October 27, 2025

Michelin-Worthy Restaurants in North Carolina
By Eric Barton | October 27, 2025

The North Carolina Michelin Guide won’t be out until the big announcement Nov. 3, but you can feel it speeding our way like tourists on the parkway.

This is a state full of restaurants and chefs deserving of stars, where ambition shows up in quiet dining rooms and loud kitchens. When the inspectors land, they’ll find plenty of North Carolina restaurants with a Michelin star written all over them, places that don’t need validation but won’t mind the recognition.

Until that happens, I’ve combed the state, from the coast to the mountains, looking for the North Carolina restaurants that deserve a star.

The Fearrington House, Pittsboro
230 Market St | Website | Instagram

This one’s for the people who appreciate white tablecloths and actual table-side service. Set in the rolling countryside of Pittsboro, The Fearrington House Restaurant feels like an English manor house where the kitchen just happens to turn out perfect plates of butter-poached lobster. Executive chef since 2022, Paul Gagne is a master of restrained elegance, the kind of person who makes you rethink what a carrot can be. The wine list is, as expected, extensive, and if you’re not finishing your meal with a cheese course, I don’t know what to tell you.

Read the full article here.