which restaurants have just been awarded michelin stars in new zealand

New Zealand’s first Michelin Guide has just been unveiled, and the standout headline is that Essence in Queenstown received two stars, the only restaurant in the country to do so. The guide also awarded first-time stars to a wider group of restaurants across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown.

Starred restaurants

• Essence, Queenstown — two stars.

• Additional restaurants across the four launch cities received one star , but the full confirmed list was not fully visible in the sources I could verify here.

What’s confirmed

Michelin’s inaugural New Zealand selection covers Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown, and it was officially unveiled on 30 June 2026. Reports from the launch confirm that Essence was the only two-star recipient in the country’s first guide.

Context

Because this is the first New Zealand edition, there has been a lot of attention around which venues would make the cut, especially in Queenstown and Auckland. The guide had been previewing New Zealand as Michelin’s first Oceania expansion since late 2025.

Need the full list?

I can only verify Essence from the sources available here, plus the fact that there were other one-star winners across the four cities.