17 Of The World’s Cheapest Michelin Starred Restaurants
— 31 August 2023

17 Of The World’s Cheapest Michelin Starred Restaurants

— 31 August 2023
Chris Singh
WORDS BY
Chris Singh

White tablecloths and pre-paid set menus. This is usually what one would associate with Michelin-star restaurants, and yet cities like Hanoi and Bangkok have proven time after time that some of the world’s most awarded culinary experiences need not breaketh the budget. Anyone seeking the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants has plenty of options.

One of the best ways to really connect yourself with local culture while travelling is to track down that destination’s best restaurants (and just dining experiences in general). Here, you’ll get an idea of how local tastes have been adapted and shaped, whether that’s as a function of local cuisine or an attempt to pull international cuisines into the mix. The former, however, is almost always superior.

To help you save time, we’ve done the hard yards (a combination of first-hand experience and reading Google reviews) to put together this list of the most inexpensive Michelin dining the world has to offer right now, from India and Bangkok to Hong Kong and even New York City.

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Asia

3 Coins – Taipei, Taiwan

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Cantonese
Set Menu Price: AU$50 per person

This traditional Cantonese restaurant in Taipei’s buzzy Zhongzheng District is over 60 years old now, presenting delicate flavours that lift tradition with a few Taiwanese twists. Any dish with abalone seems to be the way to go here, with signatures including abalone soup with egg white, steamed abalone with dried and fresh tomatoes, and seafood baked in a papaya.


Phenix – Shanghai, China

Cheapest Michelin Star dining experiences in the world
Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: French, Cantonese
Set Menu Price: AU$80 per person (lunch only)

Phenix is one of Shanghai’s most popular Michelin-star restaurants for a good reason. The harmonious blend between regional French and Cantonese has locked in a Michelin star for over five consecutive years, building up a glowing reputation for the sophisticated dining room, which can be found on the second floor of The Puli Hotel & Spa overlooking Jing’an Park. Try to head along during lunchtime. When the sun dips, this Michelin star experience is no less expensive than some of the higher-end kitchens around the world, but the three-course set at lunchtime settles at around AU$80 per person.


Jay Fai – Bangkok, Thailand

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Thai
Signature Dish Price: AU$52

When it comes to affordable Michelin-star dining, it’s very hard to beat Bangkok. Jay Fai is the main reason for this, run by its eponymous ski-google-clad owner who operates on a first-come, first-serve basis every Wednesday through to Saturday. Just about every foodie who has made the quintessential pilgrimage has added to the ironclad mystique that surrounds Jay Fai, constantly raving about those signature golden-brown crab omelettes. Personally, I’ve always preferred her exceptional stir-fried noodles with mixed seafood and gravy.


Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery – George Town, Malaysia

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Peranakan
Signature Dish Price: AU$6

Head on over to Penang Island to get a taste of Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery. It’s one of the only Michelin-approved spots in Malaysia, set across two small shops in a central location and spearheaded by Chef Gaik Lean. The family-owned restaurant refines authentic Peranakan cuisine with a focus on generational Nyonya recipes ranging from pie tee and gulai tumis to nasi ulam to the signature sambal brinjal, which is chopped eggplant with a spicy and savoury sauce. When appetisers start from around AU$2, you know you’re in a good place.


Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle – Singapore

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Singaporean
Signature Dish Price: AU$7

Chef Chua Hock Cheng, who has worked at the eternally busy Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle for more than four decades, studiously delivering the hawker stall’s various signatures which includes Singapore’s original bak chor mee — a superlative dish of noodles with black vinegar, chilli paste and minced pork. It’s a hawker stall so you can make any reservation but expect to queue at any time of day.


Suan Thip – Nonthaburi, Thailand

best michelin star restaurants in the world
Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Thai
Signature Dish Price: AU$9

With enough space for 200 seats, Suan Thip is not only one of the larger restaurants in the Thai city of Nonthaburi, but it’s also the area’s most valuable. Fashioned as a complex of riverside gardens and ponds, the serene setting is a sophisticated backdrop that screams fine dining. Yet, the prices are shockingly low for rich signatures like stir-fried crispy catfish with curry and betel leaf wraps complemented by pink lotus petals and a Miang Kum sauce.


