Michelin announced its California stars for 2024 at a ceremony in Half Moon Bay on Monday evening, Aug. 5.
Only a handful of restaurants received their first Michelin star, including Jordan Nakasone’s Rebel Omakase in Laguna Beach, giving the Forest Avenue spot its first Michelin one-star recognition.
“As its name suggests, omakase is indeed the name of the game here, where two seatings per night are available by reservation and overseen by chef Jordan Nakasone,” noted the Michelin inspector who helped award Rebel Omakase its first star. “Rooted in tradition, the meal skews contemporary with a focus on seasonality and product quality. In addition to standout sushi such as Japanese white salmon and shima aji, there are a surprising number of kitchen dishes, including gindara, a rectangle of cod set in a memorable cauliflower dashi and garnished with tonburi and a delicious, comforting chawanmushi topped with firefly squid and shaved bottarga.”
SEE ALSO: New omakase in Laguna Beach officially lights the sushi scene on fire
Orange County Register food critic Brad A. Johnson gave Nakasone’s eatery a stellar review in 2021, writing, “While Rebel Omakase has been open for only a couple of months, it is already on track to become one of the more important sushi concepts in Orange County.”
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Costa Mesa’s Hana re and Knife Pleat maintained their one-star ratings this year. Taco María, which the dining guide awarded with one star in 2023, lost its star due to being temporarily closed while chef-owner Carlos Salgado searches for a new space.
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. Only 13 U.S. restaurants have three Michelin stars.
One restaurant received two new stars, Vespertine in Culver City, while four restaurants were crowned with their first one-star award, 7 Adams and Kiln in San Francisco, Rebel Omakase in Laguna Beach and Uka in Los Angeles.
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”).
SEE ALSO: Knife Pleat introduces Flora, a plant-based tasting menu
Following is the complete list of Michelin star wins for Los Angeles, Central Coast, Orange County and San Diego for 2024:
Three stars:
- Addison (San Diego)
- Atelier Crenn (San Francisco)
- Benu (San Francisco)
- The French Laundry (Yountville)
- Quince (San Francisco)
- SingleThread (Healdsburg)
Two stars (* denotes new stars):
- Acquerello (San Francisco)
- Aubergine (Carmel-by-the- Sea)
- Birdsong (San Francisco)
- Californios (San Francisco)
- Commis (Oakland)
- Harbor House (Elk)
- Hayato (Los Angeles)
- Lazy Bear (San Francisco)
- Mélisse (Santa Monica)
- Providence (Hollywood)
- Saison (San Francisco)
- *Sons & Daughters (San Francisco)
- *Vespertine (Culver City)
One star (* denotes new star):
- *7 Adams (San Francisco)
- 715 (Los Angeles)
- Angler SF (San Francisco)
- Aphotic (San Francisco)
- Auberge du Soleil (Rutherford)
- Auro (Calistoga)
- Bell’s (Los Alamos)
- Camphor (Los Angeles)
- Caruso’s (Montecito)
- Chez Noir (Carmel-by-the-Sea)
- Chez TJ (Mountain View)
- Citrin (Santa Monica)
- Cyrus (Geyserville)
- Gucci Osteria (Beverly Hills)
- Gwen (Los Angeles)
- Hana re (Costa Mesa)
- Heritage (Long Beach)
- Hilda & Jesse (San Francisco)
- Holbox (Los Angeles)
- Jeune et Jolie (Carlsbad)
- Kali (Hollywood)
- Kato (Los Angeles)
- Kenzo (Napa)
- *Kiln (San Francisco)
- Kin Khao (San Francisco)
- The Kitchen (Sacramento)
- Knife Pleat (Costa Mesa)
- Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn (San Francisco)
- Localis (Sacramento)
- Madcap (San Anselmo)
- Meteora (Los Angeles)
- Mister Jiu’s (San Francisco)
- 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)
- Osito (San Francisco)
- Osteria Mozza (Los Angeles)
- Pasta | Bar (Encino)
- Plumed Horse (Saratoga)
- Press (St. Helena)
- The Progress (San Francisco)
- Protégé (Palo Alto)
- *Rebel Omakase (Laguna Beach)
- The Restaurant at Justin (Paso Robles)
- San Ho Won (San Francisco)
- Selby’s (Atherton)
- Shibumi (Los Angeles)
- Shin Sushi (Encino)
- The Shota (San Francisco)
- Six Test Kitchen (Paso Robles)
- Soichi (San Diego)
- Sorrel (San Francisco)
- Ssal (San Francisco)
- State Bird Provisions (San Francisco)
- Sushi Ginza Onodera (West Hollywood)
- Sushi I-NABA (Torrance)
- Sushi Kaneyoshi (Los Angeles)
- *Uka (Los Angeles)
- Valle (Oceanside)
- The Village Pub (Woodside)
- Wakuriya (San Mateo)
The Michelin Guide also added 10 restaurants to its Bib Gourmand list, which recognizes spots for “great food at a great value,” including Santa Ana’s Lola Gaspar. Other new Bib Gourmand recipients include Cedro Italian Restaurant in Newbury Park, Grá in Los Angeles, Echo Park’s Little Fish, Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles, Manohar’s Deli Palace in La Puente, Molti Amici in Healdsburg, Pollo a la Brasa in Los Angeles and Quarter Sheets in Los Angeles.
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.
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