Ever since 1936, when the Guide Michelin – published by the famous French-based Michelin tire company – instituted its three-tier system for ranking restaurants, achieving three-star status has been the career-defining goal of many serious chefs, the culinary equivalent of an Oscar or a Nobel Prize.
The system awards one star to restaurants considered very good in their category, two to places good enough to merit a detour on a road trip, and three to those so excellent that they’re worth a special trip – what we’d call destination restaurants.
To be granted three stars (also called rosettes), a restaurant – theoretically at least – consistently has to produce finely crafted food, beautifully presented and skillfully served in refined surroundings. Needless to say, it costs money to ensure that every part of the dining experience is top-notch (some places have more people in the kitchen than they can seat in the dining room), and equally needless to say, restaurants pass the costs along to their patrons. (These are the world’s 20 most expensive restaurants.)
A meal in a Michelin three-star restaurant, then, will never be cheap. At the most expensive one of all, for instance – Guy Savoy in Paris – a multi-course tasting menu will run more than $550 per person, and that’s just for the food.
That said, there are Michelin three-stars where one can dine very well indeed with a food cost between $100 and $200 a head – still a lot, to be sure, but perhaps worth it for what should, in principle, be an unforgettable experience. (If that still seems like too much to pay, here’s how much a meal at McDonald’s costs around the world.)
Click here to see the cheapest Michelin three-star restaurants in the world
To determine the cheapest Michelin three-star restaurants in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data collected by the British-based financial product comparison site Money.co.uk, which drew the price of the least expensive fixed-price multi-course dinner menu at each restaurant from the establishment’s own website. Conversions of local currency to U.S. dollars were made by 24/7 Tempo in mid-May 2022 and are approximate. Our calculations have slightly altered the order of restaurants in the source material. (Note that many three-star restaurants offer specially priced menus at lunchtime; those menus were not considered for this ranking.)
Source: Courtesy of Dominique N. via Yelp
13. (tie) Restaurant Lameloise
>Location: Chagny, France
>Chef: Éric Pras
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: €180
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $190
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Source: Courtesy of Michael U. via Yelp
13. (tie) Régis et Jacques Marcon
>Location: Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, France
>Chef: Régis et Jacques Marcon
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: €180
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $190
Source: Courtesy of Fabienne V. via Yelp
12. Clos de Sens
>Location: Annecy-le-Vieux, France
>Chef: Laurent Petit
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: €178
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $187
Source: Courtesy of Casabonna Reale via Facebook
11. Reale
>Location: Castel de Sangro, Italy
>Chef: Niko Romito
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: €170
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $179
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Source: Courtesy of Restaurant Kei via Facebook
10. Kei
>Location: Paris, France
>Chef: Kei Kobayashi
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: €170
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $179
Source: Courtesy of Akira G. via Yelp
9. L’Osier
>Location: Tokyo, Japan
>Chef: Olivier Chaignon
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: JP¥23,000
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $176
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Source: Courtesy of David Z. via Yelp
8. (tie) Alain Decasse at the Dorchester
>Location: London, England
>Chef: Jean-Philippe Blondet
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: £140
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $172
24/7 Wall St.Source: Courtesy of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay via Facebook
8. (tie) Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
>Location: London, England
>Chef: Gordon Ramsay and Matt Abé
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: £140
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $172
Source: Courtesy of Jonny M. via Yelp
7. Kashiwaya
>Location: Osaka, Japan
>Chef: Hideaki Matsuo
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: JP¥22,000
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $169
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Source: Courtesy of Dal Pescatore Santini via Facebook
6. Dal Pescatore
>Location: Canneto sull’Oglio, Italy
>Chef: Nadia Santini
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: €150
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $158
Source: Courtesy of Andrew W. via Yelp
5. Kikunoi Honten
>Location: Kyoto, Japan
>Chef: Yoshihiro Murata
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: JP¥20,000
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $153
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Source: Courtesy of Bri B. via Yelp
4. Nakashima
>Location: Hiroshima, Japan
>Chef: Tetsuo Nakashima
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: JP¥17,320
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $133
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Source: Courtesy of Hermann S. via Yelp
3. Restaurant Überfahrt
>Location: Rottach-Egern, Germany
>Chef: Christian Jürgens
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: €146
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $128
Source: Courtesy of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay via Facebook
2. Lung King Heen
>Location: Hong Kong
>Chef: Chan Yan Tak
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: HK$990
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $126
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Source: Courtesy of King's Joy via Facebook
1. King’s Joy
>Location: Beijing, China
>Chef: Gary Yin
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in local currency: RMB¥699
>Least expensive multi-course dinner menu in U.S. dollars: $104
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