The Michelin Guide touched down in California last night to reveal which restaurants gained or held on to stars across the state in 2023. In a ceremony in Oakland, just seven months after last year’s star revelation, no new spots joined the guide’s three- or two-star ranks, while six snagged a first star. The California guide’s total number of starred restaurants now stands at 87, which means the state still gets to call itself home to the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the country, trailed by New York.
The guide’s newest one-star entrants include Nari, a Thai spot in San Francisco’s Hotel Nabuki; Valle, a Mexican restaurant in Oceanside; and Auro, serving a “hyper-local and hyper-seasonal” tasting menu in Napa’s Four Seasons. San Francisco–based Manresa, which previously held three stars, closed last November and was removed from this year’s guide—taking the total number of restaurants in the top category down from seven to six.
According to Michelin, one star is “worth a stop,” two stars is “worth a detour,” and three stars, the most a restaurant can receive, is “worth a special journey.” Last year, San Diego’s Addison was the only new entrant to the three-star club—notably bringing some Southern California representation to a category that, until then, had only featured restaurants from Northern California. Overall, the list skews heavily toward Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Michelin has been criticized in the past for disproportionately recognizing Eurocentric and Japanese-influenced cuisine, but it’s nonetheless considered the premier arbiter of fine dining across the world by many diners, chefs, and restaurateurs. With the aim of making its recommendations more widely accessible, Michelin also doles out Bib Gourmands each year, to restaurants the guide deems more affordable than their starred peers in the main guide but still high quality. “Affordable” is certainly a relative term here—these restaurants could still set you back up to $49 per diner, before drinks and appetizers. Still, these awardees tend to serve more affordable menus than restaurants on the starred list (dinner at Addison will run two people about $730—before wine), and represent a more diverse swath of cuisines. In California this year, that cohort of 10 new restaurants included the Taiwanese spot Eat Joy Food in LA; Petiscos, a Portuguese tapas joint in San Jose; and Bombera, a Mexican restaurant in Oakland.
Michelin refrained from revoking stars during the pandemic, but returned to the practice last year. Vespertine of LA’s Culver City closed temporarily last year, following allegations of a toxic, “soul-crushing” kitchen environment reported by Eater, and was scrubbed from the guide. This year, eight total restaurants, including Manresa, were removed from the guide, some by default for having closed within the year.
Also this year, four restaurants, including Oakland’s Pomet and Hollywood’s Providence, received a green star, a category inaugurated in 2020 to recognize commitment to eco-friendly practices. Accepting this year’s Sommelier Award was John Haffey of Aubergine in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The executive chef of San Francisco’s Sons and Daughters, Harrison Cheney, took home the Young Chef Award.
Below, find a full list of 2023’s Michelin-starred restaurants in California.
Three-starred restaurants
Addison (San Diego)Atelier Crenn (San Francisco)Benu (San Francisco)Quince (San Francisco)Single Thread (Healdsburg)The French Laundry (Yountville)
Two-starred restaurants
Acquerello (San Francisco)Birdsong (San Francisco)Californios (San Francisco)Commis (Oakland)Harbor House (Elk)Hayato (Los Angeles)Lazy Bear (San Francisco)Mélisse (Santa Monica)n/naka (Los Angeles)Providence (Hollywood)Saison (San Francisco)Sushi Ginza Onodera (West Hollywood)
One-starred restaurants
Auro (new, Calistoga)Aphotic (new, San Francisco)Chez Noir (new, Monterey)Heritage (new, Los Angeles)Nari (new, San Francisco)Valle (new, San Diego)715 (Los Angeles)Angler SF (San Francisco)Auberge du Soleil (Rutherford)Aubergine (Carmel-by-the-Sea)Avery (San Francisco)Barndiva (Healdsburg)Bell’s (Los Alamos)Camphor (Los Angeles)Caruso’s (Montecito)Chez TJ (Mountain View)Citrin (Santa Monica)Cyrus (Geyserville)Gary Danko (San Francisco)Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura (Beverly Hills)Gwen (Los Angeles)Hana re (Costa Mesa)Jeune et Jolie (Carlsbad)Kali (Hollywood)Kato (Los Angeles)Kenzo (Napa)Kin Khao (San Francisco)Knife Pleat (Costa Mesa)Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn (San Francisco)Localis (Sacramaneto)Madcap (San Anselmo)Manzke (Los Angeles)Maude (Beverly Hills)Mister Jiu’s (San Francisco)Morihiro (Los Angeles)Niku Steakhouse (San Francisco)Nisei (San Francisco)Nozawa Bar (Beverly Hills)O’ by Claude Le Tohic (San Francisco)Orsa & Winston (Los Angeles)Osito (San Francisco)Osteria Mozza (Los Angeles)Pasta | Bar (Encino)Plumed Horse (Saratoga)Press (Saint Helena)Protégé (Palo Alto)Q Sushi (Los Angeles)San Ho Won (San Francisco)Selby’s (Atherton)Shibumi (Los Angeles)Shin Sushi (Encino)Six Test Kitchen (Paso Robles)Soichi (San Diego)Sons & Daughters (San Francisco)Sorrel (San Francisco)Ssal (San Francisco)State Bird Provisions (San Francisco)Sushi I-NABA (Torrance)Sushi Kaneyoshi (Los Angeles)Sushi Shin (Redwood City)Sushi Tadokoro (San Diego)Sushi Yoshizumi (San Mateo)Taco María (Costa Mesa)The Kitchen (Sacramento)The Progress (San Francisco)The Restaurant at JUSTIN (Paso Robles)The Shota (San Francisco)The Village Pub (Woodside)Wakuriya (San Mateo)
Restaurants that lost stars
Adega (closed, San Jose)Hatchet Hall (Los Angeles)Marlena (closed, San Francisco)Omakase (San Francisco)Phenakite (closed, Los Angeles)Spruce (San Francisco)Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito (Santa Barbara)
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