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This spring, Canada’s culinary world was abuzz as the MICHELIN Guide finally cast its spotlight on Québec – bestowing nine highly coveted stars across the province. Québec City’s own Tanière³ earned two stars—a rare feat, matched in Canada only by one Toronto restaurant. Beyond the stars, MICHELIN recognized 17 Bib Gourmand eateries, celebrated for their outstanding value, and presented three Green Stars to champions of sustainable gastronomy. In all, the new Québec selection features 102 recommended restaurants, reflecting both the province’s depth and diversity.
My own MICHELIN journey dates back to 1981, when I lived in Paris with my brother. We navigated the city with our dog-eared green MICHELIN Guide—a treasure trove of practical tips, lovingly detailed maps, and gorgeous illustrations. For me, that guide was always the gold standard: thorough, beautifully produced, and essential in a way no travel app has ever matched.
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Many travelers know guides like Frommer’s, Lonely Planet, DK Eyewitness, or Rough Guides. But MICHELIN, with its signature green books focused on exploring culture and history, was one of the trailblazers—inviting travelers to dig deeper. Over a century later, MICHELIN has become a global authority, covering more than 30,000 restaurants and hotels in 30+ regions and selling more than 30 million guides worldwide.
The iconic red MICHELIN Guide—the one synonymous with star ratings—has evolved far beyond its French beginnings (and its original mission to get people driving and buying tires!). Today, it’s a byword for excellence in fine dining, and a chef’s MICHELIN star is a career-defining milestone. What sets it apart is its meticulous, uniform approach: anonymous inspectors evaluate each restaurant on five pillars, including ingredient quality, technique, harmony of flavors, the chef’s personal stamp, and consistent excellence.
Whether tucked down a Paris backstreet, perched in a Basque town like San Sebastian, or serving up artistry in Québec City, a MICHELIN recommendation means you can expect something special.
After debuting Canadian guides for Toronto and Vancouver in 2022, MICHELIN’s much-anticipated arrival in Québec marks a thrilling new era. Food-lovers in this province now share the global stage, celebrated in the same pages as Paris, Tokyo, and New York.
This news is especially close to my heart: both Québec City and Philadelphia—two cities I hold dear and have written about at length—are now on the global MICHELIN map. As I return, inspired and still savoring every bite from my recent TBEX trip to Québec, it feels like the perfect moment to dive into what the MICHELIN Guide really means for adventurous, food-loving travelers like us—and to celebrate why this recognition matters so much for the soul of a city.
What is the MICHELIN Guide?
Here’s how the MICHELIN Guide ranks restaurants:
- ⭐ One, Two, or Three Stars: Awarded to restaurants with extraordinary cuisine. These are special places worth planning a trip around.
- 🍽️ Bib Gourmand: Great food at a great price. These are often the inspectors’ personal favorites—delicious, approachable, and memorable.
- 🌱 Green Star: Highlights leaders in sustainable dining who go above and beyond for the environment and their communities.
Québec City’s Michelin Guide debut in 2025 brought a diverse set of distinctions, with one restaurant earning two stars, four earning one star, and several others recognized as Bib Gourmand or recommended establishments. Here’s a breakdown of what makes each starred spot unique, including their standout dishes, plus the other notable Michelin designations:
Michelin-Starred Restaurants in Québec City
Tanière³ – ⭐⭐- Québec’s only two-star Michelin restaurant. Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol delivers a theatrical, multi-room tasting journey rooted in Québec’s terroir. The blind tasting menu includes showpieces like A Taste of the Cold (gravlax on wintergreen granita) and the whimsical dessert The Flying Canoe (nut brittle canoe on cotton candy). Other signature items include aged tuna, Québec Wagyu, and a mushroom-infused mille-feuille.
ARVI – ⭐ – Chef Julien Masia’s open-kitchen, interactive dining in Limoilou. The five-course, terroir-driven tasting menu is presented by the kitchen team themselves. Standout dishes feature combinations like prawns with apple and radicchio or squash with basil and ricotta.
Kebec Club Privé – ⭐ – Chefs Cassandre Osterroth & Pierre-Olivier Pelletier – An ultra-intimate, 10-seat communal table where Chefs Cassandre & Pierre-Olivier serve a blind, hyper-local menu (often 10–12 courses). Expect rare Québec ingredients such as black garlic, spotted jewelweed, birch, and marigold. The menu is ever-changing, but always celebrates Quebecois traditions.
