Le Guide Michelin, also known as the Michelin Guide, is a French-based restaurant and hotel guide book that has been published by the French tire company Michelin for over a century. The guide uses a system of anonymous reviewers to rate restaurants and provide recommendations for travelers.
The Michelin Guide was first published in 1900 by the Michelin tire company as a way to promote travel by car and increase demand for Michelin tires.
Initially, the guide only covered France, but over the years it has expanded to cover other countries around the world, including the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
In the early years, the guide only awarded stars to restaurants that were considered exceptional, but it has since expanded to include Bib Gourmand and Plate distinctions for more casual dining establishments.
The guide has become one of the most respected and influential restaurant guides in the world, with chefs and restaurateurs often aiming for Michelin stars as a sign of their success and quality.
In recent years, the guide has faced some criticism for its focus on fine dining establishments and its lack of diversity in restaurant selections.
Zagat is a restaurant guidebook that was originally based on user-generated content. The company was founded in 1979 and was acquired by Google in 2011. Zagat's reviews and ratings are based on input from individual readers, rather than anonymous critics.
Yelp is an online review platform that offers user-generated reviews and ratings for restaurants, bars, and other businesses. Unlike the Michelin Guide and other print publications, Yelp is free to use and is open to anyone.
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The Michelin Guide France is the flagship publication of the Michelin Guide series. It includes reviews and recommendations for thousands of French restaurants and hotels.
The Michelin Guide United States covers restaurants and hotels in major American cities, including New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The guide also features regional lists for areas like the West Coast and the East Coast.
The Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland covers restaurants and hotels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The guide includes detailed reviews and ratings for establishments in major cities like London, Dublin, and Edinburgh.
Restaurants are selected for the Michelin Guide based on anonymous reviews by a team of inspectors. These inspectors visit restaurants multiple times before making a recommendation, and their identities are kept secret to prevent any outside influence.
A Michelin star is a rating system used by the Michelin Guide to denote exceptional restaurants. One star indicates a restaurant is considered very good, two stars denotes excellent cuisine that is worth a detour, and three stars signify exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.
Not all Michelin-starred restaurants are expensive, but many are. The Michelin Guide rates restaurants based solely on quality of food, regardless of price. Therefore, some Michelin-starred restaurants are affordable while others are quite expensive.
The Bib Gourmand distinction is given by the Michelin Guide to restaurants that offer high-quality food at a reasonable price. This distinction is separate from Michelin stars and is intended to highlight restaurants that offer good value for money.
Yes, the Michelin Guide has faced some criticism in recent years for its focus on fine dining establishments and its lack of diversity in restaurant selections. Some have also criticized the guide for its subjective and secretive rating system, which they say gives too much power to anonymous inspectors.