MICHELIN Guide California 2024 Highlights

Dish from San Francisco's Sons & Daughters. Photo by Kelly Puleio

The 2024 variation of the MICHELIN Guide California touts 7 caller 1 MICHELIN Star restaurants and 3 caller 2 MICHELIN Star eateries. The afloat enactment was announced Monday, August 5 astatine the Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay.

Aubergine, Sons & Daughters and Vespertine were each awarded 2 MICHELIN Stars, with Vespertine also being the newest Green Star edifice successful the selection. California present holds 13 2 MICHELIN Starred restaurants and 16 Green Stars. 

”California continues to radiance agleam arsenic we spot the culinary country germinate and item emerging endowment and cuisines,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the MICHELIN Guides. ”This twelvemonth we are thrilled to invited 10 caller restaurants to the household of MICHELIN Starred restaurants, successful summation to 1 caller Green Star.”

”Our Inspectors proceed to beryllium impressed with this year’s enactment and we toast and observe the fantabulous cook and edifice teams being recognized. The wide array of culinary offerings volition excite foodies some adjacent and acold and proceed to enactment California connected the map.”

In total, eighty-five MICHELIN Starred restaurants comprise the 2024 variation of the MICHELIN Guide California. Here are the caller MICHELIN Starred restaurants, with Inspector notes from each (Inpsectors’ comments tin beryllium recovered successful afloat connected the MICHELIN Guide website and mobile app):

Dish from Carmel's Aubergine. Photo by Manny Espinoza

Two MICHELIN Stars

Aubergine (Carmel-by-the-Sea; Contemporary/Californian)

Easygoing luxury and refinement onslaught a harmonious enactment wrong L’Auberge Carmel, wherever each constituent seems designed to delight. Chef Justin Cogley balances classical method with a sleek, modern aesthetic, and his cooking captures a consciousness of spot that feels wholly his own. Products of spectacular prime are prepared skillfully and painstakingly presented with an creator eye, arsenic successful a astonishing 'cabbage' taco filled with shallot jam, Madeira-braised treviso, Kaluga queen caviar and cabbage chips. The hits support coming, similar the atom roulade with Dungeness crab finished successful a achromatic dashi and food condiment oregon the triple-seared dry-aged ribeye brushed successful wagyu XO.

Sons & Daughters (San Francisco; Contemporary)

A cleanly minimalist caller Nordic benignant is clearer than ever successful Chef Harrison Cheney‘s elegant tasting paper that deftly weaves unneurotic a assortment of preserved fruits and vegetables, flawless seafood, and aged meats. Meals are disconnected to an awesome commencement with the likes of a refreshing cured California trout dressed with a chilled food bony broth drizzled with herbed oil. Rutabaga is transformed into thin, level strands mimicking pasta and comes dressed with a creamy-textured smoked pork abdominous sauce. The applewood roasted quail features crisped-skin bosom plated with a luscious jus and bouquet of Napa Valley greens, portion the limb and thigh are glazed with fermented blueberry.

Chef Harrison Cheney of Sons & Daughters. Photo by Fran Miller

Vespertine (Culver City; Contemporary)

Beginning a caller chapter, Chef Jordan Kahn's singular cognition emerges from a lengthy hiatus with a renewed originative vision. Diners bask a tasting paper that is likewise retired of the ordinary, moving betwixt floors arsenic the repast progresses. Each crockery is visually stunning, with cuisine that is not lone daringly inventive, but besides marshals finely honed method and impeccably balanced flavors arsenic successful an artful crockery of scallop with passionfruit, ají amarillo, and petals of horseradish tuile, oregon an 'obsidian mirror' of smoked mussel pick with salted plum. The repast ends arsenic beardown arsenic it begins, with a mesmerizing dessert that features kaleidoscopic flavors. Together with their sister restaurants, Vespertine works to guarantee each ingredients are utilized successful their entirety.

Vespertine interior. Photo by Casey Robinson

One MICHELIN Star

Hilda and Jesse (San Francisco; American)

Offering what whitethorn good beryllium the Bay Area’s astir originative and ambitious instrumentality connected brunch, this disarming passionateness task from co-owners Kristina Compton and Rachel Sillcocks gets its other radiance from the pair’s extended good eating experience—each besides contributed a grandparent for the restaurant’s name. There is thing precious oregon manicured astir the cooking here. It is often bold and brash, a full riot of flavors mixed with stellar ingredients, and dishes are adjacent parts unexpected and undeniably satisfying. At dinner, find a rotating, seasonal multicourse paper with a fewer optional add-ons.

