From the heady heights of newly crowned three-star restaurants, to the ones who didn’t make the cut, here’s everything you need to know about the new Michelin Guide for France.
Michelin has launched the 2025 edition of its guide to France. The most-esteemed bible of gastronomy annually crowns restaurants with coveted stars so, who has made the cut this year and who has been given the chop?
The Michelin Guide was first created by the French tyre company as a handy tool for travellers looking for nice places to eat while journeying through France. Since the first guide’s publication in 1900, the annual guide and its star ratings have become the gold standard for defining high-quality dining experiences.
Now spread across the world with guides in Europe, Asia, North America and South America, France’s guide remains the standard bearer with the most restaurants listed and the most restaurants with star ratings.
Three-star champions
Two additional restaurants have been awarded three stars in the guide, taking France’s total of top-tier restaurants to an astronomical 31; Japan, United Arab Emirates, Italy and Germany make up the top five other countries with the most stars worldwide.
Both of the new entries have followed a theme present in recent years with their passion for seafood. Le Coquillage in Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes has earned its third star while Christopher Coutanceau in La Rochelle has won back its third star after losing it in 2022.
Le Coquillage is situated on the stunning Brittany coast and head chef Hugo Roellinger brings his experience as a former merchant navy officer to a love of all things fishy. Taking ingredients from the seas surrounding the restaurant and pairing them in inventive ways with the produce in Le Coquillage’s garden, he’s crafted fascinating dishes such as the “Chemin des Douaniers” which includes spider crab, egg yolk cooked in cider vinegar, a roe sauce, and seasonal herbs. It’s a “dazzling dish that captivated the inspectors.”
Christopher Coutanceau is the highly-esteemed chef behind his titular La Rochelle restaurant. First awarded three stars in 2020, it spent the last two years with a still-impressive two stars on the list. Bumped back up into the big leagues, chef-fisherman Coutanceau will be elated that his vibrant approach to sustainable fishing and impeccable gastronomy has been recognised once again. The guide pointed out the restaurant’s scallop dish “Pithiviers de Saint-Jacques” as one that left an “indelible impression on our inspectors”.
Dishing out stars
It’s not just those two restaurants that will be celebrating the news of the latest guide. In total, the guide has awarded 68 more stars than the previous edition. Nine new restaurants have been given two stars, while 57 have received their first star.
Of the nine new restaurants to receive two stars, there are two locations in Bordeaux: the seasonal and stylish Maison Nouvelle and seafood-specialist L’Observatoire du Gabriel. Paris boasts two new entries with Japanese powerhouse Sushi Yoshinaga and Asian-fusion Blanc. Other highlights include Baumanière 1850 at Alpine ski resort Courchevel and another sushi master Chef Yannick Alléno’s L’Abysse Monte-Carlo in Monaco.
Michelin has also awarded 10 restaurants with Green Stars, an initiative launched in 2020 to celebrate sustainable gastronomy. 10 new Passion Dessert Awards were given out in the guide as well 77 new restaurants being given the Bib Gourmand, which points out more affordable choices.
Although many consider chefs as the recipients of Michelin stars, the award is actually given to the restaurant. However, every year Michelin celebrates a few individuals in the industry too. This year’s Sommelier Award was awarded to two outstanding sommeliers: Maéva Rougeoreille, Head Sommelier of the two star and green star restaurant Jean Sulpice in Talloires-Montmin, and Jean Dumontet, Sommelier at the one star Frédéric Doucet in Charolles.
Italian head chef Valentina Giacobbe wins the Michelin Young Chef Award for her work leading Lille’s newly starred restaurant Ginko. Bernard Pacaud has been awarded the Chef Mentor Award for his work as the iconic head chef of Parisian institution L’Ambroisie.
And this year’s losers…
For some gourmands, the news will put them off their appetites as they mourn the loss of well-earned stars. The biggest headline was Georges Blanc being downgraded from three stars to two.
82-year-old head chef Georges Blanc had led the Vonnas-located restaurant since 1964 and has held three stars since 1981. It was the longest any restaurant has had the top rating from the guide.
Le Puits Saint-Jacques will also be licking its wounds as the Pujaudran-based restaurant was downgraded from two stars to one.
Last year, 40 restaurants were downgraded but this year’s list has been more brutal, taking 45 stars from the previous list. 17 one star restaurants no longer appear at all in the guide, with a further 27 closing outright, including the two-star restaurant Maison Ruggieri in Paris.