Yat Lok – Hong Kong

Yat Lok is one of the best Michelin star restaurants in the world.
Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Cantonese
Signature Dish Price: AU$11

It’s all about the roast goose at Yat Lok restaurant. And while Hong Kong has plenty of these spots scattered around, Yat Lok always seems to take the lion’s share of glowing reviews. The last time I went along to try the small shop’s signature was a day after being tremendously disappointed with Kam’s Roast Goose, which also boasts a Michelin star. Out of the two, I’d say Yat Lok seems to be the most consistent both from personal experience and secondary research.


Chugokusai S.Sawada – Osaka, Japan

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Chinese
Signature Dish Price: AU$11

Japan used to have more affordable Michelin-star dining experiences, but a lot of those restaurants have either lost their Michelin star (for whatever reason – doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be disappointed) or been “downgraded” to Bib Gourmand. Osaka had a great deal of them but now the most salient is Sawada, a reliably good Chinese restaurant that incorporates plenty of Japanese and French flavours. I’ve only been once but it was enough to leave a lasting impact with the signature crispy chicken bursting with flavour. And if that ain’t your bag, try the foie gras burger; you won’t regret it.

Note that you’ll want to go during lunchtime for the set menu. For dinner, this Michelin-starred restaurant is just as expensive as you’d reasonably expect.


Lao Zheng Xing – Shanghai, China

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Cantonese
Signature Dish Price: AU$18

As a brand, Lao Zheng Xing has been bubbling around Shanghai since 1862, considered a pioneer for fine Shanghainese. The current iteration is this unassuming restaurant, which looks rather plain inside but serves up some of the area’s finest flavours for cheap. Locals would generally go straight for the deep-fried river shrimps, which are made daily and are responsible for the restaurant’s consistently solid reputation amongst visitors.


Europe

L’Antic Molí – Ulldecona, Spain

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Chinese
Set Menu Price: AU$185 per person

Holding onto its one Michelin star every year since 2017, L’Antic Moli transforms an old flour mill into a highly theatrical, conceptual space hinged on Chef Vicent Guimera’s preference for the Slow Food movement. With a hyperlocal approach and a circular economy, the kitchen presents an affordable set menu that pushes the budget a little, at just under $200 but, by all counts, delivers each and every time.


Borkonyha Winekitchen – Budapest, Hungary

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Hungarian
Set Menu Price: AU$190

It may not look like a Michelin-star restaurant, but there’s no mistaking Borkonyha Winekitchen as anything but top-tier once those dishes are marched out of the kitchen. The highly detailed, subtle Hungarian influences are built into dishes like water buffalo tartare with cauliflower and monkfish with butternut squash and potato. The exacting, produce-forward approach has evidently paid dividends for this traditional restaurant, which also leans heavily on wine pairings.


Nectari – Barcelona, Spain

Nectari is one of the cheapest Michelin star meals in the world
Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Spanish
Set Menu Price: AU$144

Barcelona has a few of the cheapest Michelin starred restaurants, but it seems Nectari is still the most popular. The buzzy restaurant has been around for many years and is considered a local institution, serving up inventive modern Spanish in collaboration with various small-scale producers. Chef Jordi Esteve’s faith in the flavours of Spain and creative little nuances has built a very valuable tasting menu, which on any given day will include dishes like foie gras and eel and a signature seafood bisque with prawn tartare.


La Robe – Montaigu, France

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: French
Set Menu Price: AU$50 (lunch only)

Much like some of the Michelin-star restaurants in Asia that I’ve listed above, you’ll want to head along to this fine French eatery during lunchtime. As the evening pushes on, La Robe is not more affordable than most of France’s fussy Michelin-starred experiences. If you head along in the afternoon, you’re only looking at an easy 29 euros for a three-course. It changes all the time, but you can expect dishes like beetroot with mustard ice cream and grilled tuna belly with Mariko sauce and rapeseed oil.


