Among the 20 or so courses at Sushi Kozy in downtown Dallas, one of the best bites was a tartlet made by chef de cuisine RJ Yoakum.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
As the announcement of Texas’ third Michelin Guide approaches on Oct. 8, 2026, I’m waiting impatiently to see what it gets right. And wrong.
Michelin’s sophomore year in the Lone Star State in 2025 was a letdown in North Texas, with little love for Fort Worth, a disappointing turnout for our Mexican restaurants and a general sense that the company’s anonymous critics weren’t impressed with Dallas-Fort Worth food. Very little changed from Michelin’s inaugural Texas list, in 2024, and its follow-up in 2025.
Do Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants need to be better? Or did Michelin phone it in? The answer is both.
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Restaurants that snag a star are launched into an international level of celebrity. Tourists from anywhere in the world might make a reservation solely based on Michelin approval. Since last fall, several North Texas restaurants have given Michelin’s anonymous inspectors reasons to visit, and I’m hopeful these stealthy tasters have hit some of my new favorites. There’s Olōyō and Walkers’ in East Dallas; The Chumley House and Dos Mares in Fort Worth; and Fond and Sushi Kozy in downtown Dallas, among others.
In advance of the Michelin Texas Guide announcement, three local restaurants have a shot at capturing 1 Michelin star for the first time.
Find my list for Bib Gourmand, which is Michelin’s value-driven category, at dallasnews.com/michelin later today.
How Michelin awards stars
Restaurants re-earn a Michelin star with every Guide, meaning last year’s winners in Dallas-Fort Worth aren’t automatically “in” in 2026.
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Each restaurant is judged on five criteria: quality of ingredients, harmony of flavors, mastery of technique, consistency and chef’s personality on the plate.
I expect Japanese restaurant Tatsu to keep its status, and I’ll wait to see if French-Italian restaurant Mamani can. Mamani was one of the biggest surprise winners in 2025, as it earned 1 star after serving just 48 dinner services.
Sushi Kozy in downtown Dallas
The most likely new Dallas restaurant to ascend to 1-star Michelin status is Sushi Kozy, the modern restaurant downtown serving about 20 courses of Japanese food for $195 per person. While the restaurant has been impressive since it opened in summer 2025, it joined a boom of new omakase restaurants using similar fish and selling dinner at about the same price tag. How to choose one? Well, after Tatsu won 1 Michelin star two years in a row, diners had their easy answer, making it tough for some to justify spending big bucks to try the handful of others. Sushi Kozy deserves a look, especially now.
Early this year, chef-owner Paul Ko hired RJ Yoakum, formerly executive chef of Georgie in Dallas. Quickly, Sushi Kozy ascended into a one-of-a-kind dinner restaurant starring Yoakum’s smart bites at the beginning and end, with Ko’s nigiri in the middle. A recent dinner jumped from a bright green tartlet made out of tomato vines to an avant-garde beef tartare, both from Yoakum, before Ko’s confident selection of raw fish.
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Sushi Kozy is at 2000 Ross Ave., Dallas. The fixed-menu dinner costs $195 per person, not including drinks, tax or tip. Reservations required.
Nigirizushi with Otore is one of chef-owner Paul Ko’s specialties at Sushi Kozy on Ross Avenue in downtown Dallas.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
Osteria il Muro in Denton
We remain hopeful that Denton restaurant Osteria il Muro will snag 1 Michelin star, as it’s one of the best Italian restaurants in North Texas. It’s also one of the most affordable in its upscale category; I gasped when I received a dinner bill for four people, thinking they’d forgotten to include several dishes. (They hadn’t.) My friends and I spent about $100 per person, including wine, tax and tip, and we left thinking we’d eaten our best meal of the year.
One problem: Michelin’s anonymous inspectors may not have been able to get a seat. Reservations fill up within minutes each month — and I have firsthand experience, as I’ve missed out on a seat before. The tiny Osteria il Muro is one of the toughest dining reservations in Dallas-Fort Worth. Besides, would Michelin’s mysterious critics go, anyway? In the company’s first three years in Texas, it promised to visit five cities in the state: Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. Denton isn’t on that list, and might be too far north of Dallas and Fort Worth.
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Each piece of barchetta pasta has chef-owner Scott Girling’s fingerprints on it.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Michelin should make an exception, as Osteria il Muro is as unassuming as it is delicious, with a lovely garden out back that helps dictate the nightly menu. Diners come dressed in jeans, enjoying chef-owner Scott Girling’s warm marinated olives for $9, bright red peppadews filled with prosciutto di Parma and dipped in pistachios for $16, and wild boar campanelle for $29. You don’t often see those kinds of prices in Dallas.
Actually, Osteria il Muro might qualify for a Bib Gourmand, which is Michelin’s value-driven award. A Bib Gourmand is defined by a company spokesperson as two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for about $50. A Bib Gourmand, while an honor, would undersell Girling’s exceptional food.
Osteria il Muro is at 311 W. Congress St., Denton. Reservations are difficult to get. Bar and patio seats open at noon each day based on weather and cancellations. Here’s what to know before you go.
Related: Osteria il Muro didn’t win a James Beard award. Great, more pasta for us
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Osteria il Muro owner and chef Scott Girling stands in his backyard garden in Denton.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Scott Girling makes fresh pasta at Osteria il Muro in Denton.
Courtesy Osteria il Muro
Raschiatelli pasta from Osteria il Muro in Denton.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Tomatoes grow in chef-owner Scott Girling’s restaurant backyard garden in June 2026.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Osteria il Muro chef-owner Scott Girling makes garganelli pasta in his restaurant.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Osteria il Muro owner and chef Scott Girling grows tomatoes, herbs, melons, squash, cauliflower and more in the garden behind his restaurant.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Olōyō in East Dallas
Food lovers should keep an eye on Olōyō, the East Dallas Mexican restaurant that could earn Recommended status from Michelin, though chef Olivia López should reach for a star. She’s a confident and intense leader whose menu uses heirloom corn masa as the anchor to a series of contemporary Mexican dishes.
As one example, Olōyō serves a tostada with scallops, avocado puree and salsa macha. The restaurant’s pork tamales are another classic dish, and López tucks Duroc pork inside and serves them with green pumpkin-seed sauce and surprising pieces of pickled watermelon rind. Other dishes feature grilled octopus, lamb barbacoa and Wagyu rib-eye, each plated like little works of art and garnished with drops of sauce López adds from a teeny squeeze bottle.
It all comes at a cost — and Dallasite Roni Proter recently complained on Instagram about Olōyō’s high prices. Her Instagram videos got national coverage on today.com. Yes, Olōyō is expensive. There’s a cost to buying great ingredients and hiring skilled chefs, as co-owners López and Jonathan Percival have said. The question is whether Michelin inspectors care about high prices when considering a restaurant for a star. I don’t think they do, and they might love Olōyō.
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Olōyō is at 4422 Gaston Ave., Dallas. Reservations recommended.
Chef Olivia Lopez tests a recipe as she prepared for the Molino Oloyo tasting room to open in Dallas. The restaurant opened in late May 2026.
Jason Janik/Dallas Morning NewsWhich restaurants do you think deserve a star? Share your thoughts with me on Instagram and X.
Dining and Cooking