GREENVILLE, SC – The inaugural Michelin Guide to the American South is now official (and confirmed by the French tire company) after what appeared to be a press release scheduling snafu earlier this morning that revealed the list hours before the ceremony began.
The leak was all anyone in Greenville could talk about ahead of the awards, with some laughing it off and others feeling a little let down by how unceremoniously the list was revealed.
The morning’s spoiler alert, however, transformed into an afternoon of bar crawl parties, followed by a ceremony providing people the chance to relax, schmooze, and catch up with friends and colleagues from across the South. After parties would then take place at restaurants throughout Greenville.
Related stories:
• It’s Michelin season again, with changes afoot
• The 2024 Michelin Guide to Atlanta
This year marks a significant change in how the French tire company recognizes metro area restaurants, folding the previous Michelin Guide to Atlanta in with the new guide to the American South.
While there was no shift in the current list of Atlanta’s Bib Gourmands, eight new Atlanta restaurants earned recommendations this year, including Staplehouse, which lost its one star due to the relocation of the tasting menu to the owners’ new restaurant in Gay, GA. The remaining 2024 one-star restaurants maintained status in 2025, including Atlas, Lazy Betty, and Spring. There were again notable restaurant snubs and geographic exclusions this year.
The prestigious dining guide, which awards coveted stars, Bib Gourmands, and other distinctions to restaurants worldwide, first featured Atlanta restaurants in 2023. While anonymous dining inspectors focused on restaurants within the Perimeter that year, Michelin broadened its scope in 2024 to include restaurants within Atlanta’s northern suburbs.
For 2025, Michelin broadened its reach further in the South to include restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. But the 2025 guide does not include Georgia restaurants outside of metro Atlanta, including those in nationally celebrated dining scenes such as Savannah and Athens.
The decision came down to a tourism partnership between Travel South USA and Michelin, along with local tourism boards, like the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, which helped bring the guide to communities throughout the South. It also means the 2026 Michelin Guide to the American South could expand to feature Georgia restaurants statewide.
Check out Atlanta’s starred restaurants, Bib Gourmands, and recommended restaurants for 2025. Click here for the full Michelin Guide to the American South.
Green Star
No new Atlanta restaurants for 2025
Maintained in 2025
Bacchanalia
The Chastain
Bib Gourmand
No new Atlanta restaurants for 2025
Maintained in 2025
Antico
Arepa Mia
Bomb Biscuit Co.
The Busy Bee
Estrellita
Fishmonger
Fred’s Meat and Bread
Heirloom Market BBQ
Little Bear
Masterpiece, Duluth
Superica
Table & Main, Roswell
Whoopsie’s
One Star
No new Atlanta restaurants for 2025; Staplehouse lost its one-star status due to relocating its tasting menu to Uberto in Gay, GA.
Maintained in 2025
Atlas
Bacchanalia
Hayakawa
Lazy Betty
Mujo
O By Brush
Omakase Table
Spring, Marietta
Recommended Restaurants
New in 2025
Avize
Best BBQ on Buford Highway
Fawn in Decatur
Lucky Star
Madeira Park
Pho House in Duluth
Ryokou
*Staplehouse (new designation for 2025)
Maintained in 2025
Banshee
BoccaLupo
Chai Pani
Delbar
Food Terminal
Georgia Boy
Gunshow
Han Il Kwan
Hen Mother Cookhouse, Johns Creek
Home Grown
Kamayan ATL
Kimball House
LanZhou Ramen
Little Sparrow
Lyla Lila
Marcel
Miller Union
Nadair
Nam Phuong
Poor Hendrix
Snackboxe Bistro
Southern Belle
Storico Fresco
Talat Market
The Alden
The Chastain
The Deer and the Dove
The General Muir
The White Bull
Ticonderoga Club
Tomo
Twisted Soul
Woo Nam Jeong (Stone Bowl House), Doraville
Xi’an Gourmet House
Did Michelin get it right? Let us know your thoughts on the 2025 Michelin Guide to the American South and the Atlanta restaurants included. Sound off by sending an email to Rough Draft Atlanta Editor in Chief and Senior Dining Editor Beth McKibben at beth@roughdraftatlanta.com. Look for our thoughts on the new guide this week on Rough Draft Atlanta.
The post 2025 Michelin Guide to the American South drops and included these Atlanta restaurants appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.