For the first time in 17 years, Las Vegas has Michelin-starred restaurants. FOUR of them, to be exact. Twenty other local spots were recognized as either “Michelin Selected” or Bib Gourmand.
The inaugural MICHELIN Guide Southwest selection was unveiled Wednesday night at a Las Vegas ceremony attended by some of the biggest names in the local and national culinary communities. The new regional guide covers Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
Las Vegas has been without an active Michelin Guide since the 2009 edition of the MICHELIN Guide Las Vegas, the second and final edition devoted to the city.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas was the site of Wednesday night’s ceremony, which was preceded by a cocktail reception. Rachel Smith hosted the ceremony, and Michelin’s Gwendal Poullennec unveiled the lucky recipients.
No restaurant in the Southwest was awarded three-star status, arguably the highest honor in the culinary universe.
One Las Vegas restaurant received two stars: Joël Robuchon (the only two-star recipient in the Southwest).
Three local eateries received a single star: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon; Restaurant Guy Savoy; É by José Andrés.
In addition to the stars, three spots received Bib Gourmand recognition, Michelin’s distinction for restaurants offering good quality, good value cooking: China Poblano; Esther’s Kitchen; Yen Viet Kitchen.
Finally, seventeen other Las Vegas hotspots have been declared Michelin Selected: Anima by EDO; Bouchon; Cote; Estiatorio Milos; Gymkhana; Kabuto; Kame Omakase; Lamaii; Michael Mina; Mott 32; Partage; Pho Ga Bac Bac; Ping Pang Pong; Soulbelly BBQ; Sparrow + Wolf; Stubborn Seed; Wing Lei.
Michelin previously published just two Las Vegas guides, for 2008 and 2009. For those two years, Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand was the city’s only three-star restaurant in both editions.
Food & Loathing attended Wednesday night’s ceremony, as well as several of the events surrounding it. We’ll have the full story, along with conversations with the winners, on the August 28 episode of the Food & Loathing podcast. We’ll also have a complete rundown on this news site.
