Atlanta restaurants descend on Nashville as 2026 Michelin Guide ceremony begins

NASHVILLE — The Michelin Guide will hand out stars on central time this year, with chefs and restaurateurs from across the American South gathered in Nashville for the annual ceremony.

This year’s ceremony is happening in Tennessee thanks to the Michelin Guide’s new regional structure. After focusing on metro Atlanta in 2023 and 2024, the guide expanded to cover much of the Southeast. Last year’s ceremony was moved to Greenville, South Carolina, for the debut of the American South guide, and the event’s host city will change each year going forward.

With a two-year head start on the rest of the region, the Atlanta section of the Michelin Guide holds the most stars, boasting eight restaurants with one star each. Only one restaurant in the region — Emeril’s in New Orleans — has two, and no restaurants have earned three.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is at the ceremony, at the Pinnacle. Please return here for regular updates and follow along for live stories on the AJC Dining Instagram page.

What is the Michelin Guide?

The Michelin Guide, which is owned by the French tire manufacturer of the same name, made its debut at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris as a handbook with maintenance guides, map, and listings of gas stations, hotels and other way points. Twenty years later, the guide began including a simple list of local restaurants and, in 1926, started marking fine dining restaurants with a star.

It released its first North American guide in New York in 2005 and has since grown its presence in cities across the U.S., Canada and South America. The Michelin Guide came to Atlanta in 2023 and expanded to cover the American South region in 2025.

How many Atlanta restaurants are in the Michelin Guide?

Last year, eight Atlanta restaurants retained their one-star designations, including Atlas, Bacchanalia, Hayakawa, Lazy Betty, Mujo, O by Brush, Omakase Table and Spring in Marietta.

Staplehouse lost its star. In April 2025, the restaurant discontinued its tasting menu format which helped it win. The tasting menu moved to Uberto, the restaurant on the grounds of high-end resort Quercus in Gay, which is also helmed by chef Ryan Smith. Earlier this year, Quercus was awarded a Michelin Key, in addition to several other hotel-specific honors.

There were no newly starred restaurants for 2025, and none in Atlanta received two stars.

The 2025 ceremony also saw 13 Atlanta restaurants awarded Bib Gourmand status, given to restaurants found to serve high-quality food at moderate prices. The list included Antico Pizza Napoletana, Arepa Mia, Bomb Biscuit Co., The Busy Bee Cafe, Estrellita, Fishmonger, Fred’s Meat & Bread, Heirloom Market BBQ, Little Bear, Masterpiece, Superica, Table & Main and Whoopsie’s.

The Green Star award for sustainability was discontinued for 2026, a designation previously earned by Bacchanalia and The Chastain.

The 2025 Atlanta Michelin Guide also named 42 establishments to its recommended restaurants list, highlighting restaurants with above-average food. They were: The Alden, Avize, Banshee, Best BBQ, BoccaLupo, Chai Pani, The Chastain, The Deer and the Dove, Delbar, Fawn, Food Terminal, The General Muir, Georgia Boy, Gunshow, Han Il Kwan, Hen Mother Cookhouse, Home Grown, Kamayan ATL, Kimball House, LanZhou Ramen, Little Sparrow, Lucky Star, Lyla Lila, Madeira Park, Marcel, Miller Union, Nàdair, Nam Phuong, Pho House, Poor Hendrix, Ryokou, Snackboxe Bistro, Southern Belle, Staplehouse, Storico Fresco Alimentari, Talat Market, Ticonderoga Club, Tomo, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, The White Bull, Woo Nam Jeong and Xi’an Gourmet House.

Nàdair closed earlier this year, and the Alden was shut down by a fire, though chef Jared Hucks and his staff have kept the concept alive through pop-ups and guest residencies.

What about the rest of the American South?

The 2025 Michelin Guide American South awarded one Michelin Star to a total of 18 restaurants from around the Southeast. Atlanta’s eight starred restaurants are the most for any individual region.

The full Michelin Guide Atlanta is available on the Michelin website and iOS and Android app. Both are free and include all the Michelin-rated restaurants and hotels around the world.

A total of 228 restaurants were featured in last year’s American South guide, representing 44 cuisines.