Michelin: 9 Quebec restaurants awarded stars in province’s first-ever guide

Nine Quebec restaurants were awarded prestigious Michelin stars in the first-ever Quebec food and travel guide unveiled Thursday.

Tanière³, which prides itself for experimental cooking in the historical setting of a Quebec City 17th-century cellar, is the second restaurant in Canada to receive two Michelin stars.

The world-famous guide called it a “resounding triumph” and “worth a detour.”

“In what might be described as his gastronomic research laboratory, avant-garde Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol explores all the nuances to be derived from the immense terroir of Québec’s boreal zone,” Michelin‘s inspectors wrote in their guide.

Dining room director Roxan Bourdelais said he is “on a cloud” to be able to showcase Quebec cuisine at a high level. He said the accolade is already making an impact on reservations.

“[My phone] is vibrating in my pocket,” he told CTV News.

Eight more restaurants were awarded a coveted star, most of them in Quebec City. Three Montreal restaurants and one in Rimouski made the list. They are:

• ARVI (Quebec City)
• Europa (Montreal)
• Kebec Club Privé (Quebec City)
• Laurie Raphaël (Québec City)
• Légende (Québec City)
• Mastard (Montreal)
• Narval (Rimouski)
• Sabayon (Montreal)

A Michelin Star is awarded to restaurants offering outstanding cooking. The Guide came to Canada in 2022, first in Toronto and then in Vancouver. Quebec’s is the only guide covering an entire province.

Dishes are evaluated based on the quality of the ingredients, the harmony of flavours, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed through their cuisine and consistency both across the entire menu and over time.

Elise Tastet, who founded local restaurant guide tastet.ca, said she was impressed by the Michelin choices.

“It’s funny because [Tanière³] actually said, ‘We want Michelin to come and we will get two stars.’ And they did. So congrats to them,” she said.

“Lots of addresses in Quebec City; more stars in Quebec than in Montreal, which is quite impressive.”

She said she hopes the Michelin stars will help boost tourism, especially when it comes to wealthy foodies.

Michelin awards additional restaurants the “bib gourmand” in its guides to those offering quality food at moderate prices, as well as “green stars” for sustainable dining.

In Quebec, 17 restaurants were awarded the bib and three received a green star.

The guide also listed 76 non-starred restaurants in its “recommended” section, bringing the total number of recognized restaurants in the province to 102.

Tastet said she was surprised that some recommended restaurants weren’t awarded stars, like Bouillon Bilk, Mon Lapin and Cabaret l’Enfer.

The fee to bring Michelin inspectors to a city is upwards of $1 million. The Journal de Montreal previously reported the Quebec guide cost $2.1 million, dished out by associations and governments.

Restaurants can earn up to three stars, three being the highest recognition. No restaurant in Canada has earned a coveted third star, with Toronto’s Sushi Masaki Saito being the only other restaurant with two.

With files from CTV News Montreal’s Olivia O’Malley