Denton restaurants left out of Michelin Guide Texas for a third year

No Denton restaurant made the Michelin Guide Texas this year, the third year in a row the city has been left out, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported. The guide's three-year deal with the state is now ending.

Michelin announced it was coming to Texas in July 2024 under a partnership with Travel Texas, the state tourism office, and five cities. The contract commits Michelin to publish, inspect for and market a guide covering Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, though it does not promise any restaurant a star. The state's tourism office paid $450,000 a year for marketing and promotion and the cities contributed $90,000 a year, for a total of $2.7 million, according to the Fort Worth Report. The first Texas picks, including stars, Bib Gourmand awards for moderately priced food and other recommendations, came out in November 2024.

A critic's pick

Sarah Blaskovich, restaurant critic for The Dallas Morning News, said at least one Denton restaurant deserved a look: Osteria il Muro, the Italian restaurant run by chef and co-owner Scott Girling. "Their handmade pasta is some of the best in the region," she said, calling the menu smart and "shockingly inexpensive." Girling was a 2026 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Texas, announced in March.

"They don't need a star to be considered the best of the best restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth," Blaskovich said, adding that the guides mostly serve international visitors and people who do not know the region.

The city's view

Kayla Herrod, Denton's chief communications officer, said the city is "learning more about what participation in the Texas Michelin Guide would mean." She called the local dining scene "vibrant and rapidly growing" and described the guide as a new initiative Denton is beginning to explore. Herrod also named Queenie's Steakhouse, the 10-seat sushi restaurant Keiichi and Hannah's Off the Square as Denton spots with stories that could fit what Michelin looks for.

Michelin's inspectors work anonymously, and it is not known whether any of them ate in Denton during the partnership. Michelin has said its coverage is not strictly confined to the five cities, and in an email to Blaskovich it asked the cities to respect its editorial independence so inspectors can make finds in nearby areas. Elsewhere in North Texas, no star has gone to a restaurant outside Dallas or Fort Worth, though Plano's Jashan and McKinney's Harvest at the Masonic have been Michelin-recommended.

Whether the guide continues in Texas is still open. The Dallas Business Journal reported that talks on extending the contract are underway, and Visit Dallas communications director Zane Harrington told the paper he expects next steps to be announced in the first quarter of 2027.

Sources

kdhnews.com