Michelin arrives in Philippines
- The Philippine Embassy in Singapore announced The Michelin Guide 2026: Manila & Environs plus a Cebu pocket guidebook. (philippine-embassy.org.sg) - The guide launch was tied to Filipino Food Month in April and marks Michelin's entry into the Philippine market. (philippine-embassy.org.sg) - Michelin coverage also flagged Mexico's upcoming ceremony and regional exclusions, like Cincinnati being left off a Great Lakes edition. (excelsior.com.mx)
Michelin is now in the Philippines, with the 2026 guide covering Manila and its surrounding areas and a separate Cebu pocket guide. (philippine-embassy.org.sg) The Philippine Embassy in Singapore highlighted the guide on April 22, 2026, during Filipino Food Month, calling it a milestone for the country’s culinary sector. Michelin had already unveiled the first Philippine selection on October 30, 2025, at the Manila Marriott Hotel. (philippine-embassy.org.sg) (michelin.com) Michelin’s first Philippine edition listed 108 establishments: 1 restaurant with Two Michelin Stars, 8 with One Michelin Star, 25 Bib Gourmand picks, and 74 Michelin Selected restaurants. Michelin also gave 1 Green Star and 3 special awards for young chef, service, and cocktails. (michelin.com) The coverage is not nationwide. Michelin said the guide spans Manila, several nearby cities and provinces, and Cebu, with inspectors evaluating restaurants in places including Makati, Manila, Pasay, Quezon City, Taguig, Pampanga, Tagaytay, Cavite, and Cebu. (guide.michelin.com) (spot.ph) That city-by-city approach matches how Michelin is expanding elsewhere. On April 8, Michelin announced a new American Great Lakes edition covering Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh, with the first selection due in 2027. (guide.michelin.com) (usatoday.com) That rollout also leaves places out. Cincinnati was not included in the Great Lakes edition, and local outlets reported that Michelin’s announced footprint stopped at those six participating cities. (dispatch.com) (guide.michelin.com) In the Philippines, the launch was folded into a broader April push around Buwan ng Kalutong Filipino, or Filipino Food Month, which the embassy in Singapore marked under the 2026 theme “Connected by Taste: The Filipino Food in the Flavors of ASEAN.” (philippine-embassy.org.sg) (indiplomacy.com) For diners and chefs, the practical change is simple: Michelin now has a formal map of Philippine restaurants, but that map starts with Manila, its environs, and Cebu rather than the whole archipelago. (michelin.com) (philippine-embassy.org.sg)
