No Arizona restaurants earn Michelin stars, but here’s a list of guide’s recommendations

While no Arizona restaurants were awarded Michelin stars during the inaugural ceremony for the iconic culinary guide’s Southwest edition, there were still a number of establishments and professionals who were recognized.

In addition to the well-known stars, there is the Bib Gourmand which identifies eateries that serve good quality food for a good value.

The Valley restaurants that made into the guide’s Bib Gourmand section were:

• FnB, Scottsdale
• Huarachis, Phoenix
• Kid Sister, Phoenix
• Little Miss BBQ, Phoenix
• Lom Wong, Phoenix
• Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
• Valentine, Phoenix

Guide inspectors were also able to recommend restaurants that did not earn stars or the Bib Gourmand recognition.

The establishments in Arizona that were highlighted as Michelin recommended restaurants included:

• Atria, Flagstaff
• Bacanora, Phoenix
• Christopher’s at Wrigley Mansion, Phoenix
• Fry Bread House, Phoenix
• Glai Baan, Phoenix
• Hush Public House, Scottsdale
• Indibar, Scottsdale
• Latha, Phoenix
• Pretty Penny, Phoenix
• Reserve, Scottsdale
• Shinbay, Scottsdale
• Tratto, Phoenix

Arizona chefs, sommelier recognized during the ceremony

The Michelin Young Chef Award for 2026 was given to Rene Andrade, who runs the kitchens at Bacanora and Huarachis Taqueria.

Charleen Badman, the chef and co-owner of FnB Scottsdale, was recognized with Michelin’s Mindful Voices Award for using a vegetable-forward, farmer-first philosophy by building menus around local growers and seasonal ingredients since 2009.

The Michelin Sommelier Award was given to Reserve Scottsdale’s wine director John Germain.

What are Michelin stars and how are they awarded?

The number of Michelin stars that an establishment is given indicates not only the quality of its food, but how worthwhile a special trip is. One star means the cooking is high quality and worth a stop, two indicate excellent cooking that is worth a detour and three emphasize that the cuisine is exceptional and eaters should make a special journey to try it.

The criteria used by inspectors to determine what category the restaurant falls under include product quality, mastery of cooking techniques, harmony of flavors, the personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine and consistency over time as well as across the entire menu.

Details on the Michelin Guide Southwest edition

The Michelin Guide announced that its iconic culinary guide would be adding a Southwest edition on Dec. 8, 2025. In addition to Arizona, the regional guide covers Nevada, New Mexico and Utah as well.

To construct the guide, anonymous inspectors made reservations at different restaurants to find the Southwest’s hidden treasures.

The Michelin Guide was first published and sold in France in 1920, but it didn’t start awarding stars to restaurants until 1926. The hierarchy for the stars was then introduced in 1931 and the starred rankings criteria was published in 1936.

The first North American guide was announced in 2005 for New York. Since then, there have been 14 guides added, including ones for Chicago, Washington D.C., California, Florida, Colorado, Atlanta, Texas, Boston and Philadelphia.

Related

Michelin stars incoming? Iconic culinary guide to launch Southwest edition, including ArizonaBagelfeld’s set to reopen Phoenix location 4 months after sustaining fire damage2 very different Phoenix eateries make NYT list of best Mexican restaurantsLuna Grill Mediterranean restaurant to hold grand opening of 1st West Valley locationIce cream barlour Tipsy Scoop opens in downtown PhoenixMaricopa County sheriff calls for felony penalties for misuse of license plate reader data