It was a big night for Sushi Sho. The omakase restaurant from Keiji Nakazawa vaulted from two to three-Michelin stars on Tuesday, November 18, at the 2025 Michelin Northeast Cities ceremony in Philadelphia. Also celebrating tonight is the Korean 16th-floor restaurant, Joo Ok, from Hand Hospitality; the new New York restaurant moved up to two Michelin stars.
Held at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the fast-moving awards show that jammed in more cities in one place than ever into a singular celebration, with nominees attending from New York, D.C., and Chicago, along with this year’s newcomers from Philadelphia and Boston. TV host Java Ingram emceed the ceremony. While the drop to two-star status for Chicago’s molecular Alinea, Virginia’s New American Inn at Little Washington, and New York sushi temple Masa stole a bit of the thunder last week, the excitement was palpable, especially in the host city of Philadelphia.
Annie Shi of Lei, the Chinatown wine bar, received the Sommelier Award, and the Young Chef Award went to India Doris of Markette. A handful of New York restaurants retained green stars for sustainability: Family Meal and sibling Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Dirt Candy, and One White Street.
India Doris of Markette got this year’s Young Chef award. Nadia Chaudhury
Sushi Sho joined the coveted three-star ranks beside the restaurants that maintained them: Jungsik, the Korean namesake restaurant from Jungsik Yim that opened in 2011, Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park (now with more meat), Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin, and Thomas Keller’s Per Se, all kept their three-star status. The only other three-Michelin restaurant outside of the New York collection was Chicago’s Smyth.
The restaurants that kept their two Michelin stars include Scandinavian Aquavit, Brooklyn’s Swedish Aska, seasonal tasting menu restaurant Atera, Korean restaurant Atomix, Tarrytown’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns, tasting menu restaurant César, relocated Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, French Midtown’s Gabriel Kreuther, the namesake restaurant from prolific chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges, sushi temple Masa, Danny Meyer’s the Modern, Odo, Fidi’s Saga now with chef Charlie Mitchell in the kitchen, and Sushi Noz.
Four spots earned Michelin stars for the first time. They include the eclectic Bridges in Chinatown, new kaiseki spot, Muku in Tribeca, Downtown Huso by Buddha Lo, and kaiseki counter Yamada. Restaurants that maintained their one-star status include East Village omakase Bar Miller, Upper East Side’s Cafe Boulud, Korean restaurant Bōm, Spanish spot Casa Mono, Mexican Corima, Simon Kim’s Flatiron restaurant Cote, and Fidi Saga sibling Crown Shy.
Daniel, Daniel Boulud’s fine-dining namesake, maintains the star, along with vegetarian Dirt Candy, Uptown French Essential by Christophe, Estela from Ignacio Mattos, Family Meal, and Brooklyn restaurant with an exceptional wine list, The Four Horsemen. Also in Brooklyn, there’s Francie, Frevo in Greenwich Village, Gramercy Tavern helmed by chef Michael Anthony, Japanese Kappo counter Icca, Jeju Noodle Bar, Grand Central restaurant Jōji, and Korean wood-fired Jua.
Other one-star restaurants include modern Korean Kochi, sushi restaurant Kosaka, French Japanese L’Abeille, and La Bastide by Andrea Calstier in the Hudson Valley. Stephen Starr-run Le Coucou keeps its star, along with Daniel Boulud’s seafood-focused Le Pavillon, Korean handroll spot Mari, Long Island City Korean Meju, Flatiron’s Noda, the hidden counter Nōksu, Uptown sushi Noz 17, and Korean Ouji Mi. There’s also Mexican Oxomoco in Brooklyn, Japanese French Restaurant Yuu, Italian pasta spot Rezdôra, groundbreaker Semma, Shion 69 Leonard, Israel-leaning Shmoné, Shota in Brooklyn, seasonal American restaurant 63 Clinton, Sushi Nakazawa, Tempura Matsui, Torien yakitori, Major Food Group’s Torrisi, kaiseki restaurant Tsukimi, Tuome in the East Village, Chinese French Yingtao, and sushi omakase Yoshino.
New York City has 85 Bib Gourmands; new ones include Vietnamese Bánh Anh Em; Southern Thai Chalong in Hell’s Kitchen; Vietnamese La Dong, and Georgian Laliko. Mexican Olmo has a new Bib, along with Chinese Sal Tang’s and Taqueria El Chato.
According to the guide, a one-star restaurant offers “high-quality cooking, worth a stop;” two stars provide “excellent cooking, worth a detour;” and three stars signify “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.” A Bib Gourmand reflects “good food at a moderate price.”
This is a developing story.
