Toronto is about to get a Michelin restaurants guide that's been years in the making. 

The famous series of guide books that have been published by the French tire company Michelin since 1904 have never been produced for Canada before so Toronto's inaugural one will be the country's first.

The guide awards restaurants stars that suggest how good they are, based on subjective, anonymous reviews by the inspectors the guide sends out to the places it chooses to rate.

A single star is coveted and a major honour but a restaurant can actually get anywhere from zero to three stars, with the highest rated ones attracting diners from around the globe who will take trips just to say they dined at one of the world's best restaurants.

The Michelin guide for Toronto is expected to be officially announced at an event on May 10 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. 

Among the restaurants rumoured to have received a Michelin star include Cafe Boulud and R&D.