The culinary world’s top honors for California were handed out Wednesday night at Eve in Downtown San Diego.
The big news of the night was Kato’s promotion from one to two stars, coming shortly after Jon Yao’s modern Taiwanese restaurant won its second James Beard Award in as many years last week in Chicago.
Los Angeles also fared well with a handful of newly anointed one-star spots. including Corridor 109, Kojima, Lielle and Miura. Other new one-star accolades went to Lucien in La Jolla, Naides and Wolfsbane in San Francisco, Seline in Santa Monica (whose chef-owner, Dave Beran, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef, California this year) and Troubadour in Healdsburg.
The Young Chef Award went to Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle of Little Fish Melrose Hill in Echo Park.
But the night’s major winner was the Bay Area, with the addition of two new three-star spots — Californios, a Mexican cuisine spot in San Francisco, and Enclos, a contemporary cuisine joint in Sonoma — bringing California’s total of three-star restaurants to 10.
ALSO READ: 5 spots serving some of the best micheladas in Los Angeles County
The annual ceremony remains one of the most-anticipated nights in California’s lofty dining scene, with restaurants across the state waiting to learn whether they landed, kept or lost one of the sought-after honors.
The Michelin Guide’s celestial system is ranked on a three-tier scale: one star means “high-quality cooking, worth a stop,” according to the guide; two stars denotes “excellent cooking, worth a detour”; and three stars means “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.”
In recent years, Michelin’s expansion into new U.S. markets has raised questions about the cost of getting a city or region on the guide’s coveted radar. Legacy food cities like New York City and San Francisco do not pay to be included. But some newer Michelin markets have arrived with financial support from tourism boards, city agencies or state travel offices.
“Cities like Boston and Atlanta have reportedly paid $1 million or more to bring in Michelin for a three-year term,” according to a 2026 Food & Wine article. “State and city travel offices paid a combined $2.7 million for three years of Texas Michelin editions that cover Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Visit Orlando reportedly paid more than $1 million to be included in the Florida editions between 2022 to 2026.”
That money does not buy stars for any particular restaurant. Rather, as Food & Wine reported, it helps bring Michelin’s anonymous inspectors and the guide itself into a given market. From there, restaurants that make the cut can earn stars, a Bib Gourmand, the guide’s designation for “exceptional food at a great value,” or a recommended nod for high-quality eateries that do not quite land in star or Bib Gourmand territory.
Michelin Guide says its anonymous inspectors are “experts in food, dining and hotel sectors with many years of experience working in the hospitality industry.” They are not freelance critics parachuting in for a hot take. They are Michelin Group employees who pay for their own meals — meaning no freebies, no comped menus and no chef glad-handing upon arrival — and have no outside affiliation.
Michelin also notes that its inspectors judge restaurants using five criteria: quality of products, command of flavor and cooking techniques, the chef’s personality as expressed through the dining experience, harmony of flavors and consistency between visits.
The Michelin Guide dates back to 1900, when brothers André and Edouard Michelin published it as a free booklet meant to encourage motorists to get out on the road and, not incidentally, buy more tires. The guide started awarding stars in 1926.
Here is the complete updated 2026 list of all Michelin-starred restaurants in California (* denotes new entry):
THREE STARS
- Addison
- Atelier Crenn
- Benu
- Californios
- Enclos
- Providence
- Quince
- SingleThread
- Somni
- The French Laundry
TWO STARS
- Acquerello
- Aubergine
- Birdsong
- Commis
- Harbor House Inn
- Hayato
- Kato
- Kiln
- Lazy Bear
- Mélisse
- Saison
- Sons & Daughters
- Vespertine
ONE STAR
-
- 7 Adams
- Angler SF
- Auberge du Soleil
- Auro
- Bell’s
- Caruso’s
- Chez Noir
- Citrin
- Corridor 109
- Cyrus
- Heritage
- Hilda and Jesse
- Holbox
- Jeune et Jolie
- Kali
- Kin Khao
- KOUMA
- Lielle
- Lilo
- Localis
- Lucien
- Madcap
- Meteora
- Mister Jiu’s
- Miura
- Mori Nozomi
- n/naka
- Naides
- Nari
- Niku Steakhouse
- Nisei
- Nozawa Bar
- Orsa & Winston
- Osteria Mozza
- Pasta|Bar
- Plumed Horse
- Press
- Protégé
- R|O-Rebel Omakase
- Restaurant Ki
- San Ho Won
- Selby’s
- Seline
- Shin Sushi
- Silvers Omakase
- Six Test Kitchen
- Soichi
- Sorrel
- Ssal
- State Bird Provisions
- Sun Moon Studio
- Sushi Inaba
- Sushi Kaneyoshi
- The Kitchen
- The Progress
- The Restaurant at JUSTIN
- The Village Pub
- Troubadour
- Wakuriya
- Wolfsbane