Michelin, the company best known for its tires, terrifying mascot, and culinary critique, announced on Thursday evening that eight local restaurants are the recipients of their coveted Michelin stars – a prestigious designation not before seen in Vancouver.

The restaurants, which all received a one-star rating, include: 

• AnnaLena
• Barbara
• Burdock & Co
• iDen & Quan Ju De Beijing Duck House
• Kissa Tanto
• Masayoshi
• Published on Main
• St. Lawrence

Michelin announced its picks at the Vancouver Convention Centre West building just over three months after it had announced that it was expanding the Michelin Guide to the Canadian city. 

An additional 12 Vancouver restaurants received Bib Gourmands – a signifier of “good food at a moderate price" – and another 40 made the overall guide as recommended restaurants. 

Find the full selection here.

“Our teams of inspectors genuinely savored their dining experiences in Vancouver,” said Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guides, in a release.

“They were very impressed with the city’s gastronomic dynamism. The selection – from Stars to Bib Gourmands to the Recommended spots – are all appealing in their own authentic DNA, and very diverse offers. They all can be very proud of their entry in the MICHELIN Guide family, as we’re pleased to highlight them to our community of foodies and travelers.”

To give some insight on just how rare these stars are, we should note that Canada only received its first Michelin star restaurants last month when the brand placed 13 Toronto restaurants in its Michelin Guide. 

Only one of those Toronto spots received over one star, with Sushi Masaki Saito now being able to boast a two-star rating. 

The announcement makes Vancouver just the seventh North American city containing Michelin Star restaurants, the others being Toronto, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. 

The swanky event, it should be noted, included the “best ham in the world,” according to the guy slicing it.