This week, French tire company Michelin announced the starred restaurant selections for its 65th guide to Italy. With 374 Michelin-starred restaurants, the guide to Italy is the second most starred in the world, according to Michelin. The list of 33 new starred restaurants includes 30 with one star, two with two stars, and one with three stars, Michelin’s most coveted distinction typically reserved for expensive tasting menus.
Milan is home to the newest three-star restaurant. Enrico Bartolini, from chef Enrico Bartolini, serves upscale “contemporary classic” cuisine at the Mudec museum in both tasting menu and a la carte formats. The new addition brings Italy’s list of three-star restaurants to 11; all 10 of the other three-star restaurants kept their stars from last year, including Massimo Bottura’s World’s 50 Best winner Osteria Francescana.
Some Italian chefs make multiple appearance in the guide. Bartolini’s Venice restaurant Glam by Enrico Bartolini gets two Michelin stars this year; led by resident chef Donato Ascani, it first appeared in the red book with one star in 2017. Meanwhile, Bottura’s Gucci Osteria in Florence, which opened in January 2018, earned its first Michelin star. (La Madernassa at the La Madernassa resort in Guarene fills out the list of new two-star spots.)
Michelin points out that Lombardy, a region in northern Italy that includes the cities Milan and Como, has the edge on Michelin stars in the country. Lombardy boasts 62 restaurants on the list, including three three-star restaurants, five two-star restaurants, and 54 one-star restaurants. Unsurprisingly, it’s also Italy’s wealthiest region.
