Michelin’s 2026 Texas reveal will look a little different this year.
The Michelin Guide announced Wednesday that its 2026 Texas restaurant selections will be revealed Thursday, October 8, but this year’s rollout comes with a notable change: There will be no in-person awards ceremony. Instead, Michelin Stars, Bib Gourmands and the rest of the statewide selection will be announced by press release and through Michelin’s digital channels.
It’s a decidedly quieter approach for a guide whose arrival in Texas just two years ago was accompanied by considerable fanfare. Michelin expanded into Texas in 2024, making the state its 11th North American destination at the time. Inspectors focused on Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, bringing one of the restaurant world’s most recognizable—and frequently debated—rating systems to the state.
The inaugural Texas guide debuted in November 2024, with 15 restaurants statewide earning one Michelin Star, along with two Green Stars and dozens of Bib Gourmands. Houston hosted the awards ceremony that year and again in 2025, drawing chefs and restaurateurs from across the state to learn their Michelin fate in person.
Michelin’s second Texas selection, announced in October 2025, grew to 140 recognized restaurants, including 18 with one Michelin Star. The Dallas-Fort Worth dining scene was once again represented across Michelin’s Star, Bib Gourmand and Recommended categories.
Dallas earned its first Michelin Star when Tatsu Dallas, chef Tatsuya Sekiguchi’s intimate Deep Ellum omakase restaurant, received one Star in the inaugural 2024 Texas guide. Tatsu retained that distinction in 2025, while Mamani, chef Christophe De Lellis’ French contemporary restaurant in Uptown, joined it with its first Michelin Star. That brought Dallas’ total to two starred restaurants heading into the 2026 selection.
This year, however, there will be no statewide gathering. Chefs and restaurateurs in Dallas, Fort Worth and elsewhere in Texas will find out what Michelin’s inspectors decided the same way as everyone else: online.
Michelin says the change is part of a broader evolution in how the company unveils its selections around the world. With the guide now covering more than 60 destinations, Michelin said it is using a mix of announcement formats, with some markets receiving traditional ceremonies and others getting digital releases.
For Texas, that means the 2026 results will land on the morning of Thursday, October 8, through Michelin’s website and app, MichelinMedia.com and a press release distributed to the media. Restaurants will learn that morning whether they have earned or retained a Michelin Star, received a Bib Gourmand designation or landed elsewhere in the guide.
The mechanics behind those decisions remain the same. Michelin’s famously anonymous inspectors are finalizing the Texas selection, evaluating restaurants for the guide’s one-, two- and three-star distinctions as well as Bib Gourmands, which recognize restaurants Michelin considers particularly good values, and its broader Recommended category.
Texas has yet to produce a restaurant with two or three Michelin Stars. Whether that changes in 2026—and whether Dallas-Fort Worth adds to its Michelin accolades—will be revealed this fall.
The format may be different, but for Dallas restaurants looking to earn a first Star, retain an existing distinction or make their Michelin Guide debut, the stakes remain the same. And while the ceremony is off the calendar, October 8 will still bring plenty of reasons for the city’s dining scene to pay attention.
