12 Of The Least Expensive Michelin-Starred Restaurants In The US
If you've always assumed that eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant is out of your price range, it turns out that the U.S. has quite a lot of inexpensive ones that anyone can afford. Granted, there may not be one near you, but many cities across the U.S. have Michelin star restaurants that won't come anywhere near breaking the bank. In fact, there are quite a few one-star places you can enjoy on a budget. However, if you want to try a 2-star or 3-star restaurant, you'll unfortunately have to spend much more.
The original Michelin restaurant guide was created by the Michelin tire company to encourage more people to take road trips, and, thus, buy more cars and tires. So, it makes sense that there are affordable Michelin-starred restaurants out there. Granted, not every inexpensive restaurant listed in the Michelin Guide has a star rating, but all the ones on our list have one Michelin star, which indicates that they have high quality cooking.
The ones on our list average $20 to $30 per person or $50 to $100 per person, depending on what your budget looks like. There are all sorts of dining experiences on the list, with one place that even started life as a food truck and others that offer tasting menus. We've featured restaurants from across the U.S., in Texas, Colorado, California, Georgia, Florida, and New York. So, next time you're on a road trip near one of these 12 lower-cost Michelin-starred restaurants, you'll want to put one or several on your eating agenda.
CorkScrew BBQ - Spring, TX
Several of the least expensive Michelin-star restaurants on our list are barbecue restaurants, and they're all in Texas. One standout place you'll want to try is CorkScrew BBQ in Spring, Texas, which is the best barbecue place around Houston. Will Buckman first wowed people with his legendary-level barbecue at a retirement party in 2010, and the demand grew into a restaurant. His barbecue is so popular that you should expect to arrive early to get parking and a spot in line that sometimes has a 2-hour wait.
Menu items often sell out, sometimes leaving you to order items you didn't expect, which are just as good. Some people make advanced online orders, but you still may have a small wait. There's some indoor seating, but a large portion of the seating is in covered and uncovered areas outdoors.
Customers report spending $20 to $30 per person, which is what you'd expect from barbecue places that don't have near the fame CorkScrew BBQ does. You can order oak-smoked meats by the pound along with reasonably-priced sides. Plus, there are potatoes, sandwiches, and salads featuring smoked meats. Besides just loaded baked potatoes, the menu also features a stuffed potato salad. CorkScrew's slow-smoked brisket is the menu item you don't want to miss, with more customers bragging about it than any other menu item. Other favorites include the turkey, jalapeño cheddar sausage, and apple cobbler.
(281) 330-2178
26608 Keith St, Spring, TX 77373
InterStellar BBQ, la Barbecue, and LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue - Austin, TX
Austin, Texas, is home to not one but three one-star Michelin barbecue restaurants: InterStellar BBQ, la Barbecue, and LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue. You can eat at any of the three for $20 to $50 per person.
InterStellar is another place to expect long lines, but every bite is worth it. Meat comes by the pound, sides come by the pint or quart, and tea comes by the gallon. Don't miss the melt-in-your mouth peach-tea-glazed pork belly that slowly roasts until it's practically candy or the beef short ribs that ascend to the next level with chimichurri sauce. The sides shine just as much as the meat, including customer faves like scalloped potatoes with a buttery truffle flavor and crave-worthy jalapeño slaw.
LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue began as a food truck but has transformed into a full-fledged restaurant, often with long lines to get to the good stuff. Popular items like ridiculously tender beef cheeks sell out quickly. You'll find barbecue plates and sandwiches with a variety of meats. Customers enjoy adventurous sides like fresh Caesar kale salad and Texas red chili Frito pie. Plus, the decadent German chocolate cobbler wows guests with coconut and pecan cobbler topped with buttermilk ice cream.
Female-owned La Barbecue started as a barbecue trailer and blossomed into a restaurant. Fans have learned to pre-order this grass-fed, post-oak-smoked barbecue at least 5 days ahead rather than endure hours-long lines. Choices include meat by the pound, chili, sandwiches, house-made pickled veggies, potato bread, and Frito pie. While the sandwiches are creative, simplicity also reigns, with the pickled red onions and the Velveeta shells and cheese among the stand-out sides.
Holbox - Los Angeles, CA
If you didn't think you could eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Los Angeles on a budget, Holbox is ready to prove you wrong. It's named after a Mexican island, which is perfect for this Mexican-centric seafood restaurant. While it's located in the food court of the Mercado la Paloma, it's an absolute gem if you're looking for amazingly fresh Mexican seafood specialities with local California ingredients served in a casual atmosphere. You can spend as little as $20 to $30 or as much as $50 to $100 per person, depending on how many types of dishes you want to try and whether you choose the cheaper or more expensive menu items.
