MICHELIN Guide Inspectors spend all year on the road uncovering the best restaurants to recommend—and their discoveries are too good to keep secret. In 2024, The MICHELIN Guide California selection saw the arrival of ten new Bib Gourmands, one new Green Stars, seven new One Stars, and three new Two Stars. Following up on that high note is the 2025 California selection, where fifteen new additions are touching down in the Golden State.
From the French-focused wine list and streamlined menu at Bar Etoile to edomae-style sushi at Mori Nozomi, those in Los Angeles are in for a delicious treat with seven new additions.
If you're in the Bay Area, don't worry, because four newcomers bring the flavors of the South along with Chinese, contemporary cuisine, and the return of an old favorite.
The rest—spread throughout Sonoma, Petaluma, and Carmel-by-the-Sea—range from American brunch classics and New England-influenced plates.
Below, get the story on all the new additions spread across California!
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Stationæry
Cuisine: American
This cheery, welcoming little spot has risen to the status of a local brunch favorite thanks to its cleverly California-inflected takes on American classics. A potato pancake served with Korean braised short ribs and kimchi is an illustrative example, as is a photogenic take on avocado toast, adorned with colorful radishes, sprouts, and local seaweed. Not to be overlooked is their lobster roll, served on a perfectly toasted, buttery brioche bun (from celebrated Ad Astra bakery) with sweet lobster meat—topped with caviar to further enhance the splurge, if desired. Dinner, served three nights a week, has additional appealing offerings, like duck egg raviolo with crispy garlic and brown butter, or a grilled swordfish steak with romesco and Meyer lemon.
Los Angeles
Bar Etoile
Cuisine: Californian
It's not just about (really) great wine at Bar Etoile, though their expansive list with a French focus is certainly a winner. It's also about their product-driven cooking presenting simple dishes that allow ingredients to shine. Chef Travis Hayden's menu may be streamlined but there's something for everyone in this comfortable spot. Appetizers like snap peas served over a bed of lightly smoked ricotta and dressed with nettle gremolata and pickled coriander are proof that this spot looks to the market for its influences. Perfectly moist striped bass with a crispy skin and topped with salsa macha over caramelized sunchoke is a hit, as is the chocolate tart with passion fruit chantilly.
Kusano
Cuisine: Sushi
The menu is nigiri forward, and while most will arrive simply dressed with just a stroke of nikiri and wasabi, some items, like the Hokkaido uni draped with a thin slice of squid and cooked seaweed have a bit more flair. The unfussy sensibility contines through to dessert with a yuzu granita. ""It's truly a one-man show at this restaurant named for the chef who takes on everything from drink orders and clearing plates to preparing and serving the food. Thankfully for him there are only a handful of seats at his counter, and just two seatings nightly. Reservations are a must, not only because of the limited seating, but because this well-priced omakase has seats going quickly.
Mori Nozomi
Cuisine: Sushi
Chef Nozomi Mori's sushi counter stands apart from the pack, both for its excellent edomae-style sushi and for its hospitable staff in the front and back of house. Plan in advance to visit this special spot, where there are just eight seats at the wood counter. While the fish is flown in several times a week from Japan, local, seasonal produce is worked into nearly every dish. Even the smallest details matter here, as evidenced by the Japanese ice imported for use in their five-course tea pairing. Begin with a number of dishes, like chawanmushi with gingko nuts, before enjoying the well-executed nigiri. Mochi accompanied by matcha prepared by the chef herself is an elegant final act.
Rasarumah
Cuisine: Malaysian
Expect to be greeted with an array of sambals as well as Malaysian classics on Chef Jonny Lee's Chinese-Malaysian menu. Don't let the slightly higher price point steer you away, as these large plates are designed for sharing. Pork jowl or chicken satay skewers start things off right, as do ulam bendi with charred okra, and steamed eggplant with sambal and dried shrimp. There are plenty of main dishes to choose from, but beef rendang in a rich and creamy curry accompanied by a buttery roti is a sure thing. To finish, look no further than the cendol sundae with coconut and pandan ice cream with pandan jelly noodles, red bean, gula melaka syrup, and toasted buckwheat.
Restaurant Ki
Cuisine: Korean Contemporary
You'll need to read the instructions sent ahead of time to find the entrance to Chef Ki Kim's restaurant, but any navigation woes are quickly put to rest once you're inside this ten-seat spot. The New Korean tasting menu pulls in global influences, and meals begin with a few bites such as shirako gimbap, a shell filled with truffle rice and diced kimchi, or crispy, tender octopus in a creamy sauce with octopus head and gochujang. Charred sugar snap peas with stillhead trout roe and tuna or creamy pasta made with perilla seed and topped with fresh winter truffle display a creative flair. Main dishes include the likes of barbecue roasted squab with foie gras sauce, and 45-day dry-aged dairy cow with golden beet jus and Korean bone broth. A mushroom ice cream sandwich seals the deal.
Seline
Cuisine: Californian
You might not expect to be served ice cream in the middle of savory courses, but at Chef Dave Beran's Seline, surprises are par for the course. This ambitious tasting menu dances between sweet and savory, and delivers on drama. Begin with a cup of mushroom tea before enjoying the likes of roasted leeks with foamy eucalyptus sauce and a banana leaf puree, or dry-aged beef tartare with celery root and a savory granola. The hot mushroom salad steamed in a squash is plated tableside for a bit of drama. Squab served in two parts plates roasted breast with a fennel sausage-stuffed leg for the opener, followed by smoked chocolate and squab liver truffle with strawberry sauce. The chef's signature golden osetra caviar served atop hazelnuts and a coffee anglaise is the ultimate ending.
