These are the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe
Fine dining doesn’t have to be very expensive at all. Of course, it can be, but even if you want to go cheap, you can still pick a Michelin-starred hotspot, you know. You just have to choose the right one. Because you can have a complete menu in front of you for less than €20. Say whut? Yes, it’s really true. Here are the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe that you’ll want to visit as soon as possible.
Florian Maison in San Paolo d’Argon, Italy
La vita è bella in beautiful Italy, and it’s also wonderfully affordable if you have lunch at this Michelin-starred hotspot. It’ll cost you 25 euros. Yes, when it’s this affordable, you can call them euros, right? I should also mention that this is a truly gorgeous place with an incredible view. There’s a hotel attached too, if you’re going for the full experience. Although that will probably make things a little more expensive…
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Bistro Racine in Braine-le-Château, Belgium
Our neighbors to the south also have a really good deal when it comes to Michelin-starred dinners. I’ll be completely honest: in terms of interior, this isn’t really the coziest place, but if you’re coming for the food, you’ll be in good hands here — and it’ll only cost you 24 euros. This bistro is located a little below Brussels, so if you’re spending a weekend there, a trip here is a fun option.
Costes Downtown in Budapest, Hungary
I’m a huge fan of Budapest as a city anyway, but a trip to a Michelin-starred restaurant is what really puts the finishing touch on a vacation or city trip for me. And besides the fact that Costes Downtown isn’t expensive at all, it also serves classic Hungarian food. I don’t know about you, but I don’t eat that every day. Certainly not with a Michelin star. Here too, the lunch menu is the most affordable: 7900 HUF, or (at the time of writing) just over 22 euros.
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Field in Prague, Czech Republic
Actually, this Michelin-starred restaurant in Prague should rank even higher… Because they also offer a two-course menu, which works out at just over 18 euros. But if you’re eating at Michelin-star level, you’re not going to settle for three courses, are you? Exactly, that’s what I thought too. Three courses it is, and at this hotspot in Prague, that’ll cost you a little over 22 euros. That one extra course is worth four euros too, I assume? This is the lunch menu, by the way: in the evening, you can choose between a six- and ten-course dinner. That’ll cost you quite a bit more.
The Ninth in London, United Kingdom
Fun fact: the Michelin-starred lunch here is a ‘sample set lunch’, which means you get a number of small dishes. As a big shared dining fan, I’m all for that, because all too often I regret my choice when I see my table partner’s dish… Or am I just too greedy and do I want to try everything?! That’s not a problem here, and a city trip to London is always a good idea, it seems to me.
Vintage 1997 in Turin, Italy
The website really lives up to the name of this spot, because it’s impossible to make head or tail of it. Everything is in Italian (and my Italian is non-existent), and I believe that, in terms of design, the site was last updated in 1997. But hey, authentically old-school, right? For 20 euros, you get between 6 and 8 small dishes (yay, so no lunch at this Michelin-starred spot). The old-fashioned website and vague descriptions make it all rather exciting.
Fritz Frau Franzi in Düsseldorf, Germany
Honestly, when you see this name, you don’t really think of a Michelin-starred restaurant, do you? Well, that’s exactly what it is, and there’s even a luxurious hotel attached. So no currywurst and Kartoffelsalat here, but a high-level lunch for €19.50. Pretty great, considering Düsseldorf is also a shopping paradise, so you can spend the rest in the shops. Perfect.
The Coach in Marlow, United Kingdom
From the outside, this Michelin-starred hotspot looks rather old-fashioned, while inside it’s actually very modern. And how much does a Michelin-starred lunch cost here? Just 16.50 British pounds. Whut? I personally find that unbelievably cheap. It might be useful to know where Marlow is, because I had genuinely never heard of it: it’s between London and Oxford. I say: road trip.
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L’Antic Moli in El Castell, Spain
Yes, you’ll find the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in all of Europe in Spain. In the village of El Castell, which is truly tiny and lies on the border of the Valencia and Catalonia regions. So it’s ideal for a stop if you’re driving from Barcelona to Valencia. And how much does it cost here? Fourteen. Euros. And. Fifty. Cents. Sorry, but a Big Mac meal is almost more expensive.
Honorable mention: Sinne in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Yay, the only Dutch entry in the top 50 cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in the world is Sinne in Amsterdam. Coincidentally, it’s also one of my favorites: highly recommended. Super delicious food and really lovely service. The lunch menu costs €39, which is perfectly reasonable, of course, but the most affordable dinner menu is €45, which I also think is a very fair price.
Curious about the full Top 50? You can check it out here.
In general, it comes down to the fact that you need to go to Asia for a Michelin vacation: the Top 10 is made up almost entirely of Asian countries. The cheapest is Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle in Singapore, where the cheapest dish costs approximately 3 euros. Seems like a great price to me.
Main image: Sinne, Amsterdam
Also read:
- Go to a Michelin-starred restaurant sometime
- I asked Michelin-starred chefs about their ultimate guilty pleasure
- How to make cheap meat delicious
