How green is your star?

The Michelin Guide, the world's leading restaurant guide, announced its 2025 selection for Istanbul, İzmir, and Muğla provinces in Türkiye. In its third year, the list gave positive vibes that sustainability and environmentally friendly venues will be on the rise in the future with the increase in Green stars. The concept of farm-to-plate has been officially given the green light!

The 2025 selection included 32 new restaurants, two of which are Michelin-starred and have qualified to be included in the guide. Narımor in Urla, İzmir and Casa Lavanda in Şile, İstanbul received their first stars, while nine new restaurants were awarded Bib Gourmand. All previously starred restaurants maintained their places on the list. Among the new entries, six new restaurants were awarded the Michelin Green Star for their environmentally conscious approach. Special Awards were in three different categories: "Young Chef" went to Serhat Doğramacı from Mezra Yalıkavak, Bodrum; "Sommelier Award" was given to Yunus Öztürk, which made OdUrla decorated with three awards, in addition to the venue's one Michelin star and one Green star; last but not least, "Service Team" went to Nicole, already holding one Michelin star since the first year.

50 shades of green

This year, the Turkish Michelin list has literally gone green. Although the criteria for getting on the Michelin list and especially for getting the coveted red stars are clearly explained, the Green Star criteria for environmentally friendly venues are not that detailed. Obviously, the Green Star emphasizes concepts such as sustainability, seasonality, locality and waste-free cuisine, but it is also true that it is very difficult to evaluate these assets, and in some cases, it is even...