The Most Affordable City For Michelin Star Dining

In 1900, French brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin hit upon an idea to promote their tire company. They would publish a guidebook of restaurants and hotels to encourage readers to travel to these places by car, thus using more tires. Despite being a marketing ploy at the outset, the Michelin Guide has become the end-all, be-all of culinary authorities. To earn one Michelin star is a feat most chefs dream of. Earning three stars — the maximum — can make you a household name.

For all the respect it has earned, the Michelin Guide has been criticized for its bias towards expensive restaurants. Dinner for one at a Michelin-starred establishment can exceed $300, but there are hidden gems out there that cost much less. You just need to know where to go.

According to financial group John Lewis Finance, the most affordable city for Michelin dining is Tokyo, which just so happens to be the city with the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, with over 260 restaurants at the time of writing. However, Michelin Guides also include a handful of restaurants that do not have stars but are still considered worthy of note by the guide. In Tokyo, there are 54 such restaurants that fall into Michelin's lowest price bracket. That means a meal there will cost no more than $25, or ¥5,000. More restaurants meeting these criteria are sure to come as Michelin continues its expansion into the Japanese market.

Serving as the epicenter of Japanese culture for centuries, Tokyo has long been a food paradise, but it wasn't recognized by Michelin until relatively recently. The Michelin Guide was exclusive to Europe until 2006 when it expanded to New York. The following year, Tokyo became the first Asian city to join. Many chefs in Japan rejected Michelin at first, with one telling The New York Times: "How can a bunch of foreigners show up and tell us what is good or bad?" As time wore on though, the city came to welcome the guide.

There are multiple reasons for Tokyo's ascent to the top of the Michelin charts, with the highly technical nature of Japanese cuisine being first among them. However, there's also some bias at play here. Michelin only publishes guides in places where it has financial partners, and Japan is globally renowned for its automotive industry. Meanwhile, places like Mexico, India, and the entire African continent have never been visited by Michelin.

Not every restaurant in the Michelin Guide has a star. There are, unfortunately, no Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo that fall into the lowest price point, but there are 54 places that have a Bib Gourmand, the second-highest honor after a star. These include the formerly-starred Sosakumenkobo Nakiryu, Konjiki Hototogisu, and Chukasoba Ginza Hachigou, all of which specialize in ramen. Another popular noodle dish, soba, is also a big hit in the Michelin guide.

Finding Michelin-starred food on a budget is never going to be easy, but there are many bib gourmand restaurants and other entries from the guide that are quite reasonably priced. Even setting Tokyo aside, Japan is the number one destination for affordable Michelin-honored eats. Osaka and Kyoto also have a high number of budget-friendly spots, per John Lewis Finance's list of budget-friendly Michelin dining, with 46 and 40 restaurants in the lowest price bracket. Other affordable Micheline guide cities include Asian megacities like Seoul, Bangkok, and Taipei.

In Michelin's home base of Europe, affordable Michelin meals in the lowest price bracket are much harder to come by. In Copenhagen, there are 16 restaurants in this category. In the United States, New York City leads the way, with 17 restaurants offering more affordable meals, including the famous Katz's Delicatessen. As in Tokyo, none of the affordable options in New York have earned a Michelin star, but many hold the Bib Gourmand honor.

There is only one restaurant in the world that falls into Michelin's lowest price bracket and holds a star. That would be the one-starred Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Singapore. A bowl of pork noodles costs just 6 Singapore dollars, equivalent to $4.50 in American currency.