3 Michelin Stars in Paris: A Complete Timeline

I’ve been doing some digging into the history of 3-Michelin star restaurants in Paris. After collecting an assortment of archival articles from random years, I found a blog that has the complete history in two posts: Le Beaujolais Gourmand.

Everything in this blog aligns with what I’d already researched so I feel pretty good about its accuracy.

A few notes:

• The Michelin Guide was first published in 1900 though it did not start awarding stars until 1926 and even then it only awarded a single star.
• Although the Guide established its 3-star system in 1931, Parisian restaurants were not covered until the 1933 Guide.
• From 1940-1950 there were no 3-star restaurants; the Guide suspended publication during WWII and then for several years after they refused to award 3 stars due to lingering wartime shortages.

Some interesting statistics:

• La Tour d’Argent holds both the record for the most total years at 3 stars (51 total years) as well as the record for the longest continuous streak of holding 3 stars (43 years from 1953-1995).
• The longest currently maintained streak belongs to Arpege, who just retained their 3 star status for their 31st year.
• There have never been more than 10 restaurants with 3 stars in Paris at any one time.
• Prior to 2000, there were typically 4-6 restaurants with 3 stars; since 2002 there have always been 9 or 10
• The total number of restaurants to ever hold 3 stars is (about) 31.

I want to note that a precise count of “how many restaurants in Paris have ever held 3 stars” opens the door to a bit of a Ship of Theseus question. The Michelin Guide officially awards stars to restaurants, not chefs, but what exactly makes a restaurant? Le Grand Vefour and Lucas Carton claim the lineage of their Michelin stars from earlier decades but should Le Cinq be counted as a separate from the 3 stars earned by its host hotel George V? What about Plaza Athenee and Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee? I’ve counted Jamin/Restaurant Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducasse/Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee each as one restaurant with one continuity but is it also fair to do the same with Pavillon Ledoyen/Alleno? Ultimately the exact number to answer “how many restaurants in Paris have ever held 3 stars?” is somewhat debatable but it’s fair to say the number is ~30, which is a pretty elite group for a span covering so many years.

The History, plotted

The former 3-stars, where are they now?

As of 2026 this is my best assessment of the current status of all former 3 stars, but this information is even more rough and unofficial than the chart.

Still open

• Le Meurice, Guy Savoy, L’Ambroisie: Recent demotions, still have 2 stars
• Taillevent: Demoted to 1 star before returning to its current 2 stars
• La Tour d’Argent, Lucas Carton, Lasserre, L’Astrance: Demoted further to their current 1 star
• Jamin/Restaurant Joel Robuchon: Permanently closed in 1996 with Robuchon’s first retirement, though he would later return to open his L’Atelier restaurants, one of which currently holds 1 star. The space of Jamin restaurant now hosts 1-star L’Astrance.
• Le Grand Vefour: After staying at 2 stars for several years, Chef Guy Martin decided to pivot away from fine dining entirely to make the historic restaurant cheaper and more accessible. The restaurant was removed from the Guide as a result, though in early 2026 Martin retired and the new chef seems to be positioning the menu to try to re-earn at least 1 star.
• L’Archestrate: Closed when Chef Alain Senderens moved to Lucas Carton, where he continued to earn 3 stars. The restaurant space was bought by Alain Passard and now hosts Arpege.
• Alain Ducasse: Demoted in 2014 after switching to a pescatarian menu; regained 3 stars but the new menu remained unpopular and the restaurant closed permanently in 2021
• Plaza Athénée: Only held 3 stars for one year in 1934, though the hotel would go on to host Alain Ducasse before changing chefs to Jean Imbert, under whom they held 1 star (Imbert was recently let go after domestic violence charges)
• George V: Only held 3 stars for one year in 1934 though the hotel now hosts 3-star Le Cinq as well as the 2-star restaurant L’Orangerie and the 1-star Le George
• Le Fouquet’s: Still open and famous as a (non-starred) brasserie. It appears the pivot towards more casual dining came in the aftermath of WWII.
• Maxim’s, Laperouse: Star trajectory unclear but both restaurants are still open, albeit unlisted from the Michelin Guide and (from the looks of Google Reviews) are straddling the line between historical time capsule restaurant and tourist trap.

Now closed

• Le Vivarois: Closed in the 1990s; its most famous alumnus, Bernard Pacaud, retired from L’Ambroisie in 2025. Star trajectory between demotion and closure unclear.
• Foyot: Held 3 stars until its closure in 1937; at the time of closing it had been open for 169 years
• Larue: Lost 3 stars when the Guide was suspended due to WWII and never regained 3 before closing in 1954. Unclear if it held any stars prior to closing.
• Le Cafe de Paris: Difficult to research due to the generic name shared with the more high profile London institution. Seems to have lost 3 stars after closing in 1956.
• L’Ane Rouge: Difficult to research because the restaurant address formerly hosted a cabaret (of the same name) and now the name is held by a seafood restaurant in Nice. The Michelin-starred restaurant seems to have been short lived. The space currently holds a non-starred Hungarian restaurant called Le Paprika.