(13 November 2025) - The Michelin Guide has published restaurant ratings for the south of the USA for the first time. Ten restaurants receive one star, one restaurant is rated with two stars. Emeril's in New Orleans made it into the selection with two stars and impressed the anonymous testers with its Creole cuisine. The full selection, including Bib Gourmand restaurants and recommended eateries, comprises a total of 228 restaurants from 44 different cuisines. Chefs and restaurant teams were honoured on stage during the opening ceremony.

"The cuisine of the American South is a rich blend of cultural influences brought to life by talented chefs who have created some of the region's most celebrated dishes," said Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guide. "Our anonymous testers were deeply impressed by the region's culinary diversity, and this first selection reflects their findings - from Southern classics like barbecue, Creole cuisine and seafood to international flavours. We warmly welcome these restaurants to the Michelin family and congratulate all the chefs and restaurant teams being honoured tonight."

The selection for the American South 2025 includes the existing restaurant list for Atlanta as part of this first regional edition in North America. Atlanta welcomed seven new recommended restaurants this year.

Two stars

Louisiana - Emeril's (New Orleans; Creole cuisine): Young E.J. Lagasse, son of the legendary namesake, now runs a remarkable restaurant that has celebrated Creole cuisine for more than three decades. His determination is palpable as he breaks new ground, combining contemporary sophistication with vibrant originality. BBQ prawn tarts, savoury gumbo and delicious golden brown cornbread with French butter feel both familiar and new. This cuisine oozes personality and class without ever compromising on flavour. Generously spaced tables and comfortable bench seating offer a direct, uninterrupted view of the gleaming kitchen with floor-to-ceiling glass fronts. Meanwhile, an excellent service team takes care of every detail with warmth and attention.

One star

Louisiana:

• Saint-Germain (New Orleans; Modern Cuisine): The old adage that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover fully applies to this small restaurant in Bywater. An unassuming façade advertising "Natural Wines and Garden Terrace" leads to a cosy bar where chefs Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith open the menu with some delicious bites. The modern feast for the palate really takes off with a grilled cornbread cake spread with homemade, matured and fermented butter. Several small courses follow, each with sophisticated sauces and bold flavours. Carolina Gold rice with prawns and ginger is an absolute delight for the cold season. Other highlights include pigeon with creamed vegetables and a warm cheese soufflé with caramelised sugar.
• Zasu (New Orleans; modern American cuisine): Chef Sue Zemanick is no stranger to the New Orleans dining scene. Before opening Zasu in 2019, she worked in the kitchens of some of the city's most renowned restaurants. Located in an easily overlooked cottage in Mid-City, the restaurant is an elegant oasis with a stylish dining room characterised by wooden floors, dark green walls and gold tones. The menu is well laid out and offers around a dozen dishes with a focus on seafood, combining local flavours with French cooking techniques. A scallop bowl with two perfectly seared scallops in Thai chilli lime butter and watermelon radish makes for a refreshing starter. The goat's perch on a bed of chard, sweet potato and beech mushrooms in beurre blanc is a delicious main course.

North Carolina:

• Counter (Charlotte; Modern Cuisine): To say that Counter is a standout on the Charlotte dining scene would be an understatement: this ambitious, eclectic project from chef Sam Hart is one of a kind. The bold, immersive experience offers changing concepts inspired by Hart's diverse passions and creativity. Themes such as nostalgia, music, personal history and more will be explored in a multi-course tasting menu. Local produce, including herbs and vegetables from nearby city farms, are celebrated and combined with a variety of culinary influences to create a truly memorable meal. The well-coordinated team offers uncomplicated, warm hospitality and the selection of drinks will delight you.

