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Malaysia

George Town

Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries in George Town from the En Primeur Club guide.

Accolades in George Town

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George Town, Malaysia
The George Town neighbourhood holds 76 of the venues in our guide to George Town, Malaysia. Citywide, that guide counts two Michelin-starred restaurants and two Michelin stars in total. Au Jardin and Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery, both in the George Town neighbourhood, are those restaurants. Au Jardin cooks a monthly-changing European menu with a sommelier-led list. Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery serves Peranakan family recipes, with a minimal wine programme. Published dining here also includes Peranakan restaurants, many with a Bib Gourmand, plus a set of tasting menus, several with wine lists. Citywide, our guide counts one Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and one exceptional wine programme. Blanc holds that Wine Spectator award, with 670 bottles and particular depth in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Serabai Istimewa, in Taman Tun Sardon, Gelugor, serves a tasting menu outside the George Town neighbourhood, and its list is sommelier-led.

Tasting menus

These tasting menus all sit in the George Town neighbourhood, covering a monthly European menu, modern Malaysian cooking, molecular gastronomy and modern Thai.

  • Au Jardin

    Au Jardin, in George Town, holds a Michelin 1 Star award dated 2026 and serves a monthly-changing European menu with local accents, as a tasting menu and a set menu, from a converted bus depot. The wine programme is sommelier-led and extensive, and corkage is allowed.

  • Gēn

    Gēn, in George Town, serves a modern Malaysian tasting menu built from local ingredients and childhood memories. The latest Michelin award is a Plate, and the restaurant also holds a Star Wine List award, both dated 2026. The list is extensive and includes over 30 organic and biodynamic wines.

  • Mémoire

    Mémoire, in George Town, cooks modern Malaysian molecular gastronomy as a tasting menu of six to ten courses. The Michelin award is a Plate dated 2026. A tableside smoked consommé is served. Crispy flatbread comes on a miniature easel, and diners apply sauces.

  • Sood by Chef Ton

    Sood by Chef Ton, in George Town, serves modern Thai as a tasting menu, family-style dishes and a set menu in a restored 150-year-old heritage mansion. The Michelin award is a Plate dated 2026. Chef Ton, behind Le Du in Bangkok, leads the kitchen. The drinks include craft cocktails.

Wine lists

Citywide, our guide counts one Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Other wine lists here include natural wine, a sommelier-led programme in Taman Tun Sardon, Gelugor, and an extensive list at an open-fire grill.

  • Blanc

    Blanc, in George Town, pairs contemporary French cooking and Asian ingredients with a list of 670 bottles and particular depth in Bordeaux and Burgundy. The restaurant holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence dated 2025. Formats include a tasting menu and a la carte, and the latest Michelin award is a Plate dated 2026.

  • Curios-City

    Curios-City, in George Town, cooks European technique with Malaysian flavour in a converted warehouse, across tasting, set and a la carte menus. The latest Michelin award is a Plate dated 2026. The wine programme has natural wine and craft cocktails, and corkage is allowed. Three set menus rotate every two months.

  • Serabai Istimewa

    Serabai Istimewa, in Taman Tun Sardon, Gelugor, builds a tasting menu around serabai, coconut rice pancakes, and pairs them with rare teas. The wine programme is extensive and sommelier-led. The latest Michelin award is a Bib Gourmand dated 2025, following a Bib Gourmand in 2024.

  • Firewood

    Firewood, in George Town, cooks on a central open fire in a historic building, with a la carte and set menus that include dry-aged beef, flame-treated seafood and Nyonya-inflected sauces. The list is extensive. The latest Michelin award is a Plate, and World's Best Steaks ranks it number 76, both dated 2026.

Peranakan restaurants in George Town

These Peranakan restaurants all sit in the George Town neighbourhood. Latest Michelin awards here run from a star to a Plate and Bib Gourmands, and the wine programmes are minimal or standard.

  • Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery

    Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery, in George Town, is a Peranakan restaurant with a Michelin 1 Star award dated 2026, serving family recipes a la carte. The wine programme is minimal. The kitchen makes pie tee shells from scratch and a gulai tumis from a paste of more than eight ingredients.

  • Richard Rivalee

    Richard Rivalee, in George Town, is a Peranakan restaurant run by a fashion designer, with a la carte and set menus in a pair of heritage shophouses. The latest Michelin award is a Plate dated 2026. The wine programme is standard, and most dishes come in two portion sizes.

  • Bibik's Kitchen

    Bibik's Kitchen, in George Town, serves heirloom Peranakan recipes a la carte in a room with classic Nyonya decor. The latest Michelin award is a Bib Gourmand dated 2026. The wine programme is minimal. Jiu hu char and loh bak are served, and dishes come in three sizes.

  • Winn's Cafe

    Winn's Cafe, in George Town, serves Peranakan cooking a la carte in a converted villa that also shows work by local artists. The latest Michelin award is a Bib Gourmand dated 2026. The wine programme is minimal, and herbs used in the cooking are grown on site.

Planning FAQ

Which neighbourhood has the serious wine lists?

The George Town neighbourhood holds the serious wine lists in our guide, including Blanc, Au Jardin, Gēn and Curios-City, and Taman Tun Sardon, Gelugor holds Serabai Istimewa, whose list is extensive and sommelier-led. Blanc holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2025, with 670 bottles and particular depth in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Au Jardin's list is extensive and sommelier-led, with corkage allowed. Gēn has over 30 organic and biodynamic wines, and Curios-City pours natural wine.

