{"id":373136,"date":"2026-06-24T15:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/373136\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T15:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:52:10","slug":"all-the-star-predictions-for-the-2026-michelin-california-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/373136\/","title":{"rendered":"All the Star Predictions for the 2026 Michelin California Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tonight, I\u2019ll attend the Michelin California ceremony<\/a> for the third time. The big reveal is taking place in San Diego, where the three-starred Addison<\/a> has elevated the fine dining scene in recent years, so I expect greater-than-average results for the home crowd. There are a lot of other interesting opportunities at the awards this year, too. Michelin has long been in a rut, mostly awarding French, European, and Japanese restaurants. If anyone can break through that trifecta, it\u2019s an operation from California\u2019s hugely diverse landscape of cuisines. The organization also recently quietly did away with its sustainability-focused green stars (though they did award them a few weeks ago in Vietnam); I\u2019m curious to see how Michelin approaches sustainability in a state where it\u2019s so crucial to many restaurant operations.<\/p>\n

At 113 total stars<\/a> (but who\u2019s counting), California already has more stars than any other in the nation \u2014 yet, I still think Michelin is actually grading California on a harder curve than other states (looking at you, Florida and Texas). There are many more restaurants that deserve recognition, and this year could be their chance.<\/p>\n

Make your reservations now before the winners blow up.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m betting all eight current three-star holders (Benu, the French Laundry, Quince, Somni, Providence, Addison, Singlethread, and Atelier Crenn) will keep their awards, as they haven\u2019t seen too much change.
Out of all the current two-starred ones, I predict San Francisco\u2019s Sons & Daughters<\/a> will earn a third star. The new Nordic- and British-inflected tasting menu restaurant has settled into its new location<\/a>, outfitted with a swanky new kitchen, since its move in summer 2025. I tried chef Harrison Cheney\u2019s cooking at a collab dinner at M\u00e9lisse earlier this year and it was excellent.
If I had another pick for a promotion, I would love to see Sonoma\u2019s Enclos<\/a> gain its third star. I went in March and experienced a truly topflight meal and wine pairing that reflects perfect produce, world-class proteins, and polished service. I could see Enclos becoming the new vanguard of North American wine country cuisine, as influential as the French Laundry was 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

Last year, two restaurants in Los Angeles made headlines by earning three stars: Somni in West Hollywood and Providence on Melrose Avenue (both previously held two stars and are highly deserving of three). I imagine Hayato, M\u00e9lisse, and Vespertine are doing everything to make their cases for their own promotions to three stars, but I don\u2019t see the organization awarding three to more LA spots so soon. Instead, I think the city will retain all of its two-starred restaurants.<\/p>\n

Two-starred Northern Californian restaurants should hold most of their awards, as well. I think Saison<\/a>, a former three-starred restaurant that now holds two, unfortunately won\u2019t regain its third; inspectors have to compare it to the version under founding chef Joshua Skenes, which I remember as one of the most brilliant, memorable meals of my life. I haven\u2019t had the version prepared by Richard Lee<\/a>, so I\u2019ll save full judgment for a future visit.<\/p>\n

I predict one-starred restaurants Kato in Los Angeles, Ssal in San Francisco, Caruso\u2019s in Montecito, and Lilo in Carlsbad will earn their second stars. I\u2019ve been to all four, all worthy of the upgrade. Kato\u2019s<\/a> flavor bombs, commitment to traditional Taiwanese flavors, and stellar cocktails make it stand out. Ssal\u2019s<\/a> polished Korean cooking made for one of the most memorable tastings last year. Caruso\u2019s<\/a> displayed a superb level of modern Italian Californian finesse in a wonderful beachside dining room. Lilo\u2019s<\/a> overall experience is multifaceted and extremely compelling.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s usually the most movement among one-starred restaurants. Let\u2019s start off with the demotions right off the bat.<\/p>\n

I think Auro in Calistoga, which lost founding chef Rogelio Garcia earlier this year, will lose a star. While Michelin hasn\u2019t typically said a lot about restaurant bad actors, the reports of an alleged toxic workplace at Sacramento\u2019s Localis<\/a> will likely lead to its demotion. Dominique Crenn already announced that Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn will close<\/a>. My SF-based colleague Dianne de Guzman told me she felt O\u2019 by Claude Le Tohic<\/a> was too predictable, making it a potential demotion.<\/p>\n