South Carolina

• Malagón Mercado y Taperia (Charleston; Spanish cuisine): Don't be fooled by this unassuming eatery near King Street; Malagón is a real insider's tip. It is a small restaurant with a charming, old-world ambience. The shelves are stocked with wines and imported products, and the open kitchen provides an insight into what's going on. The Spanish tapas menu by chef Juan Cassalett is particularly appealing. Nothing is overloaded, and the precision of dishes such as roasted rabbit leg with savoury crème fraîche sauce and "La Bomba de la Barceloneta" - deep-fried pork cubes in mashed potatoes - is simply beautiful. Everything seems deceptively simple and surprises in a delicious way, such as the "Arros con Cangrejo", a paella-like dish with crab meat that delights with every bite.
• Scoundrel (Greenville; French cuisine): Chef and owner Joe Cash's upscale French bistro boasts an elegant dining room with wood floors and brick walls, a fully stocked bar and an accommodating staff that makes every guest feel comfortable and welcome. It's the hippest table in town and reservations are essential, although the seats at the bar are anything but comfort food. Here, high-quality ingredients are prepared with care and finesse, and well-known classics such as Caesar salad are elevated to a new level. The half roast chicken is tender and juicy with a perfectly crispy skin and is served with gnocchi Parisienne and a mustard sauce as a special highlight. For dessert, the trend towards upscale comfort food continues: cronuts are served with pistachio anglaise and crème fraîche.
• Vern's (Charleston; modern American cuisine): Husband and wife team Daniel and Bethany Heinze have created one of Charleston's most sought-after restaurants. Reservations at Vern's are highly coveted, but you can try your luck at the few bar seats reserved for spontaneous diners. Lowcountry ingredients take centre stage on a menu that reflects chef Daniel Heinze's travels. Everything changes with the seasons, but dishes such as toasted sourdough bread with leek butter or raw yellowfin tuna with Calabrian chillies are varied starters. The pasta is homemade - the campanelli with rabbit and vacche rosse in cacio e pepe sauce are velvety and tender. A selection from Bethany's expertly compiled wine list is the perfect accompaniment.
• Wild Common (Charleston; modern American cuisine): Chef Orlando Pagán's tasting menu is anything but ordinary. Although there are extras such as caviar eggs Benedict and Wagyu beef, you won't find standard fare here. From the price (under 100 dollars) and the focus on regional ingredients to the incredibly creative dishes with an international twist - this is fine dining with a pinch of humour. Pho with carrot kimchi or hamachi crudo with coconut and kumquat could kick things off, followed by tortelli with roasted carrots and walnuts, carrot fondue and brown butter whey foam, as well as main courses such as dry-aged New York strip with polenta cake and king oyster mushrooms. As a special highlight, an ice cream sundae with mature cheddar offers a savoury variation on dessert.

Tennessee

• Bastion (Nashville; Modern Cuisine): Pass through the lively cocktail bar to reach this stylish restaurant in the Wedgewood-Houston neighbourhood. Bastion offers a single tasting menu of contemporary Southern cuisine that is approachable yet playful. Dishes are served in succession and the focus is on the produce, such as in a stunning plate of yellow peach and tomato, strawberry miso mayonnaise and mozzarella marshmallows, or in a summery combination of striped squash-stuffed agnolotti and a delicious bowl of creamy corn. Black cod poached in champagne butter on kohlrabi noodles is garnished with a parsley salad with bacon - a sophisticated dish. Southern chess pie is refined with sake marc and cantaloupe sorbet - a grand finale.
• Locust (Nashville; Modern Cuisine): Reservations are essential at chef Trevor Moran's small, Japanese-inspired seafood restaurant. The dishes are characterised by simple elegance and attention to detail and are all meant to be shared. The beef tartare handrolls, a house classic, are always a treat. From there, you can discover more seafood such as Maine scallops with shaved green apple. A Japanese omelette with shredded Jonah crab meat is simple but perfect. But don't miss out on dessert. The ever-changing kakigori variations, for example, present a block of the finest, powdered sugar-scraped ice cream filled with a dense passion fruit cream and caramelised honeycomb, topped with rich milk foam and crowned with a confit egg yolk.
• The Catbird Seat (Nashville; Modern Cuisine): This popular restaurant, which originally opened in 2011, has turned over a new leaf with its move to the top floor of the Bill Voorhees Building. Under the direction of husband and wife chef team Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz, the cuisine boasts a youthful, maximalist flair and a high level of dedication to local, seasonal and sustainable produce. The menu consists of a selection of inspiring small bites, including, for example, an elegant interpretation of a chicken wing: boned, stuffed and refined with Périgord sauce. Another tantalising option is a small bowl of crispy roasted lamb neck on creamy Carolina Gold rice, rounded off with a broth of sugar cane mushrooms and pickled radish pods.

Green star

The Green Star recognises restaurants that have inspired and impressed the testers with their forward-looking vision for gastronomy. By promoting a community of innovative businesses that are committed to progress in the restaurant industry, the Green Star strengthens dialogue and collaboration and encourages businesses to develop together.

Three new restaurants caught the testers' attention with their inspiring visions: Counter in Charlotte, North Carolina; January in Franklin, Tennessee; and Luminosa in Asheville, North Carolina. At Counter, most of the ingredients come from over 20 local farms. To reduce food waste, the restaurant has implemented a fermentation and preservation programme. The team at January works in a zero-waste kitchen and utilises almost all products. For example, vegetable scraps are turned into compost and surplus vegetables are pickled, fermented, dried or preserved. Using regional products and supporting local farmers is also a key concern at Luminosa. Here, great care is taken to ensure that all kitchen leftovers are utilised sustainably.

These newly awarded restaurants complement the two already awarded restaurants Bacchanalia and The Chastain, which continue to impress the inspectors in Atlanta. Together they form a community dedicated to presenting a new vision of gastronomy.