Indianapolis restaurants could serve some very important, somewhat mysterious guests over the next few years.
The Michelin Guide announced April 8 it plans to partner with six Midwest cities to publish an American Great Lakes Edition, giving Indianapolis restaurants their first shot at what is widely considered the highest honor in the culinary world.
The American Great Lakes Michelin Guide, expected to release annually from 2027-29 per the current contract, will also feature restaurants from Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh.
Visit Indy executive vice president Chris Gahl said the non-profit tourism agency has been in talks with representatives from Michelin and the five other participating cities for roughly a year to bring the Guide into the Midwest outside of Chicago. Over the last year, the France-based Michelin has also announced or released guides for Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, the American South and the American Southwest.
Visit Indy staff said they believe participating in the Guide will bring more tourists to Indy. According to Visit Indy data, 26.9% of the $6.4 billion in direct visitor spending last year came in the food and beverage category, up 7.5% from the previous year. A 2025 Ernst and Young study reported 74% of travelers consider Michelin-starred restaurants a “decisive criteria” when choosing a destination, and 76% will extend a stay to visit a Michelin-starred restaurant.
“I think there’s proof in the fact that these accolades really do increase visitors and diners to restaurants,” Visit Indy vice president of communications Morgan Snyder said. “We’ve seen that, we’ve heard that from chefs and restaurant owners. Continuing on that path is how we can continue to get international recognition for these restaurants.”
How do restaurants receive Michelin stars and what do they mean?
Michelin — as in, the tire company — has published some form of travel guide since the early 1900s, initially to encourage more car travel and thus more tire purchases. By the late 1920s the guide had shifted its focus from auto shops to restaurants and hotels, and in 1931 the Michelin Guide debuted its star rating system.
Per the Michelin Guide’s website, stars are awarded based on five core criteria: ingredient quality, harmony of flavors, the mastery of culinary techniques, how the chef’s personality shines through their cuisine and consistency across the menu and over time. A team of full-time Michelin Guide Inspectors visit candidate restaurants “as many times as it takes to get the complete picture” before compiling each year’s Guide.
Factors like service and wine lists are not taken into account; any eatery from a walk-up taco counter to a multi-course fine dining spot is eligible. That said, at least in the United States, Michelin-starred restaurants are predominantly big-ticket, experiential food destinations prized for their service as well as their food.
The allotment of stars is an inexact science, but Michelin roughly defines its star designations as follows:
One star: “A very good restaurant in its category.”
Two stars: “Excellent cooking, worth a detour.”
Three stars: “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.
Michelin’s other distinction is the Bib Gourmand, given to restaurants that offer skillful cooking at an accessible price — essentially, your best bang-for-buck picks. Each Guide also lists a number of “selected restaurants,” which are spots with noteworthy cooking that do not receive stars or Bib Gourmand awards.
According to the Guide, Inspectors judge restaurants across the globe by the same standards regardless of geography, meaning Indianapolis restaurateurs will be measured against their contemporaries in Chicago and New York as well as Tokyo and Paris.
Will Indianapolis have any Michelin-starred restaurants?
A city’s participation in the Michelin Guide does not guarantee that any of its restaurants will receive distinction. In 2025 the Guide issued stars to 276 restaurants in the United States, more than half of them New York City, Chicago or California.
Despite Indianapolis’ rising profile in the culinary world over the last decade or so, the city has yet to produce a James Beard Award-winning restaurant or chef (St. Elmo received the James Beard American Classics award in 2016). The city netted its largest number of James Beard semifinalists ever this year, though none were named finalists.
Participation in the Michelin Guide isn’t free. Since 2019, each newly added region has paid a substantial sum to help cover the costs associated with expansion. While Visit Indy did not disclose financial specifics, the tourism bureau in Denver paid in the neighborhood of $100,000 per year to have a chance at a Michelin star, while Boston and Atlanta forked over up to $1 million for three-year contracts.
Because Michelin distinction is so elusive, Gahl and Snyder said, success will not be defined just by how many restaurants, if any, earn stars. And, they said, they do expect to see stars with time.
“We feel confident based on the chefs and restaurants here locally that we will inevitably, eventually receive stars and be recognized,” Gahl said. “And until that point, being affiliated with Michelin and being in that conversation inherently helps us market Indy as a place to visit.”
Indianapolis restaurateurs welcome promise and challenge of Michelin Guide
While several chefs and restaurateurs consider Michelin stars the highest possible distinction, some have requested their restaurant be removed from the Guide due to the grueling demands and expectations inclusion can bring. Others have criticized the Guide for applying loosely defined standards, awarding stars to restaurants with questionable labor practices or for applying what they see as an elitist and Eurocentric focus.
Still, there’s little question that stars are considered a great honor.
Tinker Street general manager Jourdan Ivory called the possibility of a Michelin-starred restaurant a major opportunity for the city’s food scene. He said even before his staff learned of the Michelin news, Tinker Street was putting into place the sort of experiential elements the Michelin Guide tends to favor; the acclaimed Near Northside kitchen recently launched a seven-course tasting menu curated by executive chef Tyler Shortt, who previously worked at the Michelin 3-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York City.
To Ivory, a Michelin mention would be as much a leap in status as it would be validation of what the city already has to offer.
“I think that sometimes we feel that Indianapolis and Indiana overall is overlooked,” he said. “I think that with Michelin coming to town there’s another level of accreditation that I think a lot of us seek in terms of comparing ourselves to other hospitality spaces.”
Still, Ivory said he doesn’t anticipate Tinker changing much of its day-to-day operations. Instead, the possibility of a visit from an Inspector simply reinforces the need for constant attention to detail.
Taelor Carmine, co-owner of Thai bistro and craft cocktail bar Bodhi on Mass Ave, echoed Ivory. Carmine said the restaurant, which she opened in 2021 alongside her mother and grandmother, doesn’t plan to alter its identity in pursuit of accolades.
“We want to make sure our family recipes tell the story,” she said.
Both Ivory and Carmine — whose eateries were named among USA TODAY’s Restaurants of the Year in 2024 and 2025, respectively — stressed that if they or one of their peers were to receive Michelin distinction, it would benefit everyone in Indianapolis’ tightly knit food scene.
There’s no guarantee the first Great Lakes Guide will deliver that affirmation. But whatever Michelin’s Inspectors decide after they’ve come through town, Carmine and Ivory are confident they will have eaten well.
“Our food scene has come a long way,” Carmine said. “We’re ready for it.”
Contact dining reporter Bradley Hohulin at bhohulin@indystar.com. You can follow him on Instagram @BradleyHohulin and stay up to date with Indy dining news by signing up for the Indylicious newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: The Michelin Guide is coming to Indianapolis. What this means for city
Reporting by Bradley Hohulin, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
