A year after Charleston restaurants earned their first Michelin stars, all three kept them.

Michelin revealed its second American South guide Oct. 21 at a ceremony at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee. Malagón Mercado y Taperia, Vern’s and Wild Common each held one star, according to the guide’s restaurant pages. Scoundrel in Greenville kept the fourth star in South Carolina, The Post and Courier reported.

The guide now lists 17 restaurants in Charleston and its surroundings, up from 15 in last year’s debut, by a Charleston Business Report tally of Michelin’s site and last year’s local coverage.

Who’s in, who moved

Leon’s Oyster Shop on Upper King Street kept its Bib Gourmand, the distinction Michelin gives for good food at a moderate price. Two newcomers joined it.

Palmira, a barbecue restaurant on Ashley River Road in West Ashley that Michelin tags as barbecue and Puerto Rican, earned a Bib Gourmand. So did Rivayat Creative Indian on Rutledge Avenue, 13 months after it opened, The Post and Courier reported. They were among 14 new Bib Gourmands across the region, by a Charleston Business Report comparison of Michelin’s 2025 and 2026 lists.

Lewis Barbecue, which Michelin named a Bib Gourmand in the 2025 guide, now appears on Michelin’s recommended list. Two of last year’s Charleston honorees, Rodney Scott’s BBQ and Xiao Bao Biscuit, were not listed this year, The Post and Courier reported.

Michelin also recommends Chubby Fish, FIG, Husk, Lowland, Sorelle, The Establishment and The Restaurant at Zero George in Charleston and The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan’s Island, all holdovers. New to that list are Merci on Pitt Street and Cane Pazzo, an Italian restaurant on Yeamans Hall Road that is the first restaurant in Hanahan to earn a Michelin nod, The Post and Courier reported.

Across the region, the guide covers 265 restaurants, 27 of them in South Carolina, the newspaper reported. Michelin’s website lists 22 starred restaurants in the region.

Paying for the spotlight

The guide’s arrival came with a price tag for tourism marketers. South Carolina tourism agencies agreed to pay Michelin $350,000 a year over three years, The Post and Courier reported. Explore Charleston, the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, pays $62,000 a year. The nonprofit draws revenue from accommodations taxes, state grants, private memberships and publications, the newspaper reported.

Visit Greenville, Visit Myrtle Beach, Experience Columbia and Visit Hilton Head pay smaller shares, and the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism covers the remaining $100,000, according to the newspaper.

Michelin International Director Gwendal Poullennec told The Post and Courier the money pays for communication, digital and marketing campaigns that promote the selections. He has also said the inspections are independent and that partners know nothing about the selection until it is revealed, the newspaper reported.

The bet is on visitors. Explore Charleston CEO Helen Hill told The Post and Courier in 2025 that international tourism is a growing market for the region and that Michelin could help draw travelers from Europe and Asia, who often spend more and stay longer. Visit Greenville CEO Heath Dillard told the newspaper about an Ernst & Young study in which two of three people polled said they would choose a Michelin destination over a comparable one.

Whether the stars fill tables is harder to measure. At Malagón, covers skyrocketed after last year’s star and the co-owners joined the chef in the kitchen, The Post and Courier reported in December. In January, Post and Courier food editor Parker Milner wrote that the guide’s effect on pricing, reservations and new restaurant concepts remained to be seen. Charleston Business Report found no published booking figures from the starred restaurants.

Michelin’s attention extends to lodging. Charleston hotels including The Loutrel, which holds two Keys, and The Nickel, which earned its first, were recognized in Michelin’s 2026 hotel selection, The Post and Courier reported in early October.

What owners said

Rivayat owner Sujith Varghese told The Post and Courier the Bib Gourmand was a “big accomplishment” that will push his team to keep innovating.

“The Charleston community has been so amazing,” Varghese said, adding that he is grateful for how local diners have connected with his Indian culture.

Cane Pazzo owner Mark Bolchoz told the newspaper that the response to his restaurant has been huge and shows diners want comfort and genuine hospitality.