Is Starbucks Opening a Michelin-Grade Restaurant?!

Starbucks' Creative Ventures: From Buffets to Michelin-Inspired Dining

Yes! As everyone knows, Starbucks is a coffee brand that "never sticks to its core business"...

Last year it launched buffet service in mainland China, and this year in Taiwan it has rolled out a Michelin-level coffee feast experience!

Last August, the Starbucks Shanghai Roastery debuted a limited-time buffet. For RMB 358 or RMB 398, you could enjoy unlimited drinks and food for two hours! The spread included various premium freshly sliced hams, assorted sausages, salmon and chicken pizzas, mini cakes, and DIY coffee ice cream — and the pricier package threw in specialty cocktails and craft beer.

This year, Starbucks Taiwan — under the theme of "creating more Gold Star value experiences" — not only hosted exclusive calligraphy workshops and floral design sessions for Gold Star members, along with dedicated merchandise redemptions, but also teamed up with the local Michelin Plate-recommended restaurant Embers to create a one-night-only "Coffee Feast"! The event was held on May 27, capped at 28 guests, with registration priced at 200 stars plus NT$1,800 (approximately RMB 396).

The feast was themed "24 Years of Starbucks' Journey" (Taiwan's first Starbucks opened in March 1998), featuring five limited-edition dishes built on local Taiwanese ingredients and paired with creative coffee beverages developed by Starbucks. By exploring local produce and coffee creations, guests experienced Starbucks' story in Taiwan over the past 24 years.

The Five-Course Coffee Feast

According to the restaurant, the "Coffee Feast" opened with a champagne made from coffee cherry skins and coffee leaves (cascara).

The first course was a coffee drink based on a matcha latte, paired with trout tartare sprinkled with cilantro, maca, and other distinctly Taiwanese aromatics — a nod to the milestone Starbucks carved into Taiwan's coffee scene 24 years ago.

The second course paired local Taiwanese taro with tender cured meat, symbolizing Starbucks' bountiful harvest during its third five-year stretch on the island.

The third course featured tender tri-tip from local Taiwanese black cattle with coffee-powder jelly, accompanied by a non-alcoholic espresso martini — a symbol of Starbucks' operational maturity.

The fourth course matched local Zhudi chicken with lotus leaf tea and pickled lotus root, poured alongside a rare Starbucks Reserve coffee hand-picked by Starbucks' coffee experts from farms around the world — celebrating the company's years of bean-hunting in Taiwan.

The fifth, dessert course paired ricotta cheese with citrus honey and — yes, you read that right — cured meat. It came with a non-alcoholic Irish coffee built on Guatemala coffee, sherry coffee, brown sugar, and cream. A lingering, one-of-a-kind coffee aroma stays with you after the last bite — a sign, perhaps, that Starbucks isn't done surprising people.

Previous Michelin Collaborations

Even before working with the Michelin Plate restaurant, Starbucks Taiwan had partnered in 2021 with Chef Danny Yu of the one-Michelin-starred "Danny's Steak House" to launch the "Star Dining Celebrity Chef Series" at its Reserve stores — including "Chef's Version Red Wine Braised Beef," "American Beef Brisket Thin-Sliced Panini," and "New Orleans Beef Panini" — letting guests enjoy a Michelin-starred chef's cooking at Starbucks, even in the middle of a busy day.

What's Next for Starbucks?

Following this trajectory, is Starbucks planning to open a full-blown Michelin restaurant next?! (Just guessing.) After all, when it comes to Starbucks' creativity, nothing is impossible — only unimaginable.

Image sources: Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Internet

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