le bernardin dining roomDaniel KriegerThe dining room at Le Bernardin.
Michelin released its 2015 ratings for New York City today, and only six restaurants received a highly coveted three-star rating. Daniel Boulud's Daniel, which had received three stars for each of the past five years, lost a star in the new guidebook.
That means there are just nine restaurants in the U.S. with top ratings from the prestigious guide, which uses anonymous inspectors to judge restaurants around the world.
It's important to note that Michelin only publishes guides for three U.S. cities: New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, so the company's ratings are not all-encompassing.
The remaining three-star restaurants in the U.S. are:
  • Le Bernardin (New York): Eric Ripert's seafood palace consistently receives top marks from reviewers and restaurant guides. The chef's tasting menu starts at $198 a person.
  • Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare (New York): Chef César Ramírez's downtown Brooklyn restaurant has only 18 seats, making it one of the toughest reservations in town. The menu is centered around seafood and courses are served omakase-style.
  • Eleven Madison Park (New York): Chef Daniel Humm's restaurant also has four stars from The New York Times and the Five Diamond Award by AAA. It recently ditched its à la carte concept in favor of an elaborate prix fixe menu. The multicourse meal, which focuses on the agricultural offerings of New York, costs $225.
  • Jean Georges (New York): Located in The Trump Hotel on Central Park West, chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten blends French, American, and Asian influences to craft a seasonal, ever-changing menu. The restaurant offers a three-course prix-fixe menu ($118) and two six-course tasting menus ($198).
  • Masa (New York): With a tasting menu that costs more than $1,000 for two, Masa is often called America's most expensive restaurant. Chef Masa Takayama's restaurant in the Time Warner Center is known for serving some of the finest Japanese fare in the U.S.
  • Per Se (New York): For years, Per Se has ruled over the New York City restaurant scene as one of the most coveted dining experiences in town. The "urban interpretation" of chef Thomas Keller's The French Laundry, the prix fixe menu costs $310 a person.
  • Alinea (Chicago): The only Chicago restaurant with a three-star rating, Chef Grant Achatz's first restaurant is known for its creative modern cuisine and artistic presentations. Alinea tosses aside the traditional reservation system and sells tickets for its tasting menu instead. Prices vary between $210 and$265.
  • The French Laundry (Yountville, Calif.): Chef Keller's landmark Napa Valley restaurant is considered a mecca for foodies. It serves two nine-course tasting menus — a chef's tasting and a tasting of vegetables — that vary every day. For this indulgence, prepare to shell out $295.
  • Meadowood (St. Helena, Calif.): Chef Christopher Kostow is known to tailor the menu to his guests' tastes within his restaurant's American modern theme. For those looking for an exceptional overview of his culinary talent, a 10-course tasting menu is available for $225 a person.
Ripert's Le Bernardin also recently topped Business Insider's list of the 45 best restaurants in America. Eleven Madison Park came in second on that list, followed by The French Laundry, Per Se, and Daniel.
There are also only six New York City restaurants with four-star rankings from The New York Times, the paper's highest honor. They are Del Posto, Eleven Madison Park, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, Per Se, and Sushi Nakazawa, a highly acclaimed sushi bar in the West Village that some are saying was snubbed by Michelin after it was not recognized in its 2015 guide (and which The Times named the best restaurant of 2013).