Month: June 2025

Somni may be Catalan for dream, but Chef Aitor Zabala and his dedicated team are not waking from a dream; they're realizing one. The West Hollywood restaurant, only seven months old, was awarded Three MICHELIN Stars, the highest distinction in the culinary world, at The MICHELIN Guide California ceremony in Sacramento on June 25th. Somni joins an exclusive club; there are only seven other restaurants with Three Stars in California. See the full list here. Those in attendance may have been surprised by the news, but Chef Zabala and his team were given the good news ahead of the ceremony by the International Director of The MICHELIN Guide, Gwendal Poullenec. We were there to capture the moment and share in the excitement and emotion of a job well done. Watch as they learn the news below.

Source: Michelin Guide

The MICHELIN Guide California 2025 has been announced with big news! There are now two new Three Stars, Providence and Somni, which tell different stories. Providence, which was previously awarded Two MICHELIN Stars, is a longtime favorite, celebrating its 20th year of operation this year. Conversely, Somni is brand new.

That's not the only big news out of California this year, however. Two new Two Stars were awarded to Sonoma's Enclos and San Francisco's Kiln, as well as five new One Stars. Two Green Stars made the list, awarded to Enclos and Sons & Daughters, bringing the total number of Green Stars to 17. Unsurprisingly, that makes California the single largest holder of Green Stars in North America.

Learn more about what makes each new Star sparkle and see the full list of all Starred restaurants below.

As has been the case since opening in 2005, purity and precision are the underpinnings of Chef Michael Cimarusti's California cooking, and his cuisine has grown even more impressive over the years. The tasting menu blends global inspiration and classic technique with a modern sensibility, and sources the freshest and most sustainable seafood, often wild-caught from American waters. At no point during the meal will you doubt its impeccable quality, especially while savoring dishes such as a tart of lobster mousse and box crab set in a crab beurre blanc, or roasted monkfish with cauliflower and shaved black truffles. Longstanding signatures like the soft-poached egg with uni and breadcrumbs or salt-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns make for luxurious add-ons.

Chef Aitor Zabala and his dedicated team have awakened Somni, Catalan for "dream," from a long sleep and have fashioned this revamped iteration as a distinctly personal and unique dining experience. Tucked away just off Santa Monica Avenue, the dining room's soothing, creamy palette with light wood and glass is marked by a colorful bull's head from the original spot, hinting at the Spanish-inflected cuisine. A procession of small bites is meticulously arranged and endlessly creative, sating diners with an abundance of rich flavors and textural interplay (think mussel escabeche, gazpacho, or the iconic shiso tartare tempura). All the while, the kitchen and service teams are in lockstep as they create and serve these arresting dishes.

Concealed inside an 1880 Victorian just steps away from Sonoma Plaza, once inside this glittering workshop, guests enter a rarified realm. An opulent tasting menu marries global flavors, refined technique, and exceptional ingredients, including local produce sourced from affiliated Stone Edge Farm, all shot through with subtle nods to Chef Brian Limoges' New England roots. Take, for example, a clever "lobster roll" croustade made up of spiny lobster tartare in a crisp shell, or a clam chawanmushi that subtly evokes the flavor of chowder. The fireworks continue through to dessert, where a breathtaking sorrel ice cream is decorated with edible leaves flavored with makrut lime and pomegranate. All the while, diners will find the staff effortlessly charming, making the experience all the more magical.

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. The creative energy is consistent throughout the meal, offering plenty to impress guests. 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.

Good things often come in small packages, and it's certainly true of Lilo, where guests are welcomed to a moveable feast beginning on the heated patio with an array of small bites before moving into the petite dining room. Chef Eric Bost and his team take clear pride in providing an extra level of care in their dishes, evidenced in plates like dry-aged Japanese kinmedai paired with a ragout of geoduck and bone marrow or 40-day dry-aged beef ribeye with preserved gurumelo mushrooms, seaweed, and bordelaise. Halfway through, the dishes shift from savory to sweet for a one-off orgeat ice cream topped with celery root bushi and Ossetra cavia, and later concludes with a myriad of desserts like sweet cream gelato topped with hoja santa and finger lime.

