Michelin Stars in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Romania
Updated October 9, 2026 · Star counts and prices checked October 2026
None of them has a Michelin-starred restaurant. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Romania have no MICHELIN Guide, so their restaurants have never been inspected for a star. Their cooking does hold stars abroad, though, from a Pakistani kitchen in Hong Kong to Nigerian chefs in London.
Between them these seven countries are home to more than 800 million people, and each has a food culture worth travelling for. Below, each has its own section: why there are no stars, what Michelin does rate there, where its cooking has won stars or Bib Gourmands elsewhere, and the nearest starred restaurants. We checked the MICHELIN Guide’s own listings on 9 October 2026: none of them has a single restaurant in the guide.
Why these countries have no Michelin stars
Michelin only awards stars in the places it publishes a guide for, and each new guide is a business decision. Most recent ones have launched through partnerships with a national or city tourism body that helps pay for the inspections, as in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Philippines. None of these seven countries has announced such a deal. Africa as a whole has no MICHELIN restaurant guide, and in South Asia neither does India: see our explainers on South Africa and India for their stories.
Michelin does rate hotels in some of them. Its MICHELIN Key, the hotel equivalent of a star, rates the whole stay rather than the restaurant, so a Key hotel’s restaurant has no star.
Are there Michelin star restaurants in Pakistan?
No. The MICHELIN Guide has never covered Pakistan, and no Pakistani hotel holds a MICHELIN Key. Yet Pakistani cooking has a star. New Punjab Club in Hong Kong, which opened in 2017, won one in the guide revealed in December 2018, the first restaurant serving Pakistani food to be starred anywhere, and it still holds it. It cooks the food of Punjab, the region divided between Pakistan and India, in restored tandoor ovens, and dinner costs HK$700 (about $90). In California, Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen in Fullerton has a Bib Gourmand.
The nearest stars to Pakistan are in Dubai, about 1,180 km and two hours’ flight from Karachi: 20 starred restaurants, 2 of them with three stars. See our page for Michelin star restaurants in Dubai.
Are there Michelin star restaurants in Bangladesh?
No. There’s no MICHELIN Guide in Bangladesh and no MICHELIN Key hotel. Bangladeshi cooks shaped one of Britain’s favorite ways to eat, though: most of the UK’s “Indian” curry houses were opened by families from Sylhet. Among their children is Aktar Islam, born in Birmingham to Bangladeshi parents, whose modern Indian restaurant Opheem won its second Michelin star in 2024. Its tasting menu costs £195 (about $260).
The nearest stars to Dhaka are in Bangkok, about 1,540 km and two and a half hours’ flight away, with 41 starred restaurants: see Michelin star restaurants in Bangkok.
Are there Michelin star restaurants in Nepal?
No. Nepal has no MICHELIN Guide, though three Nepali hotels hold MICHELIN Keys in 2026. No Nepali restaurant holds a star anywhere in the world; the closest is a Bib Gourmand, at Gorkhali Kitchen in Tampa, Florida.
As the crow flies, the nearest stars to Kathmandu are in Chengdu, in China’s Sichuan province, about 1,850 km away, with 15 starred restaurants. Bangkok, about 2,200 km away and three hours by air, is the easier trip.
Are there Michelin star restaurants in Nigeria?
No. Nigeria has no MICHELIN Guide and no MICHELIN Key hotel. Nigerian cooking has found its stars in London instead. Chishuru, chef Adejoké Bakare’s West African restaurant in Fitzrovia, won a star in 2024, making her the first Black woman chef in Britain to earn one; its set lunch costs £55 (about $75). Ikoyi, named after a district of Lagos and co-founded by Iré Hassan-Odukale with chef Jeremy Chan, holds two stars for cooking built around West African spices, and Akoko, also in Fitzrovia, holds one for its West African tasting menu. All three are on our page for Michelin star restaurants in London. In Houston, ChòpnBlọk has a Bib Gourmand for its West African food.
Geographically, the nearest starred restaurants to Lagos are in Spain’s Canary Islands, about 3,200 km away, but for most Nigerians London, with direct flights from Lagos and Abuja, is the practical choice.
Are there Michelin star restaurants in Kenya?
No. Kenya has no MICHELIN Guide, but seven Kenyan hotels hold MICHELIN Keys in 2026. No Kenyan restaurant holds a star anywhere. The nearest thing is in New Mexico: Jambo Cafe in Santa Fe, run by chef Ahmed Obo, who grew up on Lamu island off Kenya’s coast, won a Bib Gourmand in the first MICHELIN Guide Southwest in August 2026.
The nearest stars to Nairobi are in Doha, about 3,350 km and five hours’ flight away: see Michelin star restaurants in Doha.
Are there Michelin star restaurants in Egypt?
No. Egypt has no MICHELIN Guide, though 13 Egyptian hotels hold MICHELIN Keys in 2026, two of them with two Keys. Its restaurants have another kind of recognition: Khufu’s, a modern Egyptian restaurant within sight of the pyramids at Giza, was named No. 1 in the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants in February 2026, and four Cairo restaurants joined it on the list: Reif Kushiyaki (No. 20), Kazoku (No. 25), Zooba in Zamalek (No. 32) and Sachi (No. 37). The 50 Best lists are voted on by chefs, food writers and well-travelled diners, so they aren’t Michelin stars.
Abroad, Omar Dhiab, a Paris chef with an Egyptian father and a Tunisian mother, holds a star at his own restaurant, where dinner costs €168 (about $190), and serves Egyptian food at his bistro, Elbi. In Austin, KG BBQ has a Bib Gourmand for Texas barbecue with Egyptian flavors. The nearest stars to Cairo are on Türkiye’s Aegean coast, around Bodrum, about 850 km away; see Michelin star restaurants in Türkiye.
Are there Michelin star restaurants in Romania?
No. Romania has no MICHELIN Guide, though six Romanian hotels hold MICHELIN Keys in 2026. You may see Michelin-starred chefs advertised at Bucharest restaurants and hotels: they’re guest chefs whose stars were won elsewhere. Most of Romania’s neighbors now have a guide, including Hungary, Serbia (for Belgrade) and, across the Black Sea, Türkiye, while Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine don’t.
From Bucharest, the nearest stars are in Istanbul and Belgrade, each about 450 km away. Istanbul has 9 starred restaurants and Serbia 2; Budapest, about 640 km away, has 7.
Which countries could get a MICHELIN Guide next?
Michelin doesn’t publish a waiting list, and it hasn’t announced a guide for any of these seven countries. We’ll update this page if it does, and add a page for every city in a new guide, with its starred restaurants’ prices, as soon as the first stars are revealed. Our count of Michelin star restaurants by country shows where the stars are today.