HALF MOON BAY — In a culinary-star-studded ceremony Monday evening, the Michelin Guide International solidified California’s reputation as a dining mecca, reaffirming all six of the state’s three-star restaurants (two more than New York), honoring 13 restaurants for two-star cuisine and praising hundreds of others for impressive cooking, affordable meals or high sustainability standards.
The event was held on the Bay Area coast for the first time, at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay.
Three restaurants joined the ranks of two-star honorees at the event. Two of them — Aubergine in Carmel and Sons & Daughters in San Francisco — were elevated from their previous one-star level, while Vespertine, a newly reopened Culver City restaurant, vaulted onto the list at two stars. Michelin inspectors who visited that restaurant raved about chef Jordan Kahn’s “daringly inventive” cuisine, along with his new concept that takes diners from floor to floor as the meal progresses.
Seven restaurants joined at the one-star level: Hilda and Jesse, Kiln and 7 Adams, all in San Francisco; Holbox, Meteora and Uka, all in Los Angeles; and R/O Rebel Omakase in Orange County (Laguna Beach).
”California continues to shine bright as we see the culinary scene evolve and highlight
emerging talent and cuisines,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guides, in a statement issued before the event. ”This year, we are thrilled to welcome 10 new restaurants to the family of Michelin-starred restaurants, in addition to one new Green Star.”
He added: ”Our Inspectors continue to be impressed with this year’s selection and we toast and celebrate the excellent chef and restaurant teams being recognized. The wide array of culinary offerings will excite foodies both near and far and continue to put California on the map.”
While 10 California restaurants gained stars, several lost theirs. One is the long-honored Restaurant Gary Danko, a San Francisco dining institution for a quarter-century. Chef Danko’s eponymous restaurant, which opened in 1999, had held a star since 2007.
The others that have fallen off Michelin’s star list include the Bay Area’s Barndiva (Healdsburg), Sushi Shin (Redwood City) and Sushi Yoshizumi (San Mateo); and SoCal’s Maude (Beverly Hills), Q Sushi (Los Angeles) and Sushi Tadokoro (San Diego). They remain in the guide as “recommended” restaurants.
Three restaurants were removed from the selection because they closed: Avery (San Francisco), Manzke (Los Angeles) and Taco Maria (Costa Mesa).
Also, two Southern California restaurants that received two stars in 2023, Sushi Ginza Onodera of West Hollywood and N/Naka of Los Angeles, dropped to one-star status this year.
As with all changes in star levels, Michelin inspectors — who review anonymously — make no comment regarding deletions from the guide or changes in star levels. As per Michelin protocol, they revisit all previous winners and new prospects with five criteria in mind: quality of the meal; harmony of flavors; mastery of technique; personality of the chef and their cuisine; and consistency between each visit.
Monday’s repeat three-star awardees were Dominique Crenn’s Atelier Crenn, Corey Lee’s Benu and Michael Tusk’s Quince, all in San Francisco; Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, in Yountville; SingleThread in Healdsburg, from chef Kyle Connaughton and farmer Katina Connaughton; and Addison, in San Diego. Crenn and Katina Connaughton are the only two women in the United States with three stars.
Two-star Bay Area honorees retaining that award included chef James Syhabout’s Commis in Oakland and Acquerello, Birdsong, Californios, Lazy Bear and Saison in San Francisco.
In the South Bay/Peninsula, George Aviet’s Chez TJ of Mountain View was again awarded with a star; the restaurant has been honored by Michelin for 17 years under a succession of chefs. Stan Michalski is the top toque in the Victorian house kitchen.
Both the Plumed Horse in Saratoga, with chef Peter Armellino at the helm, and the Village Pub in Woodside, under the direction of chef Mark Sullivan, retained the one-star status they have held since 2009.
The other one-star recipients from this region included Protégé in Palo Alto, Selby’s in Atherton and Wakuriya in San Mateo.
Michelin again awarded a star to both of the San Francisco restaurants owned by chef-spouses Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski — State Bird Provisions and The Progress. Cupertino native Brioza (who grew up in Danville) and Los Gatos native Krasinski met at De Anza College in Cupertino, then headed to the Midwest to further their culinary careers before coming back to the Bay Area.
A Green Star for sustainability went to Vespertine.
This year, a total of 85 restaurants representing 17 cuisines earned the coveted stars. That overall number is down two from last year’s 87 starred honorees. Three stars denotes “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”; two stars signifies “excellent cuisine, worth a detour”; and one star “high-quality cooking, worth a stop.”
When other categories such as good value and sustainability efforts are added, the 2024 Michelin Guide features praise for 577 California restaurants.
This is a developing story. Please return for updates.