The regular menu features a variety of fresh cold dishes, like beautiful ceviches, tostadas topped with ceviche and fresh salsas, fresh sea urchins and shellfish, aguachiles with beautiful green marinades, and cocteles made from shrimp and other ingredients like octopus and scallops. However, if you're more in the mood for hot food, there are beautifully-plated tacos made with heirloom corn. Customers love the smoky octopus one. And entrees range from lobster and shrimp to octopus and fried vermillion rockfish collars.
Holbox also offers an 8-course tasting menu each week, where chef Gilbert Cetina showcases even more of what makes this restaurant worthy of its star rating. He provides both a celebration of his country's dishes while dazzling guests with a showy preparation.
(213) 986-9972
3655 S Grand Ave c9, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Staplehouse - Atlanta, GA
Not all inexpensive Michelin-star-rated restaurants are barbecue and Mexican restaurants. Staplehouse is one that offers American contemporary cuisine, and it's in Atlanta, Georgia. It has a comfortable laidback atmosphere, which starts with some self-service aspects like collecting your own tableware and ends with bussing your own table. One thing we like is the restaurant's accessibility to the everyday diner as well as those who want a more-Michelin-star dining experience.
Chef Ryan Smith has created a smallish regular food menu, with a much larger drink menu, which allows you to stay in the $20-$30 or $50-$100 range depending on your budget and appetite. To give you an idea of the variety of items you might find there on the regular menu, you can order a pizza, charcuterie, meatloaf banh mi, alkaline noodles, dry-fried eggplant and okra, or even a grinder (for lunch).The drinks range from coffee, sodas, and alcoholic beverages to fancy teas, kombucha, and fancy sodas.
While it's possible to eat here on a budget, some customers end up spending $100+ per person if they opt for the tasting menu with wine pairing. The tasting menu might have you trying dishes like comforting cabbage, grilled oysters with popcorn butter, wagyu beef with beef fat foam and sunchokes, and a dessert frangipani boba tart with lemon semifreddo.
(404) 524-5005
541 Edgewood Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Alma Fonda Fina - Denver, CO
Denver, Colorado's Alma Fonda Fina provides a next level experience when it comes to Mexican restaurants. With its contemporary flair, these dishes are nothing like what you're used to seeing in most Mexican restaurants. From the sourdough tortillas and fresh ingredients to its beautifully-plated dishes, it's a far cry from beans, rice, and a burrito. The name itself translates into something like "the soul of the neighborhood where everyone gathers." And, chef Johnny Curiel has made it a place to share his cultural heritage while making customers feel welcome and at home.
There are so many great dishes at Alma Fonda Fina, which is why the menu is designed for sharing items in each menu section so you can get the most from your experience. For example, you could order the must-try camote asado, which is the delectable roasted sweet potato dish from the Entradas menu. Then, follow it up with ceviche de atun with coconut broth from the Crudos menu, a mole dish like enmoladas de pollos from the De Masa menu, and heritage duck leg carnitas de pato from the Para Compartir menu.
Even ordering all this and drinks, you'll stay in the $50 to $100 per person range, which is to be expected here. However, you'll have to plan to enjoy dessert elsewhere since there's none on the Alma Fonda Fina menu. Instead, you'll want to have the creamy avocado margarita that everyone raves about.
(303) 455-9463
2556 15th St, Denver, CO 80211
Rocca - Tampa, FL
With Rocca, we're venturing into the portion of our list where most diners end up spending $50 to $100 per person. This Tampa, Florida, restaurant offers a contemporary Italian menu, inspired by Chef Bryce Bonsack's time living in Italy and learning to cook its traditional dishes. With many items that are meant to share, you'll want to come with friends to make the most of the experience.
Everything on the menu is superb. So, you can't go wrong. Even a starter as simple as bread with lemon butter and sea salt will have you in awe. Besides an impressive lineup of starters with dishes like a wagyu steak carpaccio and a little gem salad, there's pricy caviar service and a mozzarella cart meant to share. You'll find eight or so pastas among the main dishes, and you can't go wrong with any of them. However, the agnolotti one featuring spicy salami, creamy ricotta, fresh tomatoes, and smoky breadcrumbs is one that customers truly adore. Then, there's a pricier meat and fish menu with options like dry aged rohan duck and bistecca, but they're meant to share with friends to make trying them more affordable.
Be sure to get a recommended wine pairing for the dishes you order. You'll also want to try the burnt cheesecake, which is popular enough that some people order it upon arrival to ensure it doesn't sell out. It has a delightfully light texture and includes maple-syrup-sauteed sweet plantains.
(813) 906-5445
323 W Palm Ave, Tampa, FL 33602
Boia De - Miami, FL
Boia De is the only other affordable contemporary Italian restaurant on our list with a Michelin star rating. The twists on these dishes certainly help them earn their contemporary distinction, and place them also in a more American category than strictly Italian.
