Michelin confused Dallas restaurant The Charles with the similar-sounding Mister Charles.
A Recommended rating from Texas’ inaugural Michelin Guide ceremony on Nov. 11, 2024, was given to Design District restaurant The Charles. But the writeup is clearly for Mister Charles — a restaurant owned by the same parent company, Duro Hospitality, that’s totally different in style and substance than The Charles.
(More confusing still, the company owns a third Dallas restaurant with a similar name, El Carlos Elegante. El Carlos received a well-deserved Recommended rating at the Michelin ceremony.)
Michelin acknowledged the mistake on Nov. 12, 2024, calling it “an internal error caused by our geolocation process.”
And it’s confirmed: Mister Charles is the winner of a Recommended rating from Michelin 2024. The Charles was removed from the list.
“We are honored,” said Chas Martin, one of the owners of the restaurant group. “We know that this is not a perfect science.”
“We’re pretty proud of all our people — and we wish all of them could have been mentioned,” he said, referring not only to The Charles but also to the fourth restaurant in the group, Sister on Greenville Avenue, which did not get Michelin recognition in 2024.
What does Recommended mean?
While Michelin’s most high-profile accolades are its 1-, 2- and 3-star honors, the Recommended designation is slightly different: It denotes restaurants that serve excellent food but don’t quite meet Michelin’s rigorous standards for stars.
A Recommended rating often puts a fire under chefs’ feet to strive for a Michelin star next year. In essence, it matters which restaurant got what.
In Dallas-Fort Worth, 20 restaurants were Recommended in 2024. The list will change when Michelin releases its new Guide in the fourth quarter of 2025.
How do we know an error was made?
Take a read of Michelin’s explanation of The Charles and it’s easy to spot the mistakes (though it has since been updated online).
Michelin calls The Charles a “sweeping, opulent space,” a near-perfect explanation for the pricey design at Mister Charles, which we called Dallas’ hottest restaurant opening of 2023.
The Charles has many strong suits, but it’s neither sweeping nor opulent. It’s fairly small, with tables packed in.
Better clues come in the explanations of the dishes. Michelin cited the crab cakes and corn and truffle beignets — two excellent appetizers at Mister Charles that are nowhere to be found on The Charles’ menu.
(The blurb also mentions carpaccio, a menu item both restaurants serve. At The Charles, it’s tuna carpaccio; at Mister Charles, it’s beef. Michelin didn’t specify which one it loved.)
Then comes bigger issues: “Diners can nibble on canapés like a lobster roll on a petite brioche bun, or sample fusilli with caviar and fontina, and might proceed to more substantial fare, including showy tableside presentations like Dover sole with lobster beurre blanc, or a Texas wagyu beef Wellington,” the blurb reads.
We love to see it, but again, that’s Mister Charles’ food.
It finishes by honoring the “dramatic” Baked Alaska, a Mister Charles signature.
Michelin’s spokeswoman was quick to answer our query, saying, “The problem will be corrected in the most expeditious manner.”
This story is part of The Dallas Morning News’ coverage of the Michelin Guide Texas. Read more about the restaurant picks in Dallas-Fort Worth and across Texas.
