Everyone knows the South is the land of good eats.
But now travelers and food critics alike have proof. In April 2025, Michelin announced it would be bringing the Michelin Guide to the American South to explore the region’s flavors, from the heat of Cajun cuisine to the rib-sticking goodness of soul food classics, as well as some less expected flavor combinations. The Michelin Guide includes several esteemed designations: stars, green stars, the Bib Gourmand award and general recognition in the guide. Michelin-star restaurants are inspected multiple times per year to ensure consistent quality.
Here are five Michelin-recommended restaurants just waiting to welcome groups.
Luminosa
Asheville, North Carolina
In the heart of downtown Asheville, North Carolina, inside the newly reopened Flat Iron Hotel, Luminosa combines Italian cuisine with the flavors of Appalachia. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin Green Star, which recognizes its sustainability efforts in addition to its culinary excellence. Daily trips to local farmers markets and in-house butchering of whole cows are just a few of the sustainable, zero-waste efforts.
Extending the cozy feel of The Flat Iron Hotel, Luminosa’s decor uses warm wood tones to create an inviting atmosphere. Groups can dine within several spaces, including the lower dining room, with a capacity of 20, or the Iron Works room, with a capacity of 60. Groups can also dine on the hotel’s rooftop, which has space for up to 40.
With its menu arranged in true Italian style, Luminosa offers several popular antipasti (appetizer) options, including bone marrow tater tots and apple brandy beef carpaccio. Its most lauded wood-fired pizza is the lemon pizza topped with smoked mozzarella, ricotta, fennel and basil. Highly rated first courses include rigatoni with Italian sausage, San Marzano tomatoes and Calabrian chili, as well as gnocchi with baby carrots, gorgonzola fonduta and upland cress. Options for the second course include items like a bone-in pork chop with Habanada pepper jelly and wood-fired lion’s mane mushroom. For a sweet finish to the evening, guests are sure to be more than satisfied with Luminosa’s tiramisu, olive oil cake and flourless chocolate torte, as well as a seasonal soft serve ice cream, a selection of dessert wines, and vanilla or pistachio gelato.
The restaurant’s drink menu takes advantage of Asheville’s vibrant brewing scene with locally sourced beers on tap. High-quality wines, creative cocktails and equally flavorful mocktails round out Luminosa’s drink menu.
Hot and Hot Fish Club
Birmingham, Alabama
The Pepper Place district in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, is known as a culinary hub, home to a Saturday farmers market and several local businesses and restaurants. One Pepper Place restaurant, Hot and Hot Fish Club, was recognized as a Michelin selected restaurant. While these haven’t technically earned a Michelin Star, they are recognized as promising spots that could potentially be eligible for higher distinctions in the future. Designed around a curved chef’s table where diners can sit and watch their food being prepared, the restaurant is a lively setting for a high-quality meal in the heart of the city.
Hot and Hot Fish Club features a rotating menu highlighting seasonal flavors with a European flair. Starters include delicacies like beef tartare, a shrimp bisque made with brandy and tarragon, and an heirloom beet salad with whipped goat cheese. Mains include hearty choices like oven roasted black grouper, country fried steak, and a duck duo comprising seared duck breast and confit. A Meyer lemon posset, chocolate soufflé and bread pudding with white chocolate and raspberry are among the dessert options. The drink menu features craft cocktails and mocktails with fresh fruits and seasonal spices, as well as an extensive selection of wine.
Groups can dine in the Chef’s Room, which has two large windows offering views of the dining room, with optional drapery for privacy. Restaurant staff can design a custom meal experience for groups, complete with their own custom food and beverage menus.
Herbsaint
New Orleans
The Big Easy is known for a cuisine as diverse as its cultural medley, so it’s no surprise that New Orleans is home to several Michelin-recognized restaurants and even a few that were awarded Michelin stars. One group-friendly Michelin-recognized restaurant is Herbsaint Bar and Restaurant, which can be found on Historic St. Charles Avenue, just blocks from popular group attractions like The National WWII Museum. The restaurant was established in 2000 and combines French, Southern and Italian cooking.