You'll need to read the instructions sent ahead of time to find the entrance to Chef Ki Kim's restaurant, but any navigation woes are quickly put to rest once you're inside this ten-seat spot. The contemporary Korean tasting menu pulls in global influences, and meals begin with a few bites such as shirako gimbap, a shell filled with truffle rice and diced kimchi, or crispy, tender octopus in a creamy sauce with octopus head and gochujang. Charred sugar snap peas with steelhead trout roe and tuna or creamy pasta made with perilla seed and topped with fresh winter truffle display a creative flair. Main dishes include the likes of barbecue roasted squab with foie gras sauce, and 45-day dry-aged dairy cow with golden beet jus and Korean bone broth. A mushroom ice cream sandwich seals the deal.

With just a handful of seats and a small staff, this omakase from Chef Lennon Silvers Lee is ever-changing. Some things change daily, while others change weekly, but one thing you can always expect is well-executed dishes made with rice from Japan that is milled in house, and fish that is sourced both locally and from Japan and then dry aged. Arrive early and enjoy a glass of sparkling wine before being called in, as all guests are seated and served at the same time. Enjoy one or two small dishes before a parade of nigiri, which may include hamachi, shima aji, as well as bluefin tuna. Their uni rice is deliciously mixed with wasabi and topped with masago arare for a bit of crunch, marking the end of the savory dishes before a dessert of sorbet made in house.

A slightly clandestine air still prevails outside this inconspicuous little spot, but the secret is out: the handful of seats inside are hotly in demand. Chefs Alan Hsu and Sarah Cooper have both worked in some of the country's most celebrated kitchens, but here channel their talents on a more intimate scale. Their shared vision emerges in a mercurial seasonal tasting menu that dutifully celebrates the wealth of Californian ingredients, spanning squab to rockfish and wild mushrooms to citrus. The style is pared down and technically precise, letting products shine while adding a spark of personality, as in Dungeness crab with yuzu kosho butter, perched over silken tofu. Baked items like savory egg tarts with salmon roe, or steamed brioche buns enclosing Taiwanese sausage, are highlights.

Addison, San Diego Atelier Crenn, San Francisco Benu, San Francisco Providence, Hollywood Quince, San Francisco SingleThread, Healdsburg Somni, West Hollywood The French Laundry, Yountville

7 Adams, San Francisco 715, Los Angeles Angler SF, San Francisco Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford Auro, Calistoga Bell's, Los Alamos Camphor, Los Angeles Caruso's, Montecito Chez Noir, Carmel-by-the-Sea Citrin, Santa Monica Cyrus, Geyserville Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, Beverly Hills Gwen, Los Angeles Heritage, Long Beach Hilda and Jesse, San Francisco Holbox, Los Angeles Jeune et Jolie, Carlsbad Kali, Hollywood Kato, Los Angeles Kenzo, Napa Kin Khao, San Francisco Knife Pleat, Costa Mesa Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn, San Francisco Lilo, Carlsbad Localis, Sacramento Madcap, San Anselmo Meteora, Los Angeles Mister Jiu’s, San Francisco Mori Nozomi, Los Angeles Morihiro, Los Angeles n/naka, Los Angeles Nari, San Francisco Niku Steakhouse, San Francisco Nisei, San Francisco Nozawa Bar, Beverly Hills O' by Claude Le Tohic, San Francisco Orsa & Winston, Los Angeles Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles Pasta|Bar, Encino Plumed Horse, Saratoga Press, Saint Helena Protégé, Palo Alto R|O-Rebel Omakase, Laguna Beach Restaurant Ki, Los Angeles San Ho Won, San Francisco Selby's, Atherton Shibumi, Los Angeles Shin Sushi, Encino Silvers Omakase, Santa Barbara Six Test Kitchen, Paso Robles Soichi, San Diego Sorrel, San Francisco Ssal, San Francisco State Bird Provisions, San Francisco Sun Moon Studio, Oakland Sushi Inaba, Torrance Sushi Kaneyoshi, Los Angeles The Kitchen, Sacramento The Progress, San Francisco The Restaurant at JUSTIN, Paso Robles The Shota, San Francisco *temporarily closed The Village Pub, Woodside Uka, Los Angeles Valle, Oceanside Wakuriya, San Mateo

Atelier Crenn, San Francisco Caruso's, Montecito Chez Panisse, Berkeley Chi Spacca, Los Angeles Enclos, Sonoma Harbor House, Elk Heritage, Long Beach Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn, San Francisco Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles Pomet, Oakland Providence, Hollywood Quince, San Francisco SingleThread, Healdsburg Sons & Daughters, San Francisco The French Laundry, Yountville The Restaurant at JUSTIN, Paso Robles Vespertine, Culver City

Source: Michelin Guide

The MICHELIN Guide has added six new Bib Gourmands to the California selection. A Bib Gourmand, for those that need a refresher, are restaurants that offer the best value for money—and these spots are exactly that.

