Are There Michelin Star Restaurants in Indianapolis?
Updated October 9, 2026 · Star counts and prices checked October 2026
Not yet. No restaurant in Indianapolis has a Michelin star, and there are no Michelin star restaurants in Indiana at all, because the MICHELIN Guide has never covered the state. That is about to change: Indianapolis is one of six cities in the new MICHELIN Guide American Great Lakes, whose first stars will be revealed on April 21, 2027.
Until then, the nearest Michelin-starred restaurants are in Chicago, about three hours’ drive away. Here is what the new guide covers, how it came about, what Indianapolis restaurants could receive, and where to find stars in the meantime, with their prices.
Is the MICHELIN Guide coming to Indianapolis?
Yes. On April 7, 2026, Michelin announced its American Great Lakes guide, covering Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. Its anonymous inspectors were already eating their way around the six cities when it was announced. “We are excited to finally be putting a stake in the ground in the Great Lakes region,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the guide’s international director.
Like most of Michelin’s new American guides, it comes with backing from local tourism bodies, here Visit Indy and its counterparts in the other five cities. Axios reported that Visit Indy signed a three-year partnership and is paying $150,000 in the first year. Michelin says these partners work with it only on marketing and promotion, and that the inspectors’ choice of restaurants stays independent.
When will Indianapolis get Michelin stars?
On April 21, 2027, when the first selection is revealed at a ceremony at Michigan Central in Detroit. Indianapolis restaurants can receive one, two or three Michelin stars, a Bib Gourmand for good cooking at a moderate price, or a place in the guide as recommended, and the evening usually brings special awards for a young chef, service and a sommelier too.
Nobody outside Michelin knows which restaurants the inspectors have visited, and first editions can be sparing: the Southwest guide, in August 2026, gave Phoenix and the rest of Arizona Bib Gourmands but no stars. So it’s possible that Indianapolis’s first selection has Bib Gourmands and recommended restaurants before it has a star. We’ll update this page on the night, and add Indianapolis’s starred restaurants to The Starred Bill with their dinner, lunch and wine pairing prices.
How Indianapolis restaurants are rated today
Until the guide arrives, the national yardstick is the James Beard Awards, whose Best Chef: Great Lakes category covers Indiana with Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. In 2026 the award went to Jacob Potashnick of Feld in Chicago. Michelin’s arrival will give Indianapolis restaurants their first chance at the international rating, and the city’s first chance to appear on a map of starred restaurants alongside Chicago.
Where is the nearest Michelin star restaurant to Indianapolis?
Chicago, about 180 miles (290 km) and three hours north by car. It has 19 starred restaurants (14 one-star, 4 two-star and 1 three-star), among them Smyth, the city’s only three-star, where the tasting menu costs US$420. The cheapest starred dinner menu in Chicago is at Galit, US$94. Our page for Michelin star restaurants in Chicago lists them all, with lunch and wine pairing prices.
From April 2027, the other Great Lakes cities will be options too: Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh are all within a day’s drive. Wherever you are in Indiana, Near me lists every starred restaurant within the distance you choose, nearest first, with their prices, and our calendar of MICHELIN Guide ceremonies counts down to the Great Lakes reveal.