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Starr Restaurants has been recognized as "one of the largest multiconcept operators in the country, with restaurants up and down the Eastern Seaboard, from New York to Miami" by the magazine Restaurant Hospitality.[1] The restaurants have been noted as having an emphasis on "theatrical details, like music, lighting and backdrops."[1] The magazine Travel + Leisure noted that "Starr [Restaurants] creates complete environments with an artistic, almost cerebral approach".[2] The majority of Starr Restaurants are distinct concepts, but some restaurants are reproduced in different cities, such as Buddakan and El Vez.[1]
In 1995, Stephen Starr founded Starr Restaurants,[3] and the company opened its first restaurant, "Continental Restaurant & Martini Bar" in September of that year in Center City, Philadelphia.[4] Mayor Ed Rendell said, "It was like a shock of electricity for the development of Old City and led the way for the restaurant revolution down there."[4] In the following years, Starr opened several more restaurants in Philadelphia.[5]
In 2006, Starr Restaurants expanded to New York and Atlantic City.[6] By 2009, there were 18 restaurants in the Starr portfolio, including one in Florida.[7] In 2013, Starr expanded to Washington, D.C., growing to 30 restaurants.[8] In 2016, Starr opened their first restaurant outside the United States, Chez La Vieille in Paris.[9] Starr Restaurants acquired New York City Italian restaurants Lupa and Babbo in 2025.[10]
In 2023, Amtrak partnered with Starr Restaurants to create dishes for the Acela first class dining menu.[11]
The head of Starr Restaurants, Stephen Starr, has been named "Restaurateur of the Year" by both Bon Appétit and Zagat."[6][13] Starr was named the Richard Melman Innovator of the Year by Restaurant Hospitality in 2013.[1] In 2017, Starr won the James Beard Award for "Outstanding Restaurateur."[14]
As of 2026, there were 19 Starr Restaurants in Philadelphia; 10 in New York City; 5 in South Florida; 1 in Atlantic City, New Jersey; 6 in Washington, D.C.; and 1 in Nashville.[17][1][15]
On June 5, 2025, UNITE HERE Local 25 launched a boycott of popular Starr Restaurants in Washington, D.C. amid allegations of union busting and mismanagement of sexual harassment.[35] 69 Senators and U.S. Representatives joined the union in calling for a boycott.[36] Restaurant workers went public with their unionization efforts in late January at St Anselm, and have claimed that Starr Restaurants retaliated against union leaders and hired anti-union consultants to meet with workers.[37] Starr Restaurants denies allegations of union busting and contends that a successful union election at St. Anselm in Union Market is invalid because the National Labor Relations Board cannot certify unions without quorum.[38]
, 2018 Michelin Guide.[23]
