Houston's Michelin status stayed steady this year. On October 8, the MICHELIN Guide released its 2026 Texas selections, and while the city didn't pick up any new stars, six Houston-area restaurants kept theirs: BCN Taste & Tradition, CorkScrew BBQ out in Spring, Le Jardinier Houston over at the Museum of Fine Arts, March, Musaafer, and Tatemó. All six were already on the 2025 list, and Musaafer was among the 14 Texas restaurants that earned a star when the guide first landed here in November 2025.
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The real movement happened at the Bib Gourmand level, which flags good food at a reasonable price. Five new names joined: Bar Buena, a speakeasy-style spot in River Oaks; Khói Barbecue, which blends Vietnamese flavors with Central Texas barbecue; Kitchen Rumors, Jassi Bindra's Indian kitchen in the Old Sixth Ward; Murray's Pizza & Wine in Memorial, all sourdough pizzas and shared plates; and Xolo, a Mexico City-inspired cocktail bar in Montrose. Three regulars held on, too: Belly of the Beast, Blood Bros BBQ, and Casaema. Killen's BBQ in Pearland kept its distinction on paper, though it closed earlier in the year.
Nine more landed on the Recommended list, which is the guide's way of pointing out places worth a visit even without a star or a Bib Gourmand. That list grew to include 1111 in Montrose, Angie's Pizza in the Heights, Di An Pho in Little Saigon, Jantra, Levant BBQ, Mayahuel, Oru, Osteria di Mercato, and Sushi Horiuchi. A few spots dropped off entirely: Brisket & Rice, Hidden Omakase, Killen's, and Late August are no longer listed, and Neo was off for renovations, set to reopen this fall.
A few individuals walked away with awards. Ángel Bautista at Xolo took the Michelin Exceptional Cocktails Award, Jessica Cano at Sushi Horiuchi earned the Michelin Sommelier Award, and Jacques Varon and Max Lappe over at Baso were named Young Chef/Culinary Professional of the Year.
If you're deciding where to start, a couple of the starred spots are worth knowing. Le Jardinier Houston sits on the west side of the Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts and is run by Alain Verzeroli, a longtime protégé of Joël Robuchon; the menu leans on seasonal fish, meat, and poultry, with the bay leaf as its emblem. Musaafer, in the Houston Galleria, builds its menu around a 100-day road trip across India, with a 12-course tasting menu at $195 a head and a daily Dal Muradabadi for $23. And Tatemó is an 18-seat, BYOB Mexican spot on Dacoma Street run by James Beard-nominated Emmanuel Chavez, where every dish on the tasting menus centers on native maize.
Across the state, the new stars went elsewhere: Fabrik and Kappo Kappo in Austin, and Goldee's Bar-B-Q in Fort Worth. The 2026 Texas selection covers 149 restaurants across 30 cuisines, and Houston now accounts for 48 of them: six one-star, 23 Bib Gourmand, and 20 Recommended. The city still has no Green Star, but it's now part of a 53-concept recognized presence in the region. The guide first launched in Texas in July 2024, with the first full set of selections announced in November 2025.
Published Date
14 October 2026
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