New Zealand’s Michelin star restaurants announced

Tuesday, 30 June 2026

New Zealand's Michelin star restaurants have been revealed.

Essence in Queenstown was given two Michelin stars, while fourteen others were given one star. They were:

• Tala (Auckland)

• The Estate (Waiheke Island)

• Ortega (Wellington)

• Ahi (Auckland)

• Rātā (Queenstown)

• Jano Bistro (Wellington)

• Logan Brown (Wellington)

• Tussock Hill (Christchurch)

• Sherwood (Queenstown)

• Kika (Wānaka)

• Inati (Christchurch)

• Paris Butter (Auckland)

• Mudbrick (Waiheke Island)

• Amisfield (Queenstown).

Michelin stars are the guide's highest honour. One star recognises 'very good cooking' worth a stop, two stars denote 'excellent cooking' worth a detour, while the coveted three stars are reserved for 'exceptional cuisine' considered worth a special journey.

No three-star honours were given, but 35 restaurants were recognised with Bib Gourmands, while 60 were awarded Selected honours, securing their place in the New Zealand Michelin Guide.

Bib Gourmands recognise restaurants serving exceptional food at moderate prices, while a Selected designation means Michelin inspectors recommend a restaurant for its quality and consistency.

How the accolades are decided

For months, New Zealand's chefs have been waiting for this moment.

Michelin's anonymous inspectors quietly dined their way around the country, visiting restaurants without revealing who they were or what they thought. They paid for every meal themselves, often returned more than once and left without offering so much as a hint.

The secrecy is deliberate. Michelin wants chefs to treat every diner as though they could be an inspector, because any table could hold one of the world's toughest restaurant critics.

On Tuesday, at the inaugural Michelin Guide New Zealand awards in Auckland, that mystery finally came to an end. Restaurants across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown discovered whether they had earned an accolade or earned a snub.

Tourism New Zealand invested $6.3 million to bring the Michelin Guide here, signing a three-year agreement covering Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. But paying to host the guide has never guaranteed stars.

When Michelin launched in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, not a single restaurant received a star, reinforcing the guide's insistence that its judging standards remain the same wherever it operates.

Three Michelin stars are among the rarest honours in global hospitality. Only 161 restaurants worldwide currently hold the maximum three star rating, making them an exceptionally exclusive club among the thousands of restaurants recognised by Michelin.

France, where the Michelin Guide was founded in 1900, has the largest number of three-star restaurants. Japan, particularly Tokyo, also punches well above its weight, while Italy and Spain remain global fine-dining powerhouses. Tokyo alone has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world.

Despite the name, Michelin has nothing to do with celebrity chefs. The guide was created by the French tyre company Michelin in 1900 to encourage motorists to travel more and wear out more tyres by recommending worthwhile places to eat and stay along the way.

More than a century later, it has become the world's most influential restaurant guide, with a single Michelin star capable of transforming a restaurant's reputation overnight.

For New Zealand's chefs, months of speculation are finally over. No more wondering whether the quiet couple in the corner or the solo diner ordering the tasting menu was a Michelin inspector.