Hostellerie la Montagne – Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, France

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: French
Set Menu Price: AU$151

Here’s another worthwhile Michelin experience in France. Consistent praise across many years places Hostellerie la Montagne as one of the quintessential dining experiences of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, which is found in the bucolic village of Haute-Marne in a 17-century stone house framed by immaculate gardens. Chef Jean-Baptistie Natali channels French fine dining with a strong grasp of value, building produce-forward signatures of langoustine and foie gras and oyster risotto with lime.


North America

Topolobampo – Chicago, USA

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Mexican
Set Menu Price: AU$250

Topolobampo is still considered one of the better Rick Bayless restaurants in America, leaning heavily on inventive modern Mexican with more than a few premium twists. Each table is loaded with a canon of sauces, and dishes like kampachi sashimi with street corn or Oazacan mole chichilo with dried chillies, nuts and spices routinely earn the kitchen high praise from both locals and visitors. At US$165 (just over AU$250) for the current set menu, this is pushing my promise to include only experiences that’ll cost you less than $250. However, the swollen price tag is due to how atrociously bad the exchange rate is right now.


Torishin – New York City, USA

Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Japanese
Set Menu Price: AU$166

In a city as relentlessly expensive as New York, it’s great to know there are at least some top-tier dining experiences Aussies can still experience without paying the cost of a night at a luxury hotel. Since 2015, Tori Shin has been one of the most compelling spots in Hell’s Kitchen, serving up superlative yakitori framed by gold leaf walls and a brilliant design that segments the space into various rooms. The menu centres around organically raised chickens and other ethical premium produce such as Iberian pork and A5 Wagyu. When you pay just US$108 for 14 courses, you’ll feel like you’ve just found New York’s ultimate foodie hack.


State Bird Provisions – San Francisco, USA

Cheapest michelin star restaurants in the world
Michelin Stars: 1
Cuisine: Chinese
Signature Dish Price: $35

It’s tough to get into State Food Provisions, which has long been known as one of the most valuable Michelin experiences in the entire country. Those guinea hen dumplings and crispy qual fingers have fueled many of my dustier nights in San Francisco, especially when they’re taken with some fried black cod tail in tamari butter and that delectable A5 wagyu toast with shaved cabbage and shiitake mushrooms.



How We Curated This List Of Cheapest Michelin Starred Restaurants

Ever since I first took that coveted step towards the front of the line at Bangkok’s iconic Jay Fai, I’ve been quite gung-ho about tracking down Michelin star meals that don’t cost an arm and a leg. This is the kind of guide I’d need myself, so I thought it’d be a good idea to put an updated list together.

Note that I’ve only included Michelin star dining that’s under AU$200. Some might not see that as affordable, but when we’re talking about acclaim, $200 is a comparative steal. And by “restaurants” we mean anywhere you can dine, from humble food carts to those kinds of hole-in-the-wall gems Anthony Bourdain worked tirelessly to support during his time.

And for the sake of brevity, we haven’t included any Bib Gourmand entries, which are pretty much “honourable mentions” in the scope of Michelin. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worth paying attention to, however. Bib Gourmand is a well-respected stamp of approval from Michelin, typically indicating restaurants that serve excellent food at moderate prices.


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world?

Tim Ho Wan is still the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world, however, the consistency issues mean there are much better options in Asia like Lao Zheng Xing in Shanghai and Yat Lok in Hong Kong.

What are some affordable Michelin star restaurants in the USA?

State Food Provisions in San Francisco is famous for offering an inexpensive Michelin-star dining experience. Other value-driven Michelin-starred restaurants include Torishin in New York and Topolobampo in Chicago.

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Chris Singh
WORDS by
Chris is a freelance Travel, Food, and Technology writer. He has had work published by The AU Review, Junkee Media and Australian Traveller Media and holds tertiary qualifications in Psychology and Sociology.

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