In a Dolly Jain saree with the right amount of shimmer, Palak shows that festive dressing works best when it stays simple.
It took Indian cooking until 2001 to win its first Michelin stars, at Tamarind and Zaika in London. Today, Dubai's Trèsind Studio is the world's first Indian restaurant with three stars, earned in its fourth appearance in the guide.
India itself is still waiting for its turn. There is no Michelin Guide yet, although 47 hotels hold Michelin Keys and a partnership is reportedly being finalized for late 2026. Until then, the stars are earned abroad. Here are five Indian-led tables worth a festive journey.
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Trèsind Studio, Dubai
Twenty guests, an open kitchen on the Palm Jumeirah, and a tasting menu spanning India's regions, on fish, seafood and vegetables. Inspectors single out the ghee-roast crab with burnt cinnamon and the lobster tail with Alleppey curry. Chef Himanshu Saini trained under Manish Mehrotra of Indian Accent. Arrive early for cocktails at the Popadom Botanic Bar.
Avatara, Dubai
Michelin calls it the world's first vegetarian One-Michelin-Starred Indian restaurant, and it kept its star in 2026. Eighteen dishes of local produce are finished at an altar-like table, including a jackfruit, teardrop pea and spinach curry kebab. Mumbai-born chef Omkar Walve, the 2023 Young Chef Award winner, became Head Chef in September 2025.
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Gaa, Bangkok
Garima Arora earned Gaa its first star in 2018, the first Indian woman to do so, and it now holds two. In a traditional Thai house, dishes reinterpret Indian street food, with a vegetarian tasting menu always available at THB 6,200++. INDDEE, also on Soi Langsuan, holds two stars too.
Gymkhana, London
Mayfair's Gymkhana holds two stars, the second awarded in 2024. Its two floors echo colonial India's members' clubs, from jade-green timber to peach and Kashmiri red. Expect gilafi quail seekh kebab and achari paneer tikka with fig, cashew and corn chaat. Its parent, JKS Restaurants, also runs Trishna and the newly starred Ambassadors Clubhouse.
Thevar, Singapore
Penang-born Mano Thevar, trained at Guy Savoy and Waku Ghin, opened Thevar in 2019 and won a second star three years later. In a restored shophouse with Chettinad motifs, the Chettinad chicken roti is a must, alongside Brittany lobster with curry beurre blanc. The tasting menu is S$298++, and the vegetarian version must be pre-ordered.
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Until India's own guide arrives, these five prove a quiet truth: the stars were never waiting for a map, only for the world to taste.
Published: 13 Oct 2026, 06:02 pm IST
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