Some of the country's top chefs are celebrating their newly minted wins and joining the elite class of Michelin-starred restaurants in California. Known worldwide as the top achievement for chefs, the often-controversial Michelin stars are widely revered by culinary explorers.
The Michelin 2024 California Guide, including seven newly starred establishments, was announced this week following a ceremony in Half Moon Bay, honoring the restaurants worthy of stars. Aubergine, Sons & Daughters and Vespertine were each awarded two Michelin Stars, with Vespertine also being the newest Green Star restaurant.
Three San Francisco restaurants received their first Michelin stars, and California now boasts 13 two-Michelin-starred restaurants as the state continues to support emerging chef talents and unique cuisines. The guide now includes 577 restaurants across the state and lists 85 California restaurants as starred. Los Angeles once again did not honor a three-star restaurant.
There were also changes in the star status of numerous restaurants. In Los Angeles:
- These restaurants all kept their one-star ratings from last year: 715, Camphor, Citrin, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Beverly Hills, Gwen, Heritage in Long Beach, Kali, Kato, Morihiro, Nozawa Bar, Orsa & Winston, Osteria Mozza, Pasta Bar, Shibumi, Shin Sushi, Sushi I-Naba and Sushi Kaneyoshi.
- Sushi Ginza Onodera and n/naka previously had two stars, but now have one.
- Q Sushi lost their stars, as well as the recently closed Curtis Stone restaurant Maude.
In San Francisco, Gary Danko lost its star after 17 years.
Barndiva in Healdsburg, Sushi Shin in Redwood City and Sushi Yoshizumi in San Mateo also lost their Michelin stars.
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Here are the new two Michelin-Star restaurants, with inspector notes from each:
Aubergine (Carmel-By-The-Sea)
“Easygoing luxury and refinement strike a harmonious note within L’Auberge Carmel, where every element seems designed to delight. Chef Justin Cogley balances classic technique with a sleek, modern aesthetic, and his cooking captures a sense of place that feels wholly his own. Products of spectacular quality are prepared skillfully and painstakingly presented with an artistic eye, as in a surprising "cabbage" taco filled with shallot jam, Madeira-braised treviso, Kaluga queen caviar and cabbage chips. The hits keep coming, like the rice roulade with Dungeness crab finished in a white dashi and butter sauce or the triple-seared dry-aged ribeye brushed in wagyu XO.”
Sons & Daughters (San Francisco)
“A cleanly minimalist new Nordic style is clearer than ever in Chef Harrison Cheney‘s elegant tasting menu that deftly weaves together a variety of preserved fruits and vegetables, flawless seafood, and aged meats. Meals are off to an impressive start with the likes of a refreshing cured California trout dressed with a chilled fish bone broth drizzled with herbed oil. Rutabaga is transformed into thin, flat strands mimicking pasta and comes dressed with a creamy-textured smoked pork fat sauce. The applewood roasted quail features crisped-skin breast plated with a luscious jus and bouquet of Napa Valley greens, while the leg and thigh are glazed with fermented blueberry.”
Vespertine (Culver City)
“Beginning a new chapter, Chef Jordan Kahn's singular operation emerges from a lengthy hiatus with a renewed creative vision. Diners enjoy a tasting menu that is likewise out of the ordinary, moving between floors as the meal progresses. Each dish is visually stunning, with cuisine that is not only daringly inventive, but also marshals finely honed technique and impeccably balanced flavors as in an artful dish of scallop with passionfruit, ají amarillo, and petals of horseradish tuile, or an "obsidian mirror" of smoked mussel cream with salted plum. The meal ends as strong as it begins, with a mesmerizing dessert that features kaleidoscopic flavors. Together with their sister restaurants, Vespertine works to ensure all ingredients are used in their entirety.”
Here are the new one Michelin-Star restaurants, with inspector notes from each:
Hilda And Jesse (San Francisco)
“Offering what may well be the Bay Area’s most creative and ambitious take on brunch, this disarming passion project from co-owners Kristina Compton and Rachel Sillco*cks gets its extra shine from the pair’s extensive fine dining experience—each also contributed a grandparent for the restaurant’s name. There is nothing precious or manicured about the cooking here. It is often bold and brash, a total riot of flavors mixed with stellar ingredients, and dishes are equal parts unexpected and undeniably satisfying. At dinner, find a rotating, seasonal multicourse menu with a few optional add-ons.”
