Closure
Obauer and Loch Bay close, and four more starred restaurants will follow by New Year
· The Starred Bill
Two Michelin-starred restaurants closed for good in the last week of October, and four more will close by New Year. In Austria, Obauer in Werfen, a two-star, served its last guests on 26 October 2026, when Karl, Rudi and Angelika Obauer retired after more than 47 years. On the Isle of Skye, the one-star seafood restaurant Loch Bay closed after its final service on 31 October.
Why Obauer closed
The family announced the closure in May and chose Austria’s national day for the last service. Salzburg24 reported that retirement, not money trouble, was behind it, and in July that the restaurant was fully booked until the end.
Starred restaurants closing before 2027
- In Groningen, Noor (one star) closes for good after 12 December 2026. Its dinner menu is €195 (about $220).
- In Sonceboz, in the Bernese Jura, Jean-Marc Soldati closes Du Cerf (one star) after its last service on 19 December 2026, as he announced in October; the hotel stays open.
- In Paris, Table (two stars) closes on 22 December 2026, as Bruno Verjus announced in September. Its one menu is €480 (about $535).
- In Kirchheim an der Weinstraße, Germany, Manfred Schwarz ends his starred restaurant Schwarz Gourmet (one star) on 31 December 2026 after 43 years, and plans a smaller regional restaurant from 9 January 2027. Its dinner menu is €195 (about $220).
What happens to their stars
A closed restaurant leaves its guide at the next edition. On The Starred Bill it is marked closed as soon as it shuts, so it no longer counts in a page’s figures or in Budget search. Loch Bay and the year’s other closures in Britain are listed in UK Michelin star restaurants that closed or lost their stars.
Sources
- Nach fast 50 Jahren: Warum Karl und Rudi Obauer ihr Weltklasse-Restaurant in Salzburg schließen, Salzburg24, 11 May 2026.
- Run auf Kult-Lokal in Werfen: Haus Obauer bis zur Schließung völlig ausreserviert, Salzburg24, 15 July 2026.
- Restaurant-Hotel Obauer schließt im Oktober 2026, Tageskarte, 11 May 2026.
- An update from Loch Bay, Loch Bay (checked November 2026).
- Noor Groningen, Noor (checked November 2026).
- Schwarz Restaurant, Manfred Schwarz (checked November 2026).
- Une page se tourne, Hôtel-Restaurant du Cerf (Internet Archive copy), 22 October 2026.
- Bruno Verjus Announces the Closure of Table, Gault&Millau, 8 September 2026.
Prices and counts are The Starred Bill’s own data on 3,920 starred restaurants: stars from each country’s latest MICHELIN Guide, menu prices from each restaurant’s own website or, where it publishes none, a recent review, recorded October 2026. US dollar figures use exchange rates from ExchangeRate-API (1 November 2026).