People often describe an excellent or luxurious restaurant as a “five-star restaurant.” But where does this expression come from? Many people assume it comes from the Michelin Guide, but Michelin restaurants can only receive between one and three stars. The five-star system actually has a different history.
The Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guide was created in France in 1900 by André and Édouard Michelin, the founders of the Michelin tire company. At the time, very few people owned cars. The brothers created a free travel guide to encourage people to drive more—and eventually purchase more tires.
The original guide included maps, instructions for repairing tires, and information about hotels, gas stations, and restaurants. As the guide became more popular, its restaurant reviews became increasingly important.
Michelin began awarding stars to restaurants in 1926. In 1931, it introduced the system that is still used today:
One Michelin star: A very good restaurant in its category.
Two Michelin stars: Excellent cooking that is worth a detour.
Three Michelin stars: Exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.
Three stars is the highest possible Michelin rating. There is no such thing as a four- or five-Michelin-star restaurant.
Michelin inspectors mainly evaluate the quality of the food. They consider the ingredients, cooking techniques, flavors, consistency, and personality expressed through the dishes. The restaurant’s decoration and luxury level do not directly determine its Michelin stars.
The Five-Star Rating System
The official five-star hospitality rating is connected to Forbes Travel Guide, which was originally called the Mobil Travel Guide.
The Mobil Oil Corporation created the guide in 1958 to help American motorists find hotels, restaurants, and other places while traveling. Like the Michelin Guide, it also encouraged people to travel more by car. In 1960, Mobil introduced its Five-Star Award for hospitality.
The guide was later acquired and renamed Forbes Travel Guide in 2009. Today, Forbes Travel Guide evaluates luxury hotels, restaurants, spas, and cruises around the world.
Anonymous inspectors visit each property and evaluate it using hundreds of standards. For restaurants, they consider the complete experience, including the food, service, atmosphere, cleanliness, presentation, and attention to detail.
Forbes Travel Guide uses three main distinctions:
Recommended
Four-Star
Five-Star
A Forbes Five-Star restaurant provides an outstanding experience and a highly personalized level of service. Unlike Michelin, which focuses mainly on the cooking, Forbes places significant importance on hospitality and the way guests are treated.
Why Do People Say “Five-Star Restaurant”?
Over time, the expression “five-star restaurant” became part of everyday language. People now use it to describe a restaurant that feels exceptional, elegant, or luxurious—even when the restaurant has not officially received a Forbes Five-Star Award.
Because five is commonly seen as the highest score in reviews, the phrase is easy to understand. A five-star rating suggests that something has reached the highest possible level of quality.
However, saying that a restaurant is “five-star” is not the same as saying it has Michelin stars. A restaurant can have both distinctions, but they represent different accomplishments.
For example, Restaurant Daniel in New York City has received two Michelin stars and a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating. The Michelin stars recognize the quality of its cooking, while the Forbes rating recognizes its complete luxury dining and service experience.
The expression “five-star restaurant” therefore comes from the five-star hospitality rating tradition, especially the system introduced by the Mobil Travel Guide. Michelin uses a separate system that stops at three stars. Both awards represent excellence, but they measure it in different ways.