Four Barbecue Joints Among Texas’s 19 Stars
The 2026 MICHELIN Guide Texas adds three stars, including Fort Worth's Goldee's, and six Bib Gourmands, five of them in Houston. Where to book, city by city.
In its third year, the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Texas has added three stars, and one of them went to a barbecue joint that opens only a few days a week. Texas now has 19 MICHELIN-starred restaurants, all with one star, and four of them have barbecue in their names. That is the state’s food story in one line, and a ready-made itinerary.
The guide’s anonymous inspectors, who pay their bills in full, according to Michelin, also named six new Bib Gourmands, for good food at good value, and 16 new recommended restaurants. The full selection is 149 restaurants across 30 cuisine types, in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, plus towns around them.
“Over the past three years, the MICHELIN Guide has given travelers another reason to explore Texas through its food,” said Tim Fennell, director of Travel Texas.
The three new stars
Fabrik, Austin (vegan). Promoted to one star. Chef Je Wallerstein and her husband Silas run a fully plant-based tasting menu in a new home in Tarrytown, sourcing produce from Texas farms. Inspectors singled out mushrooms, beets and corn “celebrated as main events,” and recommend the biodynamic wine pairing, which they call as fairly priced as the menu.
Goldee’s Bar-B•Q, Fort Worth (barbecue). Promoted to one star. Open only a few days a week from late morning until afternoon, and, per the inspectors, “absolutely worth the hours-long wait in the Texas sun.” Order the Black Angus brisket, cooked over local post oak, the turkey and the jalapeño-cheddar sausage. Don’t skip the banana pudding.
Read next · Travel GuidePuerto Vallarta, the World's No. 2 Small City2 min →Kappo Kappo, Austin (Japanese). New to the guide with one star. Twin brothers Haru and Gohei, born in Paris to Japanese parents, cook French-Japanese dishes inside the Austin Proper Hotel. Sit at the L-shaped counter. Inspectors say it is lively, not a hushed omakase; the meal opens with a gougère of nori emulsion topped with A5 wagyu and toro tartare and caviar.
All 19 starred restaurants
- Austin (7): Barley Swine; Craft Omakase; Fabrik; Hestia; InterStellar BBQ; Kappo Kappo; LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue.
- Houston (5): BCN Taste & Tradition; Le Jardinier Houston; March; Musaafer; Tatemó.
- San Antonio (3): Isidore; Mixtli; Nicōsi.
- Dallas (2): Mamani; Tatsu Dallas.
- Fort Worth (1): Goldee’s Bar-B•Q.
- Spring (1): CorkScrew BBQ.
The four barbecue stars are CorkScrew BBQ in Spring, Goldee’s in Fort Worth, and InterStellar BBQ and LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin.
The six new Bib Gourmands
Five of the six are in Houston:
- Bar Buena, Houston
- Khói Barbecue, Houston
- Kitchen Rumors, Houston
- Murray’s Pizza & Wine, Houston
- Xolo, Houston
- Resident Taqueria, Dallas
Texas now has 54 Bib Gourmands across 16 cuisine types. For travellers on a budget, this is the more useful list, and it is strong on barbecue and tacos, from Franklin Barbecue and Micklethwait Craft Meats in Austin to Truth BBQ in Houston and Barbs B Q in Lockhart.
Special awards
- Exceptional Cocktails: Angel Bautista, Xolo (Houston).
- Sommelier: Jessica Cano, Sushi Horiuchi.
- Outstanding Service: Stefan Davis, Barley Swine (Austin).
- Young Chef / Culinary Professional: Jacques Varon and Max Lappe, Baso.
Plan it
- Austin first: with seven starred restaurants and a deep Bib list, it is the easiest single-city food weekend.
- The barbecue run: Goldee’s in Fort Worth, then south to Austin’s starred and Bib pits and Lockhart.
- Houston for value: five of the six new Bibs, plus five starred rooms.
- Book: use the MICHELIN Guide site and app, which also books the guide’s Texas hotels, including Bowie House, Auberge Collection (Two MICHELIN Keys), Hotel ZaZa Dallas (One Key) and the Thompson San Antonio.
For advisors
- Who to sell it to: food-led couples and groups, and Canadian clients looking for a winter city break with a reason beyond the weather.
- What to book: a Fort Worth hotel night to line up Goldee’s early, and Kappo Kappo with a stay at Austin Proper Hotel, where it is located.
- Plan for queues: Goldee’s limited days and long waits mean a set itinerary day, not a squeeze-in.
- Watch: expect more demand for Kappo Kappo’s counter and Fabrik’s tasting menu after the stars. Book as far ahead as each allows.
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