Herbsaint’s small but mighty menu includes soups and salads like gumbo, fried green tomatoes and an arugula salad with spice walnuts and an apple cider vinaigrette. Its selection of small plates features cornmeal fried oysters, beef short ribs with horseradish cream, house-made spaghetti with a fried-poached egg and bluefin tuna tartare. Its hearty mains include the fish of the day, Louisiana jumbo shrimp, a Muscovy duck leg confit with dirty rice and a grilled wagyu bavette with chimichurri. Traditional cocktails, a selection of beer and ciders, and an eclectic wine list round out the dining experience.
Several private dining options are available for groups. They can reserve the restaurant’s semi-private dining space, which accommodates up to 16, or do a full buyout of the restaurant if their group includes 34 people or fewer. Large parties will choose from a preset, seasonal food and beverage menu. Groups larger than 34 can dine at Herbsaint’s designated private event venue, Calcasieu, above its sister restaurant, Cochon.
Scoundrel
Greenville, South Carolina
The once-quaint town of Greenville, South Carolina, has exploded in popularity in recent years, thanks to a downtown revitalization that brought abundant urban greenspaces and parks, as well as walkable shopping and dining districts. With that growth comes good food. Scoundrel, founded in 2022, is a French restaurant inspired by the upscale American steakhouse and French bistro experiences. It was awarded one Michelin star in 2025 to mark its culinary excellence and a consistent standout dining experience. It was also a James Beard Award semifinalist in 2024. Featuring exposed brick walls, high-end finishes and a moody atmosphere, it’s a chic find on Greenville’s North Main Street, a short walk from the city’s hotels, shopping and nightlife.
The menu begins with hors d’oeuvres, which include Parisian delicacies like escargot, yellowfin tuna carpaccio, broiled oysters, beef tartare, deviled blue crab and osetra caviar. Scoundrel’s popular specialties include a tomahawk ribeye and steak frites. Other entrees include the roasted half chicken, pork ribs, aged Timberock duck breast, Virginia striped bass and the “Dirty Rotten Scoundrel” — a burger with two black angus patties, cheddar, lettuce and scoundrel sauce. Sides include duck fat fries, melted broccoli rabe and candy roasted squash. Scoundrel serves plenty of Greenville-based brews, international wines and upscale craft cocktails.
Groups of seven to nine can enjoy the restaurant’s full menu in its intimate private dining room. Parties of 10 or more can order from a preset menu and dine family style.
Table & Main
Roswell, Georgia
Thirty minutes north of Atlanta, Roswell, Georgia, is an affluent suburb jam-packed with group-friendly attractions, from historic house museums to the Chattahoochee Nature Center. There are also plenty of local food and beverage spots, including one that earned the Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction in 2025. Bib Gourmand is awarded to restaurants that offer great food for great value. Table & Main, located on a modest former homestead, is one of just 50 restaurants in the South to earn this distinction. It offers a neighborhood clubhouse vibe and aims to make guests feel like they’re dining at a friend’s house.
The restaurant is known for its upscale Southern cuisine with a seasonally focused selection. The menu features appetizers like fancy cornbread with honey butter spread, a mushroom and pecan bisque, boiled peanut hummus, habanero meatballs, and chicken salad croquettes. Some of its most popular entrees include fried chicken; shrimp and grits with Creole brown gravy and pork andouille sausage; a burger with pimento cheese and bacon jam; and market fish with farro and butternut squash risotto and crispy sage. There’s also Georgia blackened catfish and a vegetable plate loaded with the diner’s choice of seasonal vegetables. Guests can finish their meals with a choice of vanilla or bourbon butter pecan blondie ice cream or a seasonal sorbet; apple pie bread pudding; chocolate pudding with a brownie and topped with meringue; or boiled peanut cheesecake with a cola reduction topped with whipped cream.
Groups can enjoy a prix fixe or family style menu. They have the option of buying out one of the restaurant’s many spaces. Groups smaller than 32 can reserve the main dining room, while groups with fewer than 45 people can reserve the patio. Groups as large as 74 can arrange a full restaurant buyout.
