story with the American South region, and as the MICHELIN Guide looks to the future, we observe very often the extension of its geographical scope within a state or a region over time,” they added.
While the representative declined to elaborate further, the omission of Georgia restaurants outside the metro Atlanta region likely came down to restrictions in the tourism partnership between Travel South USA and Michelin. The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, which helped bring the Michelin Guide to the city in 2023 and then to the metro area in 2024, will join forces with Travel South to help produce the 2025 guide.
Restaurants featured in the 2025 guide to the American South will receive invitations to the ceremony later this fall, where Michelin will reveal designations for each establishment.
In addition to announcing the restaurants earning stars and Bib Gourmands and those listed as recommendations in the 2025 American South guide, Michelin will also present awards for exceptional cocktails, outstanding sommelier, outstanding service, and young chef during the Nov. 3 ceremony.
Michelin launched the Atlanta guide in 2023, with its anonymous dining inspectors focusing on restaurants within the Perimeter. In 2024, Michelin expanded the guide into Atlanta’s northern suburbs. Of the 57 restaurants recognized in the 2024 Atlanta Michelin Guide, nine restaurants earned one star. Five suburban restaurants made the 2024 guide, including Woo Nam Jeong (Stone Bowl House), Hen Mother Cookhouse, Masterpiece, Table & Main, and Spring.
According to the Georgia Restaurant Association, there are more than 12,000 restaurants in metro Atlanta. The counties of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale, and the city of Atlanta comprise the metro Atlanta region, home to 6.3 million people.
Restaurants in the Atlanta guide join over 17,000 restaurants from around the world recognized by Michelin.
But what Michelin’s regional expansion will mean for restaurants currently listed in the Atlanta guide remains to be seen. In theory, some metro Atlanta restaurants could be dropped from the guide entirely.
How the guide ratings work
Anonymous inspectors working for Michelin dine at restaurants multiple times a year, awarding their final recommendations for stars, Bib Gourmands, and other distinctions at an annual reveal ceremony.
Starred restaurants must consistently meet five criteria during each inspector visit:
- Showcasing quality products and ingredients
- Harmony of flavors
- Mastery of cooking techniques
- Voice and personality of the chef reflected in the cuisine
- Consistency of food and service.
One star: A restaurant includes high-quality cooking and is worthy of a stop.
Two stars: A restaurant excels at cooking and people visiting a city should prioritize a meal here.
Three stars: A restaurant showcases exceptional food and service and people visiting a city should add it to their plans.
Bib Gourmand: A restaurant that serves high-quality food at a reasonable price.
Green star: A restaurant prioritizes sustainability and environmentally friendly practices.
Recommended: A restaurant hasn’t achieved star or Bib Gourmand status but is still worthy of recognition in the guide.
The French tire company began publishing a series of guidebooks for motorists in the early 20th century, featuring general maintenance on the newly invented automobile, along with information on finding fuel and hotels and where to eat while traveling. Single-star ratings began in 1926, followed by two- and three-star ratings in 1936.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.
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