ATLANTA – Metro Atlanta’s top chefs and restaurants are excitedly waiting to see if they will get a star in the second edition of the area’s MICHELIN Guide.

The ceremony and big announcement will happen Monday night at the Georgia World Congress.

Last year, the tire company and restaurant guide gave five Atlanta-area restaurants its coveted one-star rating, which the guide says is given to restaurants that use top quality ingredients and have dishes with distinct flavors that are prepared to a consistently high standard. Ten restaurants were given the Bib Gourmand award, which is given to restaurants who serve great food at an affordable price.

To achieve this recognition, restaurants undergo multiple inspections annually, each conducted anonymously. Inspectors evaluate five key criteria: the quality of products and ingredients, the harmony of flavors, and the mastery of cooking techniques, among other factors.

The guide is refreshed every year and restaurants that have been reviewed in the past could gain or lose a star.  

MICHELIN releases first Atlanta guide to fine dining

While 2023’s guide focused only on restaurants within the perimeter, Rough Draft Atlanta reports that the anonymous reviewers may have looked at some restaurants OTP for the 2024 guide.

Michelin announced its first North American Guide in 2005 for New York. Guides have also been added in Chicago (2011); Washington, D.C. (2017); California (San Francisco in 2007, statewide 2019); Miami/Orlando/Tampa, Florida (2022); Toronto (2022); Vancouver (2022); Colorado (2023); Atlanta (2023), Mexico (2024), Texas (2024) and Quebec (2024).

Current MICHELIN one-star Atlanta restaurants

Here are the 5 MICHELIN one-star restaurants, a distinction given to restaurants with “outstanding” cooking. Inspector notes have been included in full for each:

Atlas (American cuisine)
When the night calls for a grand celebration, few places fit quite like Atlas. Order à la carte from Chef Freddy Money’s seasonal American menu with European influences or celebrate with the tasting menu for dishes like tender lobster plated with smoked paprika butter sauce and heirloom summer squash, and poached halibut composed with a trio of beet preparations. Wagyu beef from Australia is a decadent end to the savory courses. Impressive cocktails, a cheese cart and whimsical desserts complete the well-rounded experience.

Bacchanalia (American cuisine)
Chefs/Owners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison and Executive Chef Kai NaLampoon offer a multicourse prix fixe that involves a bit of flair, with some dishes arriving on carts or nestled inside glass cloches, and the cheese course is a wonderful surprise. Rather than an expected slice, the team presents a clever take with a crumbly oat date cake and a dot of black garlic sauce surrounded by rings of parmesan. Chilled lobster in a ponzu sauce with bright English peas and horseradish oil is also memorable, but it may just be the delicate grapefruit soufflé garnished with spicy pistachio crumble and rose crème anglaise that takes the cake.

Hayakawa (Japanese cuisine)
A local legend for his Japanese cuisine on Buford Highway, Chef Atsushi Hayakawa has begun a new chapter in West Midtown. The meal is a procession of small courses and hews toward the structure of kaiseki. After items such as an appetizer trio with clear fish soup, scallop sashimi with miso-mustard sauce and simmered monkfish, it’s time for sushi. The chef crafts nigiri from imported fish that needs little embellishment and is amply sized in the tradition of Hokkaido style in deference to the chef’s hometown.

Lazy Betty (Contemporary cuisine)
Chef Ron Hsu and Chef Aaron Phillips oversee a contemporary tasting menu with clever flavor combinations that highlight regional ingredients. Causa is given a Southern slant with sweet Georgia shrimp, avocado purée and potato foam infused with aji amarillo pepper, while seared Hudson Valley foie gras is sided by Granny Smith apple, sweet potato and dots of pumpkin butter. From the pre-dessert lemon sherbet with a coconut crumble to the elegant rosewater panna cotta, they impress to the end.

Mujō (Japanese cuisine)
Mujō is an intimate setting with a moody elegance. This is the domain of Chef J. Trent Harris and his skilled team who make all feel well cared for. Here, tradition has been replaced with a rollicking good time, where the always-surprising interpretation of omakase begin with an array of zensai, like a morsel of Florida cobia grilled over binchotan, dressed with a red miso sauce and some local pattypan squash. After some cooked bites, it’s time for the raw. Nigiri needs little to impress, while supplemental dishes offer the likes of Hokkaido hair crab, tosazu and mozuku.

MICHELIN Green Star Atlanta restaurants

The MICHELIN Green Star is a distinction honoring restaurants and staff who pride themselves on sustainability. Here are the two MICHELIN Green Star restaurants, along with their inspector notes in full:

Bacchanalia (American cuisine)
Chefs own and operate Summerland Farm in Cartersville, Georgia, where they grow much of their produce and harvest eggs. They also have a composting program, and they feed chickens with vegetable scraps.

The Chastain (American cuisine)
Chef Christopher Grossman’s menu changes often, depending on what’s available from local farm partners and in his onsite regenerative-farmed garden. The Chastain recently joined Georgia Organics to help quantify local and organic food purchases. The team composts on site and also uses a compost company to reduce landfill waste. They also recycle glass and use compostable carryout containers.