Laurie Raphaël – ⭐ – A family-run institution led by Raphaël Vézina, celebrated for its modern, sustainable Québec cuisine. The spot prawns—served with pears from Île d’Orléans or with soba and shiitake—are a signature. The restaurant is also known for its commitment to local seafood and producers.
Légende – ⭐ – Chef Elliot Beaudoin’s “boreal cuisine” is rooted in Indigenous and Quebecois traditions, with a strict no-exotics policy. Standout dishes include deer-heart pie and coal-roasted halibut. The focus is on wild, local ingredients and creative, land-inspired presentations.
Honourable Mentions & Other Michelin Distinctions
Bib Gourmand
Québec’s culinary scene now features a selection of Bib Gourmand restaurants, honored by the MICHELIN Guide for serving high-quality food at moderate prices. The Bib Gourmand distinction signals restaurants where you’ll get an outstanding meal and genuine value—something Quebec’s new guide highlights beautifully.
For 2025, there are 17 Bib Gourmand restaurants in the province of Québec. These establishments span contemporary wine bars, Japanese izakayas, classic French bistros, regional cuisine, and more, reflecting the diversity and richness of Québec’s food culture. Here’s the full list:
Québec City:
Awarded for excellent food at moderate prices. I have highlighted the restaurants in and around Québec City so you can plan. I have also included a direct link to their social media (all Instagram except for one) with a few enticing pictures. Québec City’s Bib Gourmand restaurants include:
- Battuto – Praised for its handmade pastas and Italian-inspired plates. Noted dish: Apulian burrata with salsa rossa and pepper, ratatouille, and fresh basil leaves.
- Bistro B – Chef François Blais -Known for market-driven bistro fare.
- Buvette Scott – A cozy spot with inventive small plates and natural wines Consider: cured duck or locally caught wild sea bass.
- Honō Izakaya – Japanese-Québecois fusion, they don’t serve sushi, but tataki, sashimi, and tempura… and a fine selection of yakitori. The house speciality: miso-marinated salmon, house-made chicken sausage, and confit duck heart
- lueur – Chef Raphaël Vézina – Providing a contemporary twist, think raw tuna with plum and ginger, tender filet mignon with a delicious foie gras sauce, and a commendable floating island accompanied by parsnip chips.
- Melba— The bistro cuisine features small plates such as shrimp barbajuans, liver mousse, ravioli with basil, or scallops with squash bouillabaisse.
- Ouroborous – delicious pork gyozas served with a stout beer sauce, flavorsome chicken, Jerusalem artichokes and salsify, and an excellent apple strudel
- Torii Izakaya – At lunchtime, you can dip into a menu that includes dumplings, karaage, takoyaki, and the ubiquitous bento.
Bas-St-Laurent, Québec Maritime:
- Narval (Rimouski) 1 ⭐ – Chef Norman St-Pierre -Madeira-inspired milho frito with local beef tartare and fermented apple gel, or a new spin on ricotta gnudi that uses fresh cheese from Baie-des-Sables and an almogrote sauce from the Canary Islands.
- Losange (Rimouski) – Bib Gourmand – Save room for dessert: the scrumptious tarte à la farlouche (traditional Québec treacle and raisin pie) surpasses even the best homemade versions.
- Côté Est (Kamouraska) – Bib Gourmand – Chef Kim Côté – Consider the excellent guinea fowl terrine or the delicious duck reared locally by a farmer who was once a chef here.
Michelin-Starred Restaurants in Montréal
Montreal is home to three one-star Michelin restaurants and no restaurants with two stars or three stars. The one-starred establishments are:
- Europea — Chef Jérôme Ferrer’s modern dining room, known for a refined tasting menu featuring local Quebec ingredients and French technique.
- Mastard — Chef Simon Mathys’ minimalist hotspot in Rosemont, celebrated for its carte blanche seasonal tasting menu and technical precision.
- Sabayon — Chef Patrice Demers’ vegetable-forward, pastry-influenced restaurant with a reputation for delicate, creative dishes and standout desserts.
Bib Gourmand
The 2025 MICHELIN Guide awarded the Bib Gourmand distinction to seven restaurants in Montreal, recognizing them for offering exceptional meals at accessible prices. Here are the Bib Gourmand restaurants in Montreal: Annette bar à vin, Cadet, Casavant, Le Petit Alep, L’Express, Parapluie, and Rôtisserie La Lune.
Michelin Green Star
MICHELIN Green Stars are relatively new. The first 23 Green Stars were awarded in 2021 and are awarded to restaurants that are true leaders in sustainable gastronomy. These are estabishments where environmental responsibility is at the heart of everything—from sourcing local, seasonal ingredients and reducing food waste, to supporting ethical producers and actively nurturing their communities. Every Green Star spot approaches sustainability in its own distinctive way, but all serve as role models, showing that a dining experience can be both exceptional and eco-conscious.