Once you see the menu, you'll realize it's meant to share, with everyone ordering two to three plates per person. The bigger your party, the more of the 16 or so main menu items you can try collectively, spending around $50 to $100 per person. There's everything from veggies and pasta to meat and seafood. The menu does change occasionally, but you'll want to look for favorites like the potato skins with caviar and stracciatella cheese, the fall-off-the-bone lamb ribs fra diavola with yogurt and spicy pickles, and the fresh buttermilk crudo. You may also find yourself tempted by the crispy polenta with basil, eggplant, and basil; herbed tagliolini Nero with king crab and truffle pate; or corn fagottini with speck ham, asiago cheese, and chanterelle mushrooms.
This restaurant is serious about its wines, offering options from around the world to perfectly pair with your meal. There's even a wine club you can join. However, there are also plenty of zero-proof drinks for those who don't imbibe. Also, be sure to leave room for dessert because there are usually a half a dozen from which to choose. One dessert pairing customers love is the carrot cake and ginger ice cream, when available.
(786) 209-6310
5205 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137
Jeju Noodle Bar - New York City, NY
The Jeju Noodle Bar represents the only restaurant on our list that focuses mainly on noodle dishes and the only one that's Korean. This great New York Michelin-star restaurant's focus is on Korean ramyun noodle soup, but there are other dishes as well. Because some entrees are normal-sized rather than small-plate-sized, it's entirely possible to walk in and order a single noodle dish entree and spend under $30 before tax. However, most people report spending $50 to $100 per person, and some spend over $100 per person because they want to try (and often share) as many dishes as possible. Plus, the cozy space with dim lighting invites you to stay and enjoy your afternoon or evening.
There are nearly as many appetizer options on the menu as entrees. The standout appetizer is the most expensive one, toro ssam bap, which features a well-balanced combination of ingredients like raw fatty tuna and caviar to scrambled eggs, seaweed, and veggies on a mound of rice. A stand-out entree is the wagyu ramen, which is the most expensive noodle option for good reason. Not only does it come with comfort-inducing veal bone broth, but it has many other beef layers, including raw wagyu, brisket, and chili beef ragu. If that weren't enough, it includes two types of mushrooms. Even the Jeju fried chicken is over and beyond the norm, with its yogurt dip and caviar.
(646) 666-0947
679 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10014
State Bird Provisions - San Francisco, CA
If you guessed from the name of this San Francisco, California, restaurant that there's quail on the menu, you'd be right. However, that's far from all you'll find on its little-bit-of-everything Californian menu, dreamed up by husband and wife duo, Chef Stuart Brioza and Chef Nicole Krasinski. The food is presented in small dishes, dim-sum-style, and you grab whichever ones appeal to you from the pushcarts as they go by. It's easy to understand why it's on our list of 40 favorite Michelin-star restaurants in the U.S.
Honestly, the first time you look at the menu, you're not going to see too many things that look entirely familiar. So, you'll have to trust the process and eat with your eyes. The average person spends $50 to $100 playing small dish roulette as long as they keep to the cheaper dishes. The restaurant divides its menu into Provisions (appetizers), Pancakes & Toast, Commandables (more expensive ones with a main-dish vibe), and desserts. The smoky trout dip with potato chips is a particular crowd pleaser among the Provisions. Of course, you can't fail to try the juicy, pumpkin-seed crusted, fried quail from the Commandables list.
Even the dessert menu may have you squinting a bit to see if you understood the corn ice cream sandwich name right. However, there are other more almost-down-to-earth offerings like nectarine-blackberry cobbler and black velvet cake featuring figs, pecans, and coffee white chocolate cream.
(415) 795-1272
1529 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Oxomoco Brooklyn - Brooklyn, NY
Finally, we come to Oxomoco Brooklyn, which you may have guessed is in Brooklyn, New York. This is a contemporary Mexican restaurant with both a brunch and dinner menu. Its two drinks menus are also quite robust, leaning heavily on Mexican offerings like mezcal and tequila drinks. The restaurant's big claim to fame is all its wood-fired dishes that Chefs Justin Bazdarich and Maria Barriga prepare with care. Although, there have been times the restaurant has switched its flavor profile to be Mexican-seafood-oriented. So, don't expect a static menu.
Everything on the menu is listed as being "para la mesa," meaning "for the table," which is your cue to share. While that doesn't mean that the portions are small for the price, customers still tend to spend $50 to $100 each trying out different menu items and loading up on libations. A popular dish to share is the soya-marinated tuna tostada, which comes with avocado, radish, and a macha-style salsa. And how can you resist trying dishes like lamb tacos and swordfish tacos when you probably haven't seen them on any other menu? Still, classics like Caesar salad are popular because they're pictures of perfection, especially helped along with a bit of cotija masa crunch.
(646) 688-4180
128 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222