Bookings surge at South Australian restaurants recognised in historic Michelin Guide debut

Bookings have already surged at restaurants across South Australia following the state’s historic debut in the world-renowned culinary bible – the MICHELIN Guide.

Eleven South Australian restaurants have become the first in the country to receive highly sought-after Michelin Stars, including Magill Estate Restaurant, led by chef Scott Huggins, which was awarded Two Michelin Stars.

More than half of the Stars have been awarded to restaurants in South Australia’s regions including the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and the Fleurieu Peninsula.

The 10 restaurants awarded One Michelin Star include Anvers Restaurant (Kangarilla), Maxwell Restaurant (McLaren Vale), Botanic (Adelaide), Arkhé (Norwood), Esmay (Hackney), Aurora At ILA (Adelaide), Hentley Farm (Seppeltsfield), LVN Restaurant at Bird in Hand (Woodside), Aptos (Stirling) and

Skillogalee Barrel House (Sevenhill).

A further 16 restaurants have been recognised with a Bib Gourmand award for offering high-quality food at great value, and 50 have been included in the official MICHELIN Guide selection. The full list is available here.

The MICHELIN Guide has a proven track record as a powerful driver of gastronomic tourism, increasing demand and attracting patrons from new global markets to the restaurants it features and featured restaurants are already reporting an uptick in booking requests.

The MICHELIN Guide website attracts more than 62 million visitors each year, in addition to the organisation’s 3.9 million Instagram followers and 3.8 million app users.

MICHELIN Guide inspectors evaluated restaurants across the state through five universal criteria, including the quality of the ingredients, the mastery of cooking techniques, the harmony of flavours, the personality of the cuisine and the overall consistency. The selection process is entirely independent, and restaurants cannot pay to be included or awarded distinctions.

MICHELIN Stars are the most famous distinctions, awarded to restaurants offering the best culinary experiences – with only a very small fraction (approximately 4% or 161 restaurants) of all starred restaurants in the MICHELIN Guide rated three Stars. There are 549 restaurants worldwide rated two MICHELIN Stars.

While the MICHELIN Guide is often associated with fine dining, the style of a restaurant and its level of comfort or formality have no bearing on the award. MICHELIN Stars have been awarded to a wide range of eateries from street food stalls to gourmet restaurants.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the first MICHELIN Guide South Australia is about so much more than recognising fine dining; “it puts our state on the world stage which will have far reaching positive impacts beyond the hospitality and tourism sectors, strengthening our capacity to invest in the services South Australians rely on.”

“International recognition is powerful and we can turn it into real economic benefits, supporting local jobs, backing small businesses and creating more opportunities to reinvest in South Australia’s future.”

“This global recognition will attract visitors to South Australia, creating jobs and supporting local businesses right across our visitor economy. We want people from all over the world to put South Australia on their travel itinerary, stay longer, spend more and discover everything our state has to offer.”

Tourism Minister Emily Bourke added bookings are already flooding in to the restaurants recognised at last night’s MICHELIN Guide ceremony, and not just to those awarded coveted MICHELIN Stars but to many in the Bib Gourmand and Selected categories as well.

“So many people around the world base their travel itineraries around the MICHELIN Guide and we know once they’re here, they won’t just visit restaurants, they’ll go onto experience even more of what South Australia has to offer, supporting other local businesses.”

“This international recognition will open so many doors with benefits for beyond the restaurants, such as local hotels, tourism operators and strengthen opportunities for the producers, winemakers and distillers that underpin our world-class hospitality industry.”