Now in its 125th year after being established as a road guide telling French motorists where to stop for good food, the Michelin Guide is now one of the most prestigious recognitions a restaurant can receive.
Just 157 restaurants across the world have the highest three-star ranking, while even a lower-level Bib Gourmand or Recommended recognition can forever cement the restaurant’s marketing strategy by bringing in crowds of new visitors who rely on the Michelin name to decide where they should spend their money for a great meal.
While new restaurants are added to the list throughout the year, official stars are handed out annually on specific dates for each city or region.
On Sept. 15, the Michelin Guide awarded three new restaurants in Denver with new stars for a total of 32 starred or recommended establishments.
These are the four new Denver restaurants to earn Michelin stars
Offering modern artsy cuisine inspired by global flavors, The Wolf’s Tailor opened by Chef Taylor Spark in 2018 received the two-star recognition. No other restaurant in Colorado has earned two stars since the Guide first started sending inspectors to the city in 2023.
The three other restaurants to receive their first Michelin star include Japanese omakase restaurant Kizaki, New American restaurant Margot, with which Kizaki shares counter space, and small-plate Mezcaleria Alma, spearheaded by Chef Johnny Curiel.
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“Evoking the vibrant creativity of Mexico City’s restaurant scene, the succinct menu is sprinkled with international flavors, as in an herbaceous ceviche of kanpachi that incorporates dill and roasted garlic, or a subtly spiced aguachile of Santa Barbara uni and Hokkaido scallop with mandarin and crispy ginger,” the Guide wrote of the latter.
A second restaurant launched by Curiel, the Cozobi Fonda Fina in Boulder, was also awarded the Bib Gourmand distinction used to recognize good food at reasonable prices. In addition, establishments in Boulder and Aspen are recognized as part of Michelin’s Colorado Guide.
Image source: Michelin
Boulder and Aspen restaurants also featured in Michelin Guide to Colorado
Boulder has one starred restaurant, Frasca Food and Wine, and nine recognized ones, while Aspen’s Bosq received the resort city’s first restaurant star in 2024.
Other new additions to the Recommended list are all in Denver: Alteño, serving up cuisine from the Jalisco state in Mexico; inspired-by-the-seasons Wildflower; and 12-seat omakase restaurant Ukiyo.
In its early decades, the Michelin Guide focused primarily on its home country of France and several other global metropolises such as New York, Tokyo, and London. More recently, the guide has expanded to several cities that previously did not receive the famed inspectors.
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The Florida Guide including Greater Miami, Orlando, and Tampa was launched in 2022 and expanded to include Greater Fort Lauderdale, The Palm Beaches, and St. Pete-Clearwater in 2025.
Boston and Philadelphia will be recognized with their first round of starred restaurants in November 2025, while Greenville in South Carolina will also host its first awards ceremony for the American South on November 3.
Globally, Taquería El Califa de León became the first establishment in Mexico to receive a Michelin star in 2024. The Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto also got their first round of star awards in 2022.
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