Tomat
Cuisine: Californian
Working with local farmers and suppliers to highlight seasonality along with California's bounty, Tomat features all-day dining, but the cooking turns more serious when the sun sets. The design feels as farm fresh as the ingredients, with red-orange leather seat cushions set against a pale green backsplash. Kick things off with their barbari bread with roasted tomato powder-dusted butter before savoring appetizers like charred seasonal vegetables over a smooth ajo blanco. Main dishes are meant for sharing, and the half Liberty Farms duck is a perfect choice. Deftly cooked with crispy skin, it's enhanced with a pomegranate and walnut mole. Sticky toffee pudding with a butterscotch sauce and a scoop of burnt milk gelato is the perfect ending.
Oakland
Sun Moon Studio
Cuisine: Chinese
A slightly clandestine air still prevails outside this inconspicuous little spot, but the secret is out: the handful of seats inside are hotly in demand. Chefs Alan Hsu and Sarah Cooper have both worked in some of the country's most celebrated kitchens, but here channel their talents on a more intimate scale. Their shared vision emerges in a mercurial seasonal tasting menu that dutifully celebrates the wealth of Californian ingredients, spanning squab to rockfish and wild mushrooms to citrus. The style is pared down and technically precise, letting products shine while adding a spark of personality, as in Dungeness crab with yuzu kosho butter, perched over silken tofu. Baked items like savory egg tarts with salmon roe, or steamed brioche buns enclosing Taiwanese sausage, are highlights.
Petaluma
Table Culture Provisions
Cuisine: Contemporary
After scrappy beginnings as a mobile kitchen, Chef/owners Stéphane Saint Louis and Steven Vargas transformed this cozy ten-table spot into the toast of downtown Petaluma. Warmly approachable service provides a pleasing backdrop to a seasonally inflected tasting menu (offered as either four or seven courses) comprised of elegant Californian cooking with classic French flourishes. A prime example might be found in a beautifully flaky pithivier filled with squab and kohlrabi, matched with buttery Robuchon-style potatoes. Desserts, too, show off a thoughtful combination of technique and flavor, as in a dressed up chestnut Mont Blanc with almond sable and blackberry sorbet.
San Francisco
Four Kings
Cuisine: Chinese
Restaurants don’t get much buzzier than this bustling Chinatown haunt, where Chefs Franky Ho and Michael Long are drawing crowds eager to sample their breezy contemporary take on Cantonese cuisine. Reservations evaporate almost immediately, but determined diners can line up for counter seating before doors open—though there’s no guarantee of getting in. Once inside, the favored few will find themselves packed into a lively room with quirky décor, where food takes center stage. From claypot rice with bacon and Chinese sausage to savory “fish fragrant” eggplant, the cooking taps into traditional flavors while offering a fresh perspective, a formula that seems to have struck gold.
Prelude
Cuisine: Southern
Located on the ground floor of the swanky Jay Hotel, this dusky space offers an elegant retreat from the bustle of downtown. Although Chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones grew up in California, maternal grandmothers from Alabama had a formative influence on his cooking, resulting in cuisine that seamlessly blends humble roots with an elevated technique and a modern sensibility. Offered either à la carte or as a tasting menu, the dishes feature hearty flavors tempered by an edge of refinement, as in lacy fried chicken wings, partially boned and stuffed with andouille dirty rice, or a pimento cheese made with triple cream cheese and garnished with trout roe. The best might be saved for last: a banana cream pie reimagined as a delicate inverted tartlet with dark chocolate and pretzel.
The Wild
Cuisine: Contemporary
With a mission statement aiming to celebrate the bounty of the natural world, guests here will likely find the experience more comfortably familiar than the striking, cavernous space and dramatic name might imply. Diners are seated at a counter surrounding a central hearth, where they can watch as vegetables, seafood, and meats alike are carefully tended over coals, a testament to the ingredient-forward cooking on display. Dishes demonstrate this Californian sensibility along with Japanese influences, as in a yellowtail crudo with spruce and ponzu, or noodles with chayote squash, black garlic, and uni-lobster broth. An impressive collection of Japanese whiskeys offers plenty of room for connoisseurs to indulge.
Verjus
Cuisine: French
In the shadow of the Transamerica Pyramid, Chef Michael Tusk's stylish little wine bar-cum-French bistro returns for its second act as popular as ever. Reservations are a hot commodity, but walk-in guests can angle to snag a seat at the crowded bar or counters. The hubbub makes more sense after considering the appealingly simple, skillfully prepared cuisine, which highlights top-notch seafood and peak produce, as in sweet razor clams anointed with celery brunoise and Meyer lemon. Seasonal offerings change frequently, but you can count on delicious staples like the duck-based pâté en croûte, studded with vibrant green pistachios; as well as a variety of house-made sausages. To finish, a caramelized brioche pain perdu is always in vogue.
Sonoma
Enclos
Cuisine: Contemporary
Concealed inside an 1880 Victorian on the Stone Edge Farm Winery property, once inside this glittering workshop, guests enter a rarified realm. An opulent tasting menu marries global flavors, refined technique, and exceptional ingredients, including produce sourced from their two farms, all shot through with subtle nods to Chef Brian Limoges's New England roots. Take, for example, a clever "lobster roll" canapé made up of spiny lobster tartare in a crisp shell, or a clam chawanmushi that subtly evokes the flavor of chowder. The fireworks continue through to dessert, where a breathtaking sorrel ice cream is decorated with edible leaves flavored with makrut lime and pomegranate. All the while, diners will find the staff effortlessly charming, making the experience all the more magical.
Hero image: Pete Lee / Seline
