The party Michelin guide He left a notable absence this year: no Spanish restaurant achieved the desired category Three Michelin stars. This isn’t the first time this has happened – it already happened in 2015, 2016 and 2019 – but it underscores a clear message from the guide: staying at the top requires extraordinary regularity and getting there is getting harder. The 16 three-star restaurants continue in exactly the same way as in the last edition, with no additions or departures.
Of course, while the top remained motionless, the rest of the gastronomic map saw related movements. The guide has updated its selections with new establishments arriving The second starAnd others who appeared for the first time Michelin star For the first time and several special awards focusing on disciplines such as dining room, sommelier or sustainability.
The hump does not move
In a new year Award-winning restaurants In the premier category, the list of three-star riders remains intact. They continue, among others, Lasarte and ABAC in Barcelona; the Celler de Can Roca in Girona; DiverXO in Madrid; Aponiente in Cádiz; Azurmendi in Bizkaia; Or Martial House in Asturias. They all re-validated Three Michelin stars smoothly, reinforcing a solid core that currently appears immovable.
The decision reflects a trend that the guide has repeated in other editions: when the level of demand approaches perfection, new additions arrive in small quantities. 2026 was one of those years in which Michelin chose caution.
5 new restaurants get a second star
Although the upper platform was deserted, there was movement in the middle category. Five establishments have been upgraded and look really good The second star: Enigma, Alia and Mont Bar (all three in Barcelona); Ramon Freixa in Madrid, who is regaining his form of the past; And La Boscana in Lleida.
This intermediate mass is the key to explaining the future: the majority of restaurants that reach the top pass through this step first. The presence of five new additions is a sign of the current dynamism of the Spanish gastronomic scene.
25 new restaurants enter the guide with their first star
On the step Michelin starThe 2026 edition adds 25 new additions spread across the country. Andalusia, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Galicia, the Canary Islands and Aragon add names that reinforce the idea that haute cuisine has become decentralized and is no longer concentrated only in the large capitals.
It’s small businesses, distinctive restaurants, local cuisine and personal suggestions that are guaranteed to appear on gastronomic radars with just one star. For many, this is the first step towards bigger goals.
The guide has also been updated Green starsdedicated to projects committed to sustainability. Five restaurants are included in this category, which, since its inception in 2021, has expanded the focus beyond the plate to assess the social and environmental impact of each project.