Two of the three restaurants that earned a Green Star are tucked away in Québec’s inviting rural landscapes. One is nestled south of Montreal in the renowned Eastern Townships, a region celebrated for its vibrant food scene. The other lies between Québec City and Montreal, just north of Trois-Rivières. Both areas are a pleasure to explore, offering a chance to savor the region’s natural beauty alongside exceptional dining.
- Alentours -Québec City – Chef Tim Moroney – Noted for its zero-waste philosophy, renewable energy use, and local sourcing.
- Auberge Saint-Mathieu – in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc – Mauricie region – Chef Samy Benabed – Noted dish: the venison tartare with wasabi mayonnaise, lacto-fermented red currants, capers, kale and nori.
- Espace Old Mill in Stanbridge East – Chef Éric Gendron– Eastern Townships – a single set menu that celebrates local ingredients: melt-in-your-mouth beets with yogurt, jalapeño pepper and marigold flowers; barbecue-braised cabbage, beurre blanc, salad, and brassica leaves.
Restaurants recognized by the MICHELIN Guide offer not just meals, but experiences—crafted with passion, precision, and purpose. In Québec, where culinary traditions meet creativity, these awards are a big deal. They shine a light on local talent and help travelers find unforgettable places to eat.
The newst version of the MICHELIN Guide Vancouver will be announced October 2, 2025. This will update the guides inaguarla release in 2022. So, whether you’re indulging in a multi-course tasting menu or tucking into a comforting bowl of handmade pasta, if it’s on the MICHELIN Guide list, you’re in for something special.
BONUS CONTENT: Discovering Tanière³ in Old Town
While in Quebec City I had a chance to tour Tanière³ – ⭐⭐- Québec’s only two-star Michelin restaurant. It was an opportunity not many have without a coveted reservation where they give you a secret code to access the main enterance at a specific time on a specific day. This adds to the mystique of the only 2⭐ in Québec .
We were on a food tour of Île d’Orléans and Québec City with food journalist Allison Van Rassel (@allisonvanrassel). We were welcomed into this unique MICHELIN starred restaurant to find out more about the overall concept that Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol has for this restaurant.
Tanière³ offers a groundbreaking culinary experience deeply rooted in the province’s boreal terroir. Under the visionary leadership of award-winning Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol, the restaurant transforms Quebec’s indigenous ingredients into a sensory, multi-room tasting journey. The menu is a permanent work in progress, blending age-old local flavors with avant-garde techniques learned from top global kitchens, resulting in dishes that are both innovative and connected to the land.
Having been trained in restaurants in Quebec City (Panache, the former restaurant of the Auberge Saint-Antoine), at Bonne Entente and at L’Assommoir in Montreal. As well as an stints in Arzak 3 ⭐(Spain ), Mirazur 3⭐ (France), and Quay 1⭐ (Australia), Chef Nicole has a clear vision on how important it is to run a professional (distraction-free) kitchen.
As co-owner and executive chef of Tanière³, he has worked since 2019 to create a multiple course blind tasting menu that has drawn the attention and the accolades of the MICHELIN Guide. Each room is unique. You are ushered into the cavernous bar sitting in comfortable groups. There are no more than 6-8 diners at one citing.
You are moved from the to other areas of the restaurant including two dining rooms and the coveted Chef’s table. Sitting in comfortable chairs as the team prepares different dishes for you.
On our visit, we were presented two appetizers (or amuse-bouche). The first was a petite tartlet filled with creamy ricotta and a savory mushroom praline. The second was a local sourced oyster, elegantly presented in its shell with dashi foam and crunchy dashi pearls.
Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol delivers a theatrical, multi-room tasting journey rooted in Québec’s boreal terroir. The blind tasting menu has included showpieces like A Taste of the Cold (gravlax on wintergreen granita) and the whimsical dessert The Flying Canoe (nut brittle canoe on cotton candy). Other signature items include aged tuna, Québec Wagyu, and a mushroom-infused mille-feuille. Because this menu is dependent providing ‘close to 100% local products”, it changes seasonally.
Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol is one of many young chefs in Québec pushing the envelope of the culinary scene in Canada. With the abundant bounty of the region, a few kilometers from their kitchens, it should not surprise you that Québec continues to challenge and grow.
Not one to rest on its laurels (and Québec City has many awards), you would be amiss to skip a visit to this provincial capital. Take my word for it, you need to go!
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