What a Rolls Royce is to car lovers, a Michelin star is to gourmets. It is the rating scale and mark of excellence that every aspiring chef in the world longs for and all the more reason that the dishes on their menu are salted with a lavishly high price tag. We are happy to present to you those restaurants with a Michelin star, in which we can actually treat ourselves to something.
Top ingredients, excellent service, culinary innovation and breaking new ground... just a few of the factors needed to win Michelin stars. They are a sign of excellence and a mark that has existed since 1900, when it appeared on the pages of the auto guide with outposts around France. Over the course of a good century, it has grown into an influential guide to the best restaurants in more than 20 countries around the world and at the same time synonymous with an inexorable criterion of all-round culinary excellence.
Because they are Michelin restaurants very, very expensive, and since only a few want to leave with a full stomach and an empty wallet, Michelin has dedicated a special category to restaurants that offer culinary excellence but are affordable. And where in the world can you actually indulge in several courses of delicious meals with Michelin proof of excellence?
10. Yauatcha in London, 1*
Chinese restaurant in the center of London offers you much more besides a great location and a mystical ambience for less than £30, e.g. a plate for two that you will find so delicious that you will take it all to yourself. Crunchy, aromatic, spicy in combination with exotic ingredients are words on the menu that will surely convince you.
9. Agape in Paris, 1*
It would be naive to expect that a restaurant in Paris could be affordable, let alone a restaurant with a Michelin star. L'Agape is a delicious exception, where for EUR 35 you get a four-course meal. Imagine caviar, truffles, a French accent...
8 . Jean Georges in New York, 3 *
A restaurant where you can spend a month's salary or rent well and still keep your credit. The menu is extensive, the dishes are more or less exclusive, but an already excellent plate of two meals will set you back a mere 38 US dollars, which is incredibly low for restaurant with as many as three Michelin stars. However, avoid the specialties according to the chef's advice, which are quite salty. Inexpensive, not with salt. Silky carrot cocktail sauce isn't quite like that...
7. Nectars in Barcelona, 1*
For some time, Spain has been considered a mecca for young chefs in search of inspiration. It is a country with a rapidly developing culinary offer and a country that sets new trends in cuisine. But even as their reputation grew, their prices remained grounded. In the restaurant Nectars in the center of Barcelona, you will pay only 25 euros for an excellent 3-course meal, for which you will get priceless seasonal and local ingredients, washed down with a bottle of wine from around the world.
6. Laut in New York, 1*
A New York restaurant LUT is one of the few that thrives by offering mixed Asian cuisine. With New York experimentation, they tackled traditional Thai, Indian and Malay flavors, resulting in delicious meals for under $28. A true journey within a journey!
5. Onyx in Budapest, 1*
Classic Hungarian cuisine in a richly decorated restaurant for a low price. The menu is as classic as can be, on which you will find marinated trout, tartar steak, quinoa, chocolate, banana, yuzu and sesame dessert...
4. Shinjuku Nakajima in Tokyo, 1*
Tokyo has the most 3-star restaurants and three Japanese are currently fighting for the place of the best sushi master in the world. Yes, Japan is expensive, but only if you make it so. You will be able to eat excellently and for little money at the family restaurant Nakajima, where completely fresh fish dishes are available from 8 dollars. According to the Michelin guide, you will taste sushi like never before.
3. Hand and Flowers in Marlow, Great Britain, 2*
Marlow is a quiet town in the peaceful south of England. The perfect location for an excellent gastropub that is rated by the magazine Restaurant Magazine the number 1 restaurant in Britain. On offer are lamb with fennel, courgettes and watermelon, a lavender doughnut, banana rum ice cream… the menu will sound all the more delicious when you see the prices, as you can get a 3-course meal for just £19.50.
2. The Spotted Pig in New York, 1*
Restaurant with an unusual name and an unusual background, as it stands behind it Mario Batalli, a popular celebrity chef. The offer of British-American-Italian-tinged cuisine is truly tailored to demanding celebrities, but not at a price. Perch, salmon, asparagus, steaks and hamburgers are regulars on their menu, which are among the best in New York, where the competition in this offering is also the fiercest.
1. Team Ho Wan in Hong Kong, 1*
You really won't need a lot of money here, just a lot of patience, because their dim sum range is so good and the dumplings so delicious that waiting in line is inevitable.
