Michelin unveils Quebec guide, awards stars to 9 restaurants

Michelin, which produces a prestigious food and travel guide, unveiled its first-ever Quebec guide on Thursday, and awarded highly-sought-after stars to nine restaurants, most in the Quebec City-area.

The guide declared Tanière³, in old Quebec City, Canada's second-ever two-star restaurant. 

The total list of Michelin-starred restaurants in Quebec are: 

• ARVI (Québec City).

• Jérôme Ferrer - Europea (Montreal).

• Kebec Club Privé (Quebec City).

• Laurie Raphaël (Quebec City).

• Légende (Quebec City).

• Mastard (Montreal).

• Narval (Rimouski).

• Sabayon (Montreal).

• Tanière³ (Quebec City).

The Michelin Guide awards stars to restaurants for excellence in food, drinks and service. A restaurant can earn up to three stars, widely considered the highest honour any restaurant can achieve. Inspectors conduct multiple visits before a rating is issued.

The stars can be controversial, however. Critics of Michelin's rating system have argued the stars place a high degree of pressure on some chefs. 

Michelin stars also tend to be awarded to restaurants that serve high-end fare. 

Michelin described Tanière³ as a "den" where "avant-garde Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol explores all the nuances to be derived from the immense terroir of Québec's boreal zone."

WATCH | Local food columnist weighs in: 

A food columnist on the Michelin Guide for Quebec

24 hours ago

Duration 3:32

For the first time, Quebec has earned a coveted place in the Michelin Guide, with nine restaurants across Montreal, Quebec City and Rimouski awarded stars. From refined Québécois cuisine to bold modern tasting menus, this marks a milestone moment for the province’s culinary identity. We spoke with Allison Van Rassel, a local food columnist, to unpack what this recognition means for Quebec’s chefs and dining culture.

Michelin described the food as using sophisticated cooking methods. 

"Succulent sauces and a rigorous balance of flavours make this cuisine a resounding triumph," a Michelin news release said. "Think matured tuna, pickled matsutake slices, sunflower cream, or Québec Wagyu tataki, wild rose, morels, and roasted onions. The pastry chef proposes a woodland-inspired autumnal dessert with a mushroom-infused millefeuille."

It costs money to get Michelin to send inspectors to a region. The Quebec version of the Michelin Guide cost $2.1 million, paid for by a coalition of associations and multiple levels of government. The money goes to Michelin and serves to pay for the cost of producing the guide. Inspection standards are high; inspectors visit restaurants multiple times to ensure consistency before issuing a star. 

In addition to stars, the guide also awards some restaurants a "bib gourmand" which recognizes "friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices." 

There were 17 restaurants in Quebec that received the "bib gourmand" designation, including Cadet, Annette bar à vin, Casavant and L'Express in Montreal.

Here is the full list of "bib gourmand" restaurants"

• Annette bar à vin (Montreal).

• Battuto (Quebec City).

• Bistro B (Quebec City).

• Buvette Scott (Quebec City).

• Cadet (Montreal).

• Casavant (Montreal).

• Côté Est (Kamouraska).

• Honō Izakaya (Quebec City).

• Le Petit Alep (Montreal).

• L'Express (Montreal).

• Losange (Quebec City).

• Lueur (Quebec City).

• Melba (Quebec City).

• Ouroborous (Quebec City).

• Parapluie (Montreal).

• Rôtisserie La Lune (Montreal).

• Torii Izakaya (Quebec City).

Three Quebec restaurants, Alentours in Quebec City, Auberge Saint-Mathieu in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc and Espace Old Mill Stanbridge East, also received Michelin green stars, awarded for commitment to eco-friendly gastronomy. 

Both Vancouver and Toronto already have Michelin guides. There are currently 16 Michelin-starred restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area, including what was previously the only two-starred restaurant in Canada, Sushi Masaki Saito. There are 10 Michelin-starred restaurants in Vancouver.