The Michelin Guide Gave a Closed Houston Restaurant a Bib Gourmand. Here’s What Happened Next.

Viet-Cajun restaurant Kâu Ba closed in early November — then it was announced as a Michelin Bib Gourmand

Montrose’s Viet-Cajun restaurant Kâu Ba announced on Instagram in early November that it had temporarily closed its doors for a rebranding that would bring Houstonians “something extraordinary.” But on Monday, November 11, the Michelin Guide named Kâu Ba a Bib Gourmand at the inaugural Texas Michelin Guide Ceremony. Confusion ensued. How could a closed restaurant receive Michelin recognition?

It turns out it can’t.

The Michelin Guide has officially rescinded Kâu Ba’s Bib Gourmand. “Upon further investigation, our team has discovered the restaurant has been permanently closed since our Inspection team’s visits occurred,” Michelin said in a statement on the morning of Thursday, November 14.

Kâu Ba’s original Instagram post announcing the restaurant’s closure, which has since been made unviewable, along will all traces of the restaurant’s Instagram account, did not give a timeline of how long the restaurant would be closed; it stated, instead, that diners would get sneak peeks and updates about a new dining experience. Chef Nikki Tran has operated under the Kâu Ba name as recently as Tuesday, November 12, when she catered the local relaunch party for Saveur.

“This is a heartbreaking situation, but we understand and respect Michelin’s decision to remove Kâu Ba from its selection,” Tran told Eater in an emailed statement. “Exercising an abundance of caution from a legal position, I am not able currently to share further details of our situation but I do hope to follow up soon with more information. Until then, on behalf of the entire Kâu Ba team, we want to thank the entire culinary community for the recognition and support. Kâu Ba is proud of the dishes we created and look forward to sharing very soon what’s next.”

Yi-Chin Lee

Plans for Kâu Ba’s former location in Montrose are already underway. A press release sent Monday night, November 11, as the Michelin ceremony was being held, revealed that a new Peruvian and Vietnamese restaurant, Alora, would open in its place. A representative from that restaurant told Eater Houston that Tran is not involved in that restaurant and that its chefs have yet to be announced. Alora co-owner Louis Lamson Quy and several business partners purchased the assets of Southern Dandy, LLC, which is the previous owner and operator of Kâu Ba, the release states.

This is not the first mishap for Michelin amid its launch of the official Texas Michelin Guide. Michelin also misnamed Dallas’s restaurant Charles, calling it Mister Charles in its guide. “This was a technical error caused by our geolocation process. The problem has been corrected in the most expeditious manner,” the guide stated in the Thursday morning press release. Michelin also gave at least two barbecue restaurants whiplash after inviting to the ceremony Barbs B Q in Lockhart and Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, and then rescinding their invites due to “human error.” Days later, they were invited again.

The number of mishaps from Michelin’s Texas guide rollout is a bit startling, especially considering that many Texans — particularly chefs, restaurants, and the tourism boards — have been looking forward to this moment of recognition for years. At the same time, researching and reviewing restaurants in the Lone Star State, the second largest state in both population and geographic land, is a massive undertaking. Still, Texas — which paid a pretty penny to have Michelin review its restaurants — and its many deserving winners are, at very least, owed clarity and consistency.

This story will be updated.