The 2023 update to the California Michelin Guide — coming just seven months after the 2022 guide release — brings new star ratings to three Bay Area restaurants, including two in San Francisco. And two SF restaurants were stripped of stars.
The Michelin Guide release party for the new California guide happened Tuesday night at Oakland's Chabot Space & Science Center. In the seven months since the last guide, all two- and three-star restaurants in the state have maintained their stars, but a few one-star restaurants have dropped down to mere "recommended" status, and a there are a handful of new one-star honorees.
In San Francisco, Nari, the sister restaurant to Kin Khao — which also has a Michelin star — just gained its first star, becoming the second Thai restaurant in the Bay Area (after Kin Khao in 2015) to do so.
"It's exciting," says Kin Khao and Nari chef-owner Pim Techamuanvivit, speaking to KTVU last night. "I try not to think about whether or not we’re going to get a star and also, I don’t think that’s a way to get a star. We try to cook as delicious food as we know how and try to make it as good an experience for our guests, and then we go from there."
The other SF restaurant to rise to one-star status is Aphotic, the new prix-fixe seafood spot which just opened in SoMa (in the former Lulu space) in March.
Also in the Bay Area, Auro, the restaurant that opened last fall at the Four Seasons Napa Valley in Calistoga, earned its first star.
Rounding out the new one-star listings are Chez Noir in Carmel, Heritage in Long Beach, and Valle in Oceanside.
"These are truly world-class establishments serving outstanding cuisine,” says Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, in a statement about the new starred restaurants. "In addition, our inspectors found four restaurant teams worthy of the Michelin Green Star. These establishments — and the Golden State as a whole — are truly role models of environmentally conscious gastronomy."
A few restaurants lost stars in the guide update, including Spruce in San Francisco — which has held a star for over a decade — and Omakase in SoMa.
Michelin's famously anonymous, secretive team of inspectors never give reasons for stripping stars, and in recent years they've been pretty brutal in San Francisco — taking stars away from longtime favorites Octavia, Rich Table, Mourad, and SPQR, the first two coming fresh off pandemic closures and mostly outdoor dining.
According to Michelin protocol, inspectors revisit all previous starred restaurants and new prospects with five criteria in mind: quality of the meal; harmony of flavors; mastery of technique; personality of the chef and their cuisine; and consistency between each visit.
One-star ratings, per Michelin tradition, indicate restaurants worth a stop-off on a road trip; two-star ratings traditionally indicate someplace worth a special detour. And three-star restaurants are worth being a destination unto themselves.
Below, the full, updated list of stars for the Bay Area. See the rest of the California listings on the Michelin website.
THREE STARS
Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
Benu, San Francisco
The French Laundry, Yountville
Quince, San Francisco
SingleThread, Healdsburg
TWO STARS
Acquerello, San Francisco
Birdsong, San Francisco
Californios, San Francisco
Commis, Oakland
Harbor House Inn, Elk (Mendocino County)
Lazy Bear, San Francisco
Saison, San Francisco
ONE STAR
Angler, San Francisco
Aphotic, San Francisco (NEW)
Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford
Aubergine, Carmel-by-the-Sea (Monterey County)
Auro, Calistoga (NEW)
Avery, San Francisco
Barndiva, Healdsburg
Chez Noir, Carmel (NEW)
Chez TJ, Mountain View
Cyrus, Geyserville
Gary Danko, San Francisco
Kenzo, Napa
Kin Khao, San Francisco
The Kitchen, Sacramento
Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn, San Francisco
Localis, Sacramento
Madcap, San Anselmo
Madera, Menlo Park
Marlena, San Francisco
Mister Jiu’s, San Francisco
Nari, San Francisco (NEW)
Niku Steakhouse, San Francisco
Nisei, San Francisco
O’ by Claude Le Tohic, San Francisco
Osito, San Francisco
Plumed Horse, Saratoga
Press, St. Helena
The Progress, San Francisco
Protégé, Palo Alto
Selby’s, Atherton
The Shota, San Francisco
Sons & Daughters, San Francisco
Sorrel, San Francisco
Ssal, San Francisco
State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
Sushi Shin, Redwood City
Sushi Yoshizumi, San Mateo
The Village Pub, Woodside
Wakuriya, San Mateo
Top image courtesy of Nari
