On Monday evening, the Michelin Guide announced its 2024 ratings of the state’s restaurants, with seven new one-star establishments and three new two-stars. While the six three-star restaurants remained the same, Aubergine and Sons & Daughters were upgraded to two stars, while Jordan Kahn’s recently reopened Vespertine was re-added to the list after closing during the pandemic.
A dish from Vespertine
“California continues to shine bright as we see the culinary scene evolve and highlight emerging talent and cuisines,” Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guides, said in a statement. “Our Inspectors continue to be impressed with this year’s selection and we toast and celebrate the excellent chef and restaurant teams being recognized. The wide array of culinary offerings will excite foodies both near and far and continue to put California on the map.”
The new one-star restaurants are largely located in either Los Angeles or San Francisco: The former now has among its Michelin-starred ranks Holbox, Meteora (also from Kahn), and Uka. The latter sees Hilda and Jesse, Kiln, and 7 Adams, our No. 2 best new restaurant of the year, added to the Michelin echelons. The new one-stars are rounded out by R|O-Rebel Omakase in Laguna Beach.
While the Michelin Guide is always notable for which restaurants have been added to the list, it similarly makes waves for demoting formerly starred establishments. The biggest surprise may be that Niki Nakayama’s N/naka was downgraded from two stars to one, as was the L.A. location of Sushi Ginza Onodera. (The Tokyo-based chain closed its New York outpost recently, too.) Another nine spots that made the cut last year were left off this year’s ranking altogether, including Manzke and Maude, which closed and is soon to close, respectively.
“It’s important for restaurants to maintain consistent quality,” the chief inspector for the Michelin Guide North America told Bloomberg. “If a restaurant’s culinary standards are observed to no longer be aligned with its current distinction, this could impact their retention the following year.”
In all, California now has just 85 Michelin-starred restaurants throughout the state, down from 87 last year and 89 the year prior, Bloomberg noted. The Golden State’s fine-dining scene, at least according to the Michelin inspectors, may be just slightly weaker than it once was.
Below is the full list of California’s Michelin-starred restaurants .
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