If Paris alone has more than a hundred starred restaurants, it is preceded by another metropolis which won it the title of world capital of gastronomy.
France, with its rich culinary tradition, is often considered the world capital of gastronomy. Its capital has always been an innovation center and an inspiration for kitchens around the world and its regions each have their own culinary identities … The Michelin guide, which is a global reference in gastronomy, contributes to strengthening the image of Paris as a central place of gastronomy. If Paris alone has 132 starred restaurants in 2024, another city of which we speak less, however, exceeds it by far.
This metropolis has 181 starred establishments in the Michelin guide in 2024, including 20 three -star. A score that hoists it at the very top of the podium of cities with the most star restaurants. This city, which joined the Michelin guide in 2007, knew how to seduce its demanding inspectors. Indeed, in this distant capital, cooking is raised to the rank of art.
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Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is therefore the city that holds the world record in the number of starry tables. Tokyo gastronomy, renowned for its excellence and its precision, offers a wide variety of specialties: from Kaiseki to Ramen, via sushi, tempura, yakitori, but also dishes that merge with European kitchens. Among its most emblematic restaurants, Sézanne, located at the Four Seasons Tokyo hotel in Marugouchi and led by chef Daniel Calvert, won his third star in 2024. The restaurant offers “a perfect marriage between French sensitivities and Japanese influences” according to the inspectors of the Michelin guide.
Another restaurant promoted by the 2024 vintage, “the Harutaka sushi restaurant, promoted to the highest culinary summit”, according to the international director of the Michelin Guide Gwendal Poullennec. Quintessence, under the leadership of Chef Shuzo Kishida, is one of those restaurants that proudly keep their three stars for a long time, 2008.
Still in Japan, the cities of Kyoto and Osaka also shine on the world gastronomic scene since they are positioned in 3rd and 4th steps of the podium of the most starred cities, behind Paris and in front of London. Cradle of the Japanese culinary tradition, Kyoto has five three -star restaurants: Hyotei, Kikunoi Honten, Isshisoden Nakamura, Mizai and Gion Sasaki. Osaka nicknamed “Japan cuisine”, shelters three flagships of Japanese high gastronomy: Kashiway Osaka Senriyama, Taian and Hajime.
If “Tokyo remains the most endowed city in terms of quality restaurants and establishments rewarded with Michelin stars” according to Gwendal Poullennec, the city of Paris still retains its honorary status as gastronomic capital with its 29 star restaurants in 2024. Paris will always continue to seduce gourmets thanks to its know-how and its culinary refinement.