Michelin announced its California stars for 2024 at a ceremony in Half Moon Bay on Monday evening, Aug. 5.
A handful of restaurants received their first celestial honors, including Uka by chefs Yoshitaka Mitsue and Shingo Kato, Gilbert Cetina’s Holbox and Jordan Kahn’s Meteora. The Los Angeles eateries earned their first one-star status alongside another Southern California winner, Jordan Nakasone’s Rebel Omakase in Laguna Beach.
Vespertine, which reopened in April after closing in 2020, received two stars after its spring rebirth. Noted for its contemporary architecture and its lauded fare (the late critic Jonathan Gold anointed it the best restaurant in Los Angeles in 2017), chef Kahn’s Culver City venue was praised by an anonymous Michelin inspector, who wrote, in part, “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.”
Valle in Oceanside and Heritage in Long Beach kept their one-star statuses.
While no new three-star restaurants were added, Addison in San Diego held onto its trio of sparklers as Southern California’s only Michelin three-star restaurant. William Bradley’s restaurant is one of only six Michelin three-star spots in the Golden State, along with Bay Area-based eateries Atelier Crenn, Benu, the French Laundry, Quince and SingleThread.
SEE ALSO: Jordan Nakasone’s Rebel Omakase in Laguna Beach wins Michelin star
Michelin Guide’s award system is ranked on a three-tier system: one star (“high-quality cooking, worth a stop,” according to the official guide), two stars (“excellent cooking, worth a detour”), and three stars (“exceptional cuisine, worth a journey”).
Following is the complete list of Michelin star wins for Los Angeles, Central Coast, Orange County and San Diego for 2024:
Three stars:
Two stars (* denotes two stars):
One star (* denotes new star):
Before Monday’s announcement, Michelin added five California restaurants to its guide under its “new discoveries” list. Those eateries included Lola Gaspar, a Mexico City-inspired gastrobar in Santa Ana led by chef Luis Perez, Cedro Italian Restaurant in Newbury Park, Elf Cafe and Lustig in Los Angeles, and Manohar’s Delhi Palace in La Puente.
An annual tradition since 1926, the star selections, which can make or break a business, are decided upon by unidentified inspectors who are “experts in food, dining and hotel sectors with many years of experience working in the hospitality industry,” according to Michelin. Said critics are employees of the Michelin Group only and not affiliated with any outside organizations.
Inspectors visit venues multiple times before doling out stars, according to Michelin. Honors are based on the quality of food using five criteria: quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in his cuisine, value for money and consistency between visits.
Michelin has faced criticism in recent years for honoring cost-prohibitive restaurants in the United States, Western Europe and China, while, more often than not, ignoring street food, taquerias (Taquería El Califa de León in Mexico City is the only taqueria in the world to receive a Michelin star) and large swaths of communities around the world, including Africa and Australia.
