The Michelin Guide added 12 new restaurants to its California Michelin ranks on Wednesday morning, but none of them are in San Diego County.
The dozen new honorees are in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Menlo Park and Montecito. They’re now listed in the California guide as “recommended” restaurants, which means they have drawn the attention of Michelin inspectors and are “too good to be kept a secret.” Another batch of new California recommended restaurants will be announced sometime later this year.
The higher-tier honors, Michelin stars and Michelin Bib Gourmands, will be announced together at the annual California Michelin Guide ceremony. The date and location for that event have yet to be announced.
Here are the 12 California restaurants that joined the Michelin Guide on Wednesday.
Corridor 109, Los Angeles: This 11-seat Asian contemporary counter restaurant serves mostly imported Japanese raw seafood. It’s located behind the owners’ Bar 109 in the Melrose Hill area.
Firstborn, Los Angeles: First-generation Chinese-American chef/owner Anthony Wang’s contemporary Chinese restaurant offers his interpretations of traditional dishes. The shareable plates retaurant is located in L.A.’s Mandarin Plaza.
Lapaba, Los Angeles: Husband-and-wife chefs McKenna Lelah and Matthew Kim create Italian cuisine with a Korean twist, like bulgogi meatballs and Korean-style tiramisu at this Koreatown restaurant.
Little Fish Melrose Hill, Los Angeles: This new sit-down restaurant is sister to the popular daytime-only quick-service Little Fish shop in Echo Park. Both locations serve sustainably sourced fish and seasonal California produce. The new Melrose Hill location also offers dinner service.
Lugya’h, Los Angeles: Located in the Maydan Market just north of Crenshaw, chef Alfonso Martinez’s casual Mexican counter-service booth serves traditional foods in large portions cooked over live fire and served with handmade tortillas.
Zira Uzbek Kitchen, Los Angeles: Owner Azim Rahmatov’s Fairfax District restaurant serves dishes from his native Uzbekistan. Open for lunch and dinner, this restaurant serves a wide variety of breads, soups, noodles, skewered meats and dumplings.
Yeobo, Darling, Menlo Park: Bay area chef couple Meichih and Michael Kim, whose Michelin-starred Maum in Palo Alto closed during the pandemic, launched this finer dining Korean-Taiwanese restaurant last year.
Little Mountain, Montecito: Chilean-born and internationally trained chef Diego Moya’s restaurant features California-style dishes inspired by the region’s Spanish colonial history. The a la carte menu features locally sourced produce and proteins and house-baked sourdough bread.
Dingles Public House, San Francisco: Located in the boutique Hayes Valley Hotel, this British gastropub owned by beverage director Anissa Dingle and chef George Dingle serves unfussy English pub fare like mushy peas, Scotch egg, beer-battered fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding.
Le Cigale, San Francisco: Veteran Bay area chef Joseph Magidow helms this petite French restaurant in Glen Park. Working solo in the kitchen, Magidow serves a small prix-fixe menu of dishes like spit-roasted rabbit saddle stuffed with pork belly and chestnuts.
Naides, San Francisco: Named after chef Patrick Gabon’s mother, this small tasting-menu restaurant serves his original interpretations of Filipino cusine, like fluffy brioche pandesal rolls, duck breast adobo and and sisig-inspired braised chicken gizzards.
Wolfsbane, San Francisco: Owned by chef Rupert Blease and his wife, Carrie, this tasting-menu restaurant in the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood serves contemporary California cuisine with Nordic, Japanese and French elements.
Full details on all 12 new honorees can be found here: guide.michelin.com/en/article/travel/new-restaurants-california.