Whether it's contemporary Californian cooking in a hipster haven where the furnishings are crafted from upcycled materials, a swanky spot spotlighting regional Indian cooking, or a market stall with Mexican fare, these six exciting spots with wallet-friendly menus are a must-add to your rotation.

Husband-and-wife Andrew and Larah Bachelier have fashioned a hipster haven at this Encinitas hideaway where the covered patio dining area is set with furnishings crafted from recycled and upcycled materials. Meanwhile in the kitchen, local ingredients are the basis for a streamlined selection of seasonally focused and shareable dishes for breakfast and lunch. Whether you've ordered the locally caught halibut with sudachi and coconut leche de tigre or the grilled Salmon Creek Farms pork rack with a tableside pour of pomegranate-infused jus, expect plates that are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate. Their nonalcoholic drinks menu features a variety of skillfully crafted and delicious thirst quenchers.

Chef Srijith Gopinathan has struck gold once again with this swanky Menlo Park sensation, drawing in crowds with his inventive blend of regional Indian cuisine with a fresh Californian twist. To illustrate this singular approach, take a flaky, paratha-like flatbread filled with Dungeness crab and paired with a rich, complex sauce featuring fennel, poppy seeds, and mint. Wood-fired grills add an additional layer of interest, providing a robust char to the likes of lemon-grass scented gulf shrimp, chili-glazed celeriac and pineapple kebabs, and whole sea bream, as well as lending a subtle smoke to sauces. The compelling balance of flavors makes each dish stand on its own, but an assortment of carefully chosen wines and clever cocktails certainly doesn’t hurt matters.

In the bustling Mercado Del Paloma, Chef Fátima Juárez runs this little stall specializing in corn. Heirloom varieties sourced from Mexico and nixtamalized in-house form the heart of the menu. A quesadilla lined with squash blossoms and sweet corn bound with melty quesillo earns top marks. Golden-fried plantain balls set in a smoky black mole is another accomplished winner. From tlacoyas topped with cactus to tacos lined with short rib, be liberal with the salsa for extra punch and power.

It may not look like much from the outside, but there’s a reason that pho lovers flock to this unassuming strip-mall operation. The staff and ambience do offer an above-average level of charm, but it’s the cooking, made with apparent care and high-quality ingredients, that really sets it apart. Naturally, pho is the main event here, offered in a variety of sizes and featuring either chicken or beef broth, both long-simmered and deeply flavorful, to be decked out with accompaniments ranging from tender meats to house-made pork wontons. Fried crab and cream cheese wontons are also offered as appetizers, though diners are better steered towards fresh spring rolls, like a signature offering filled with crispy pork sausage and served with a tangy peanut dipping sauce.

Expect to be greeted with an array of sambals as well as Malaysian classics on Chef Johnny Lee's Chinese-Malaysian menu. Don't let the slightly higher price point steer you away, as these large plates are designed for sharing. Pork jowl or chicken satay skewers start things off right, as do ulam bendi with charred okra, and steamed eggplant with sambal and dried shrimp. There are plenty of main dishes to choose from, but beef rendang in a rich and creamy curry accompanied by a buttery roti is a sure thing. To finish, look no further than the cendol sundae with coconut and pandan ice cream with pandan jelly noodles, red bean, gula melaka syrup, and toasted buckwheat.

Vin Folk is the kind of place you want to come again and again. The staff is friendly and welcoming; the ambience is just right—both indoors and out—and the offerings are widely appealing. Chefs Kevin De Los Santos and Katya Shastova bring a breath of fresh air to Hermosa Beach with their menu of shareable, globally minded dishes. Whether it's the mussels tart, a riff on a pot pie with flaky pastry and seafood in a warm fennel cream, or the half Jidori chicken that's a favorite for the whole table, there's something delicious to be had. End on the perfect note with goat cheese fromage blanc with diced pear and honey buckwheat granita. It's a popular spot, so plan ahead and make reservations.

Hero image: Ricardo Mora / Vin Folk Thumb image: Frank Lee / Komal

Source: Michelin Guide