Tennessee's Michelin picks
The latest Michelin Guide coverage now lists 37 restaurants across Tennessee and highlights Sewanee’s Lunch as a Michelin-recommended stop. Local reviewers are pointing to the guide as a reason to plan regional food-driven trips around the state (timesfreepress.com).
Tennessee now has 36 restaurants in Michelin’s official listings, and two of them are in Sewanee, a town better known for a university than a dining circuit. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin added Tennessee to its first American South guide on November 3, 2025, with 3 one-star restaurants, 1 green star, 9 Bib Gourmand picks, 1 special award and 24 recommended restaurants. Those categories total 36 places statewide. (tn.gov) The recommended list includes Lunch at 24 University Ave. in Sewanee and Judith, another Sewanee restaurant nearby. Michelin’s Tennessee page still shows 36 restaurants as of April 2026. (guide.michelin.com 1) (guide.michelin.com 2) Lunch is run by Chef Mallory Tubbs in a 1930s building and is listed by Michelin as a $ American and bakery spot. Michelin’s inspectors say it serves a daytime menu built around local farm products, including seasonal salads, huevos rancheros, steak sandwiches and pastries. (guide.michelin.com) The Tennessee star tier is concentrated in Nashville. Michelin gave one star to Bastion, The Catbird Seat and Locust, and a green star to January in Franklin. (guide.michelin.com) (tn.gov) Chattanooga has 4 Michelin-listed restaurants, including Bib Gourmand pick Little Coyote and recommended restaurants Easy Bistro, Main Street Meats and The Rosecomb. Sewanee’s two listings put the college town on the same statewide map as Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Franklin, Maryville, Madison and Cordova. (guide.michelin.com) (tn.gov) The broader guide is regional, not Tennessee-only. Michelin’s 2025 American South edition covered Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, while folding in the pre-existing Atlanta selection. (guide.michelin.com 1) (guide.michelin.com 2) That matters for travelers because Michelin is now using one guide to send diners across state lines and into smaller markets. Michelin has already set the next American South ceremony for Nashville in 2026, keeping Tennessee at the center of the guide’s next round of announcements. (guide.michelin.com)
