Three Stars
Atelier Crenn (NEW)
Benu
The French Laundry
Manresa
Quince
The Restaurant at Meadowood
Saison
SingleThread (NEW)
Two Stars
Acquerello
Baumé
Californios
Coi
Commis
Lazy Bear
One Star
Al’s Place
Aster
Auberge du Soleil
Bar Crenn (NEW)
Birdsong (NEW)
Bouchon
Campton Place
Chez TJ
Commonwealth
Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant
Gary Danko
Hashiri
In Situ
jū-ni
Keiko à Nob Hill
Kenzo
Kin Khao
Kinjo
La Toque
Lord Stanley
Luce
Madcap (NEW)
Madera
Madrona Manor
Michael Mina
Mister Jiu’s
Mourad
Nico (NEW)
Octavia
Omakase
Plumed Horse
The Progress
Protégé (NEW)
Rasa
Rich Table
Sons & Daughters
SPQR
Spruce
State Bird Provisions
Sushi Yoshizumi
The Village Pub
Wako
Wakuriya
They shuttered for 6 to 8 months+ due to facilities damage. The head chef left and took off to open his own restaurant in Novato, and quite a few staff departed as well. They have just recently re-opened (within a couple months) and changed the format from sushi to hybrid “kaiseki” to sushi and the definition of kaiseki here is loose. Yet they retained their star.
But at the 2 to 3 star level, they were watching Coi’s chef depart (the one who scored them 3) and knocked them down to 2.
Consistency is king!
Speaking of “kaiseki” bad enough for SF Eater to describe Single Thread as kaiseki…it may be inspired but not even close.
I think the LA guide must not have sold well enough. And ten years ago the city had few if any of the kind of rich-people places they give two and three stars to.
I don’t think LA needs Michelin anymore, but I don’t know the reasons why LA is now not reviewed by them. While I used to think it would be nice for LA chefs to get the recognition for their hard work and the boon in business that ensues from getting Michelin rankings, overall it doesn’t seem like a good idea to invite Michelin back in.
In my opinion, the relative strengths of LA’s food offerings are the diversity and authenticity of all types of worldwide cuisines represented, and not so much on the type that Michelin predictably tends to award, which is totally fine. Michelin has become somewhat trite; inconsistent (what passes for stars in the US vs. international - to wit, I believe that 80+% of the 2019 SF list is overrated); and overly generous at times, stingy at others. Really, what they seem to be ranking is the perceived international notoriety and legacy of a restaurant, and also how a restaurant fits in to the cultural zeitgeist, not so much the food. On the food, what they tend to rank well can be quite formulaic and homogenous. LA doesn’t need that Michelin carrot dangling in front of it; that would stifle what makes LA a joyous place to eat.
While admittedly, almost like Yelp or Eater, Michelin isn’t a bad place to start some research on a city with which I’m unfamiliar, overall I guess I just don’t really find much resonance with their ultimate rankings, and I also don’t like the effects that star-chasing often have on a restaurant. Give us satisfying, hearty food, less precious plating. And more sticking to what is known and chef’s can cook confidently, less botched “creativity” for the sake of “doing something different.” I do enjoy a good tasting menu, but many 3* aren’t, and despite a few gems, 1* or 2* in the US often corresponds to a pretty formulaic and uninspired set of almost-there menus that would be better but for the Michelin-chasing effect.
And please, may there not be a “Hypothetical Los Angeles Michelin Guide, 2019…”
I have expounded my take on this topic ad nauseum before. LA’s current dining scene and the Michelin system are incompatible at best, and immiscible at worst.
Michelin stifles creativity. It forces chefs to continue on a (very well-trodden) path, and enslaves them to it. The étoiles system is fine if you are looking for a safe place to entertain the hedgies from London. But then, you’d never find places like Mariscos Jalisco.
If they’re that narrow minded then y’all are right, we don’t need them. No need to have them mess up our good thing and send a bunch of stressed-out chefs over the edge in the process. I read that a lot of Michelin star chefs spend most of their time worrying about holding onto the stars.