In Los Angeles, I think Kali\u2019s turn from a seasonal tasting menu to a comfort-leaning steakhouse menu<\/a> will lead to a demotion (though I\u2019m sure the food\u2019s still great). I have doubts about Rebel Omakase<\/a> in Laguna Beach retaining a star, given the disappointing bite of sashimi I had from the restaurant a few years ago at a Michelin event.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think Michelin will actually add a ton of new one-stars, but I\u2019m going to overreach here and suggest a broad range of nominees I hope make the list.<\/p>\n

\"Aged<\/a><\/p>\n

Squab with yuzu pepper, bitter greens, and beets. Andrea Jernmark<\/p>\n

Lielle<\/a>: This modern California tasting menu is my pick for the best opening of the year in Los Angeles (so far). The $150, four-course tasting menu is a revelation from chef Marcus Jernmark, previously of Frantz\u00e9n in Stockholm.<\/p>\n

Corridor 109<\/a>: Chef Brian Baik\u2019s Japanese-inflected tasting menu has hints of his Koreatown upbringing and changes with the ocean\u2019s seasons. Fans of Cesar and Chef\u2019s Table at Brooklyn Fare (one of the many fine dining places Baik worked at) will like Corridor\u2019s unabashed quest to find the best seafood.<\/p>\n

Sora Craft Kitchen: This one-man Turkish tasting menu restaurant in Downtown LA has received plenty of critical acclaim<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bar Sawa<\/a>: A sushi bar-cum-cocktail bar at the Kaneyoshi-plex (where one-starred omakase Kaneyoshi and modern Korean counter Ki also reside) is due for its star.<\/p>\n

Miura<\/a>: Derek Wilcox, a veteran sushi chef, took over the hallowed counter that was once two-starred Urasawa (and before that Ginza Sushi-ko) for a luxe omakase experience that\u2019s prime Michelin bait.<\/p>\n

Baroo<\/a>: I really hope Kwang Uh and Mina Park\u2019s affordable, modern Korean tasting menu in the Arts District earns a star.<\/p>\n

Sonagi<\/a>: At my favorite overall sushi spot in Gardena (and not just because it\u2019s 10 minutes from my home), Daniel Son weaves in Korean American flavors and narrative with a top-notch omakase.<\/p>\n

\"Tuna<\/a><\/p>\n

Sushi Sonagi. Jakob Layman<\/p>\n

Lucien<\/a>: San Diego\u2019s modern tasting menu, which opened in mid-July, is primed for its Michelin spotlight as the ceremony comes to the 619 for the first time.<\/p>\n

24 Suns<\/a>: Oceanside\u2019s modern Chinese restaurant, with its reasonable $150 tasting and curated a la carte menu, should give the San Diego County city its second Michelin star (after the truly superb modern Mexican restaurant Valle).<\/p>\n

Maria Isabel<\/a>: Dianne has high hopes for this polished modern Mexican restaurant in San Francisco, which also serves a reasonably priced $90 tasting menu.<\/p>\n

Vicinity<\/a>: This Los Gatos restaurant really aligns with what Michelin is looking for: a visually stunning tasting menu with more of an artsy, conceptual presentation (it reminds me heavily of Vespertine in LA).<\/p>\n

Naides<\/a>: This impressive Filipino tasting menu could be just the second Filipino restaurant in the U.S. to earn a star if it succeeds (the other is two-starred Kasama<\/a> in Chicago). The only thing going against Naides might be its relative youth, since it opened in December.<\/p>\n

Wolfsbane<\/a>: This 12-course tasting in San Francisco, priced at $248 a person before luxe add-ons, is fairly standard Michelin stuff. Michelin\u2019s own early write-up<\/a> suggests the inspector really enjoyed it, though Dianne noted the latter half of the menu lacks focus.<\/p>\n

The ceremony will take place tonight, June 24. Look out for coverage on Eater LA this evening, and my analysis and any hot juicy gossip I gather at the event soon after. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tonight, I\u2019ll attend the Michelin California ceremony for the third time. The big reveal is taking place in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,8472],"class_list":["post-373136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-la-restaurant-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}