These restaurants should’ve been in the new Michelin guide. Do you agree?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Michelin awarded the Triangle but omitted several celebrated local restaurants.
- Notable snubs include Ajja, Death & Taxes, M group, seafood and wood‑fire pasta houses.
- Observers questioned star omissions for two fine dining pillars in 2025 guide.
The Triangle finally has Michelin restaurants, recognizing some of the region’s very best and most popular spots to eat.
And while the Michelin Guide got a lot right about food in the Triangle, it seems to have curiously overlooked some local favorites.
These restaurants are Michelin’s biggest snubs in the Triangle.
Ajja
209 Bickett Blvd, Raleigh
This groovy backyard destination from chef Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler hasn’t stopped collecting “best restaurant” honors since it opened in 2023, landing on major national and regional lists and delighting all who darken its doors. With a menu of grilled skewers, dips, vegetables and punchy cocktails, Ajja is the very best kind of dinner party, even if you’re dining alone.
Death and Taxes
105 W Hargett St, Raleigh
With a fire burning in its heart and hearth, Death & Taxes is chef Ashley Christensen’s smoky fine dining spot, grilling superlative steaks, flame-kissed seasonal vegetables and oysters.
M Restaurants
Durham chef Michael Lee has created a small empire of some of the Triangle’s most loyally revered restaurants, including the elegant M Sushi, sublime M Tempura, soul-warming M Kokko and party-thumping M Pocha. Ambitions only grew when Lee expanded to Cary’s Fenton development with a larger M Sushi and playful M Izakaya.
Mothers & Sons Trattoria
107 W Chapel Hill St, Durham
There isn’t a warmer dining room in the Triangle, in body and soul, than this downtown Durham Italian spot. The pasta is rolled by hand each day on a large communal table, just like Nonna used to do, then a wood-burning grill is lit in the evening, roasting porchetta and potatoes.
Saltbox Seafood Joint
2637 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham
There’s a James Beard Best Chef medal hanging on the wall of this Durham seafood joint, where fine-dining veteran Ricky Moore serves up the coastal music of fried North Carolina fish, crisped by a symphony of sizzle in the deep fryers.
Ideal’s Sandwich & Grocery
2108 Angier Ave, Durham
Yes Ideal’s is a sandwich shop, but there are other sandwich shops in the Michelin Guide. At Ideal’s, once you take a bite of a Philly Roast Pork after waiting in line for an hour, you know you’d happily do it again and again.
Lawrence BBQ
150 E Cedar St, Cary
We shouldn’t be greedy with North Carolina’s barbecue scene so well represented in the South’s first Michelin Guide, but surely there’s room for one more. Maybe it was bad timing, with Lawrence just recently moving to Cary, but even in the new digs, this spot from pitmaster Jake Wood is already serving one of the most fun menus around.
Herons and Fearrington House Restaurant
Not exactly a snub since Herons and Fearrington House are both Michelin Recommended Restaurants, but this one has folks puzzled. It’s a bold dream to imagine a Michelin star for a restaurant, particularly in a guide’s notoriously stingy first year. But many believed these two fine dining temples seemed to be assured of at least one star between them, if not more.