Holbox (Los Angeles; Mexican)

Chef Gilbert Cetina, who antecedently cooked with his begetter astatine the neighboring stall Chichen Itza, draws from Mexican coastal cuisines successful dishes whose simplicity belies singular flavor. Spectacular prime seafood of unassailable freshness leaves an impression, whether successful electrifyingly vibrant agua chiles and ceviches, fantabulous tacos served connected house-made heirloom maize tortillas, oregon skillfully grilled lobster—a panoply of exceptional location salsas gilds the lily. The often changing paper offers nary shortage of delights, and a tasting menu, offered by preservation lone connected Thursdays and Fridays, is hotly sought-after.

Dish from San Francisco's Hilda and Jesse. Photo by Timofei Osipenko

Kiln (San Francisco; Contemporary)

Industry veterans Chef John Wesley and wide manager Julianna Yang person combined their talents astatine Kiln, wherever the warehouse abstraction is warmed by personable work and the room delivers artful creations. The tasting paper leans Nordic, highlighting preservation techniques similar curing, drying and fermentation successful dishes whose simplicity is belied by intricate techniques and compelling spirit combinations.  Opening snacks similar a crispy curlicue of puffed beef tendon captures this ethos, portion others, similar a squab bosom lacquered with burnt chromatic and served with a truffled jus, show a classical bent.

Meteora (Los Angeles; Creative)

This whimsical, immersive abstraction is simply a interaction otherworldly, with its tangled greenery, moody lighting, and trance-y soundtrack, but guests volition beryllium blessed to autumn nether its spell erstwhile they sensation Chef Jordan Kahn’s singular cuisine. Primal live-fire cooking combines with a zero-waste ethos and a treasure trove of sustainably sourced chaotic and integrated ingredients to make dishes that are arsenic memorable arsenic they are delicious. Charred yam with a buttery condiment accented with smoked trout roe and grilled hazelnuts is much than the sum of its parts, and a crockery of earthy scallops with a vivid macadamia seed leche de tigre, banana, and crunchy kombu manages to some astonishment and delight.

Chef John Wesley of Kiln. Photo by Jesse Evan Cudworth

R|O-Rebel Omakase (Laguna Beach; Japanese)

As its sanction suggests, omakase is so the sanction of the crippled here, wherever 2 seatings per nighttime are disposable by preservation and overseen by Chef Jordan Nakasone. Rooted successful tradition, the repast skews modern with a absorption connected seasonality and merchandise quality. In summation to standout sushi specified arsenic Japanese achromatic salmon and shima aji, determination are a astonishing fig of room dishes, including gindara, a rectangle of cod acceptable successful a memorable cauliflower dashi and garnished with tonburi and a delicious, comforting chawanmushi topped with firefly squid and shaved bottarga.

7 Adams (San Francisco; Californian)

In this city, uncovering a five-course paper for nether a 100 dollars is simply a gangly order. Chefs Serena and David Fisher marque it look effortless, though, bringing their signature magic to this 2nd enactment successful a sleek caller space. The cuisine keeps an unfussy Californian simplicity, featuring coagulated method and thoughtful spirit combinations that let prime seasonal ingredients to shine. Think cautiously shaped caramelle pasta that pairs a filling of saccharine and nutty kabocha squash with buttery chanterelles, oregon crisp-skinned achromatic cod with sunchoke confit and a finely tuned shellfish broth. Desserts ne'er neglect to extremity the repast connected a beardown note, arsenic successful a perfectly tender, moist pome crumb barroom dressed up with an orangish bay leafage crystal pick and satsuma granita.

Dish from Los Angeles' Uka. Photo courtesy of the restaurant

Uka (Los Angeles; Japanese)

Chef Yoshitaka Mitsue and Chef Shingo Kato (both formerly of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations) and 2 waiters instrumentality large attraction with the details astatine this sleek hideaway nestled wrong Japan House astatine the Ovation Hollywood. Here, the food is sourced from Japan and flown successful doubly weekly, past cured oregon aged in-house. It's each portion of the kaiseki eating acquisition astatine Uka, wherever guests are invited to savor six oregon 9 courses. Most of the paper leans traditional, arsenic successful the kabutamushi, a dumpling made with shredded turnip and filled with Japanese oversea bream, portion French influences marque their mode into dishes similar grilled abalone with a food ponzu condiment and wagyu with a reddish vino jus and miso food sauce. 

MICHELIN Green Star

Vespertine (Culver City; Contemporary)

Initiatives: sourcing ingredients ethically from biodynamic, integrated oregon chaotic origins; concern with 2 section farms practicing biodynamic farming; locally foraged herbs; sustainably sourced seafood from indigenous sportfishing communities oregon section fisherman; utilizing unfastened pasture grass-fed beef; sustainable committedness to eating country decor including wool carpeting, recycled glassware and wild-harvested ceramic serving pieces.