Holbox (Los Angeles)
“Chef Gilbert Cetina, who previously cooked with his father at neighboring stall Chichen Itza, draws from Mexican coastal cuisines in dishes whose simplicity belies remarkable flavor. Spectacular quality seafood of unassailable freshness leaves an impression, whether in electrifyingly vibrant aguachiles and ceviches, excellent tacos served on house-made heirloom corn tortillas, or skillfully grilled lobster—a panoply of exceptional house salsas gilds the lily. The frequently changing menu offers no shortage of delights, and a tasting menu, offered by reservation only on Thursdays and Fridays, is hotly sought-after.”
Kiln (San Francisco)
“Industry veterans Chef John Wesley and general manager Julianna Yang have combined their talents at Kiln, where the warehouse space is warmed by personable service and the kitchen delivers artful creations. The tasting menu leans Nordic, highlighting preservation techniques like curing, drying and fermentation in dishes whose simplicity is belied by intricate techniques and compelling flavor combinations. Opening snacks like a crispy curlicue of puffed beef tendon captures this ethos, while others, like a squab breast lacquered with burnt honey and served with a truffled jus, display a classical bent.”
Meteora (Los Angeles)
“This whimsical, immersive space is a touch otherworldly, with its tangled greenery, moody lighting, and trance-y soundtrack, but guests will be happy to fall under its spell when they taste Chef Jordan Kahn’s singular cuisine. Primal live-fire cooking combines with a zero-waste ethos and a treasure trove of sustainably sourced wild and organic ingredients to create dishes that are as memorable as they are delicious. Charred yam with a buttery sauce accented with smoked trout roe and grilled hazelnuts is more than the sum of its parts, and a dish of raw scallops with a vivid macadamia nut leche de tigre, banana, and crunchy kombu manages to both surprise and delight.”
R|O-Rebel Omakase (Laguna Beach)
“As its name suggests, omakase is indeed the name of the game here, where two seatings per night are available by reservation and overseen by Chef Jordan Nakasone. Rooted in tradition, the meal skews contemporary with a focus on seasonality and product quality. In addition to standout sushi such as Japanese white salmon and shima aji, there are a surprising number of kitchen dishes, including gindara, a rectangle of cod set in a memorable cauliflower dashi and garnished with tonburi and a delicious, comforting chawanmushi topped with firefly squid and shaved bottarga.”
7 Adams (San Francisco)
“In this city, finding a five-course menu for under a hundred dollars is a tall order. Chefs Serena and David Fisher make it seem effortless, though, bringing their signature magic to this second act in a sleek new space. The cuisine keeps an unfussy Californian simplicity, featuring solid technique and thoughtful flavor combinations that allow quality seasonal ingredients to shine. Think carefully shaped caramelle pasta that pairs a filling of sweet and nutty kabocha squash with buttery chanterelles, or crisp-skinned black cod with sunchoke confit and a finely tuned shellfish broth. Desserts never fail to end the meal on a strong note, as in a perfectly tender, moist apple crumb cake dressed up with an orange bay leaf ice cream and satsuma granita.”
Uka (Los Angeles)
“Chef Yosh*taka Mitsue and Chef Shingo Kato (both formerly of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations) and two waiters take great care with the details at this sleek hideaway nestled within Japan House at the Ovation Hollywood. Here, the fish is sourced from Japan and flown in twice weekly, then cured or aged in-house. It's all part of the kaiseki dining experience at Uka, where guests are invited to savor six or nine courses. Most of the menu leans traditional, as in the kabutamushi, a dumpling made with shredded turnip and filled with Japanese sea bream, while French influences make their way into dishes like grilled abalone with a butter ponzu sauce and wagyu with a red wine jus and miso butter sauce.”
Other awards handed out include: Michelin Exceptional co*cktails Award to Trevin Hutchins (Aphotic), Michelin Sommelier Award to Ian Krupp (Anajak Thai), Michelin Outstanding Service Award to Rachel Sillco*cks (Hilda & Jesse) and the coveted Michelin Young Chef Award to John Wesley (Kiln).
