California Restaurants Awarded Michelin Stars

Michelin has unveiled its 2023 list of top dining spots in California, awarding new restaurants the prestigious Michelin stars while revoking stars from nine establishments.

Discover everything about Michelin’s 2023 California restaurant guide, featuring all one-, two-, and three-starred establishments in the Golden State.

What determines Michelin Stars?

Michelin outlines its criteria for awarding stars to restaurants as follows:

The quality of the ingredients used
The balance of flavors
The skill in culinary techniques
The chef's unique personality as reflected in their dishes and the consistency of the menu over time

According to Michelin, a one-star rating means a restaurant is “worth a stop,” two stars indicate it’s “worth a detour,” and the highest three stars mean it’s “worth a special journey.”

Which restaurants in California received Michelin stars in 2023?

The California Michelin Guide, which began in 2007 with a focus on San Francisco, expanded in 2019 to encompass eateries throughout the state. This year, the new Michelin-starred restaurants in California are:

Aphotic, a seafood establishment in San Francisco
Auro, a New American restaurant at Calistoga’s Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley
Chez Noir, a contemporary dining venue in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Heritage, highlighting California cuisine in Long Beach
Nari, a Thai restaurant located in San Francisco
Valle, a modern Mexican restaurant in Oceanside

Each new entry in the guide has earned a single Michelin star. The restaurants are evaluated by anonymous inspectors who visit multiple times throughout the year and collectively decide on the awards. While little is known about these inspectors—aside from their dining out as many as 350 times a year—some insights into their evaluation process were shared during the ceremony.

Regarding Heritage, one inspector noted: “Brother-and-sister team Philip and Lauren Pretty manage the kitchen and dining experience, creating a relaxed atmosphere while attending to every detail. They offer a single multicourse tasting menu (priced quite reasonably) that showcases exceptional ingredients, including produce from their nearby farm.” Valle was praised for dishes that “achieve a delightful blend of tradition and innovation, exemplified by a tetela made from heirloom corn masa and hoja santa, stuffed with juicy chanterelle mushrooms and creamy goat cheese, accompanied by a complex salsa of morita chiles—both earthy and vibrant.”

With the addition of the six new restaurants, California now boasts 87 Michelin-starred establishments (the highest in the nation). However, this figure has decreased from last year—while six new venues were welcomed, nine were dropped from the guide. Some, like Manresa in San Francisco, closed, while others, such as Vespertine in Los Angeles, were removed due to allegations of toxic kitchen environments. Other restaurants that lost stars include Adega (closed, San Jose), Hatchet Hall (Los Angeles), Marlena (closed, San Francisco), Omakase (San Francisco), Phenakite (closed, Los Angeles), Spruce (San Francisco), and Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito (Santa Barbara).

California’s other Michelin accolades for 2023

A dish served on a hexagonal wooden platter at Aphotic

A dish from Aphotic, a newly Michelin-starred seafood restaurant located in San Francisco.

Image courtesy of Kelly Puleio

Four restaurants were honored with a Green star, a new category introduced in 2020 to acknowledge eateries committed to sustainable and eco-friendly practices.

Among the new Green star recipients are Pomet, an Oakland-based California cuisine restaurant that partners with “regenerative ranchers for [its] beef, lamb, pork, chicken,” and Providence, a Los Angeles seafood restaurant dedicated to using only wild-caught, sustainable ingredients, sourcing vegetables from its rooftop garden, and implementing a zero-waste bean-to-dessert chocolate initiative. Aphotic and Heritage also received Green stars alongside their Michelin star.

Out of the 17 Green-starred restaurants in North America, 15 are located in California.

“In California, food enthusiasts and travelers can discover sustainable and innovative cuisine from both land and sea, highlighting the finest offerings of the land and seasons,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, during the ceremony on July 18 at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California. “These establishments—and the Golden State overall—serve as exemplary models of environmentally conscious gastronomy.”

This year, John Haffey of Aubergine in Carmel-by-the-Sea was honored with the Sommelier Award, while Austin Hennelly from Kato in Los Angeles received the Exceptional Cocktails Award. Harrison Cheney, executive chef at Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, earned the Young Chef Award, which recognizes “a young starred chef with exceptional talent and great potential,” and was announced in 2020.

The Michelin Guide has also included 10 new restaurants in its Bib Gourmand list, which highlights “eateries for great food at a great value.”