How many Michelin-starred restaurants are in George Town?

Citywide, our guide counts two Michelin-starred restaurants and two Michelin stars in total. They are Au Jardin, which cooks a monthly European menu, and Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery, which cooks Peranakan food. Both restaurants are in the George Town neighbourhood, and both awards are dated 2026.

Where are the tasting menus?

Tasting menus in our guide are at Au Jardin, which cooks a monthly European menu and a set menu, at Gēn, which cooks a modern Malaysian tasting menu, at Blanc, Mémoire, Sood by Chef Ton and Curios-City, all in the George Town neighbourhood, and at Serabai Istimewa in Taman Tun Sardon, Gelugor.

Which places hold a Wine Spectator award?

Blanc, in the George Town neighbourhood, holds the Wine Spectator award in our guide, an Award of Excellence dated 2025. The list runs to 670 bottles, with particular depth in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Citywide, our guide counts one Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards

George Town

Where to eat in George Town

Selected entries from the current guide for George Town.

Gēn restaurant in George Town

George Town, Malaysia

Gēn

At Gēn—Chinese for “root”—the owner-chef channels childhood memories and Taiwan’s coastal bounty into a seasonally led tasting menu that is as refined as it is soulful. Expect delicate, inventive courses with a focus on pristine local fish, each plated with grace and a touch of whimsy—a silken chicken soup presented in a glass bottle, evoking a tender nostalgia. An list of over 30 organic and biodynamic wines underscores the restaurant’s thoughtful philosophy, pairing with precision and restraint. For diners who appreciate elegance anchored in authenticity, Gēn offers a quietly luxurious experience where heritage, craftsmanship, and the poetry of the plate converge.

George Town, Malaysia
Ah Boy Koay Teow Th'ng restaurant in George Town

George Town, Malaysia

Ah Boy Koay Teow Th'ng

A second-generation family shop on Lebuh Clarke earning back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025, Ah Boy Koay Teow Th'ng specialises in the clear-broth noodle soup that defines George Town's quieter, less-photographed hawker register. The chicken-and-pork-bone broth anchors a short menu built around springy tendon balls and braised chicken with bean sprouts. Prices stay firmly in the single-dollar street-food tier.

George Town, Malaysia
Communal Table by Gēn restaurant in George Town

George Town, Malaysia

Communal Table by Gēn

A Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient in 2024 and 2025, Communal Table by Gēn brings modern Malaysian and Peranakan cooking to a casual, open-format setting on Lebuh Presgrave. The à la carte dinner menu is anchored by local ingredients, with dishes like aged duck breast in a steamed bun alongside homemade gelato in flavours drawn from Penang's pantry. A mid-range price point makes it one of the more accessible entries in Johnson Wong's growing presence in George Town.

George Town, Malaysia

George Town

Where to stay in George Town

Selected entries from the current guide for George Town.

Cheong Fatt Tze - The Qing Suites hotel in George Town

George Town, Malaysia

Cheong Fatt Tze - The Qing Suites

Cheong Fatt Tze - The Qing Suites occupies a restored Qing-dynasty shophouse on Leith Street in George Town's UNESCO-protected core, earning Michelin Selected status in 2025. The property sits within the same heritage compound as the celebrated Blue Mansion, offering an intimate, architecturally distinct alternative to the neighbourhood's larger heritage hotels. Book early: rooms at this scale fill quickly during peak festival seasons.

George Town, Malaysia
Eastern & Oriental Hotel hotel in George Town

George Town, Malaysia

Eastern & Oriental Hotel

Carrying more than a century of Straits Settlement history on its seafront address, the Eastern & Oriental Hotel on Farquhar Street is George Town's most architecturally significant place to stay. A 2025 Michelin Selected property, it occupies a tier of heritage hospitality where colonial grandeur, Penang's multicultural port identity, and serious service standards converge in a way that the city's newer boutique offerings cannot replicate.

George Town, Malaysia
lyf Georgetown Penang by The Ascott Limited hotel in George Town

George Town, Malaysia

lyf Georgetown Penang by The Ascott Limited

A Michelin Selected property in the heart of George Town's heritage core, lyf Georgetown Penang by The Ascott Limited brings the co-living format to one of Southeast Asia's most architecturally layered cities. Positioned at Jalan Pinang in Seksyen 14, it occupies a different tier from George Town's heritage boutique hotels, trading period restoration for a social, design-conscious approach that suits the mobile, long-stay traveller.

George Town, Malaysia
The Millen Penang, Autograph Collection hotel in George Town

George Town, Malaysia

The Millen Penang, Autograph Collection

A Michelin Selected hotel on Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, The Millen Penang sits on one of George Town's most address-conscious stretches, close to the heritage core, the waterfront, and Gurney Drive without being swallowed by any of them. As part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, it occupies a mid-tier position between boutique heritage conversions and large international towers, with the neighbourhood doing considerable work for the stay.

George Town, Malaysia

George Town

Where to go for a drink in George Town

Selected entries from the current guide for George Town.

No venues found.

George Town

Which wineries to visit in George Town

Selected entries from the current guide for George Town.

No venues found.