Exploring California’s New Michelin-Starred Restaurants of 2025

Michelin recently announced its 2025 Michelin Guide California at a ceremony in the state capital of Sacramento. Becoming a Michelin-starred restaurant is a coveted status for chefs around the world. Initially started as a travel guide by a tire company wanting to encourage more people to get on the road and drive, the Michelin name is now attached to the most well-known dining guide in the world. It’s certainly a cause for celebration for many chefs and hospitality workers that the new California Guide recently awarded five restaurants with their very first One Star. There are also two new Two Stars and two new Three Stars. 

Two restaurants also received their Green Stars, an award that celebrates the restaurants’ commitment to sustainable practices. While dining at Michelin-starred restaurants can be too expensive for many diners, the Michelin Guide also added six new restaurants to its Bib Gourmand list. The Bib Gourmand restaurants are selected for offering good value for the price, which we can all appreciate these days.

Of course, many of the previously starred restaurants, including the three-star Michelin restaurants in the U.S., will retain their stars. There are now 87 Michelin-starred restaurants in California, a testament to the state’s strong culinary scene driven by the rich agricultural bounty. Let the new guide inspire you to explore new restaurants. To help with that, here’s a look at each of the new Michelin-starred restaurants in California.

Chef Aitor Zabala’s Somni became one of only two restaurants in Los Angeles to earn Michelin’s highest star rating this year. Zabala was born in Barcelona and worked at some of the most well-respected kitchens in Spain, including the highly influential elBulli. Celebrated chef José Andrés then invited Zabala to help him develop various restaurants around the United States.

The original Somni opened as a chef’s counter experience at Andrés’ The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills back in 2018. Somni earned two Michelin stars the next year, but the restaurant closed in 2020 during the pandemic. While the original restaurant was opened under Andrés’ name, Zabala was very much the principal chef behind the experience, and Andrés gave Zabala permission to reopen Somni without him. After much anticipation, the restaurant reopened at its current West Hollywood location in November 2024.

Somni’s Spanish-influenced tasting menu consists of whimsically plated small bites that the Michelin Guide calls “meticulously arranged and endlessly creative.” The tasting menu starts at $645 per person (including non-alcoholic beverage pairing, and the price increases for alcoholic pairings). It’s certainly an expensive proposition, but one that is well worth it.

somnirestaurant.com

9045 Nemo St, West Hollywood, CA 90069

We already knew that Providence was one of the best seafood restaurants in Los Angeles, but it’s now been recognized as one of the best restaurants in all of California. Chef Michael Cimarusti opened Providence in Hollywood back in 2005. The restaurant received its first Michelin star in 2008, which is the first year that Michelin released a guide for Los Angeles. The restaurant was later awarded two stars in 2009 and has retained them since then. Cimarusti and his team continue to refine their craft, and this year, Providence finally earned its third star, just in time for its 20th anniversary celebration.

Providence also retained its Green Star from the previous year, maintaining its commitment to sourcing the freshest and most sustainable ingredients it can get. In addition to all the sustainable seafood sourcing, the restaurant also has a garden and beehive on the rooftop, which it utilizes for many of its dishes and cocktails — it doesn’t get more local than that. Providence offers two different tasting menus: a $325 classic tasting menu and a $450 chef’s tasting menu. There are special add-ons as well, such as salt-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns or the famous uni egg. 

providencela.com

5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Brian Limoges, the executive chef at Enclos in Sonoma, is no stranger to working in Michelin-starred kitchens. Limoges seems to have worked at most of the starred restaurants in Northern California, from Atelier Crenn to Quince to Birdsong to Saison. At Enclos, Limoges combines his New England upbringing and French techniques with hyper-local ingredients. Enclos opened in December 2024, too late to be considered for Michelin stars that year. Now, Enclos was immediately awarded with two stars, with the Michelin Guide calling Enclos’ tasting menu “opulent” and one that “marries global flavors, refined technique, and exceptional ingredients.”

In addition to the two stars, Enclos is also one of the two California restaurants receiving a Michelin Green Star for the first time (the other being Sons & Daughters in San Francisco). The restaurant is actually part of Stone Edge Farms Vineyards & Winery. The winery has a 16-acre organic farm that has a negative carbon footprint and is located just three miles from the restaurant. The farm grows over 100 varieties of produce. Not only does Enclos source its ingredients from this farm, but the restaurant also aims to be zero-waste and sustainable in all other aspects. Enclos has a 30-seat dining room, and the tasting menu costs $235 per person (increasing to $250 in July). 

enclos-sonoma.com

139 E Napa St, Sonoma, CA 95476

The tasting menu at Kiln combines many global influences, just like California does. Kiln’s chef and owner is John Wesley, who previously worked at Aska and Eleven Madison Park in New York City and Commis in San Francisco. Drawing from his experiences, there’s a touch of Japanese, French, Scandinavian and, of course, Californian influences in Wesley’s cooking.

Wesley had actually won Michelin’s 2024 Young Chef Award. Kiln received one Michelin star that year as well. In 2025, he continues that success with Kiln receiving its second star. According to the Michelin Guide, the tasting menu is “highlighting preservation techniques … in dishes whose simplicity is belied by intricate techniques and compelling flavor combinations.” Remember that Michelin star awards aren’t only about the food. The entry for Kiln also acknowledges the personable service from general manager Julianna Yang. Kiln has only one seating per night and serves a multi-course tasting menu (typically 18-20 courses) in an industrial space in San Francisco. The tasting menu costs $285 per person.

kilnsf.com

149 Fell St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Restaurateur John Resnick and chef Eric Bost already have three other restaurants in Carlsbad (including the one-Michelin-starred Jeune et Jolie), but their latest restaurant, Lilo, opened in April of this year and already gained its first Michelin star. Bost had worked under Alain Ducasse in Paris and later became the executive chef at Restaurant Guy Savoy in Las Vegas before eventually moving to California. Bost and Resnick have built a mini hospitality empire in the small coastal city of Carlsbad, but the fine-dining, tasting menu-only Lilo is their most ambitious project yet.

Lilo’s 12-course tasting menu is said to be a three-part experience, starting with canape courses on the outdoor patio before moving into the main dining room. There are only 22 seats in the restaurant, which are all arranged around the open kitchen. The menu changes frequently with the season, of course, but past courses have included Santa Barbara spot prawns with gooseberries and dry-aged turbot steamed in kelp. The tasting menu is priced at $318 per person, and beverage pairing starts at $110 per person.

restaurantlilo.com

2571 Roosevelt St, Carlsbad, CA 92008

Los Angeles has no shortage of remarkable sushi restaurants, but Mori Nozomi is special in many ways. For one, this particular sushi restaurant has an all-female team, which is a rarity in the restaurant world but even more so for sushi restaurants. Women aiming to become sushi chefs have to dispel various myths, including one that claim that women’s hands are too warm to handle raw fish. Mori Nozomi is led by Osaka-born chef Nozomi Mori who previously worked at Ginza Onodera in West Hollywood. She and her team are working hard to overturn those outdated myths. At least Michelin seems to be taking notes, and it recently awarded Mori Nozomi with the restaurant’s first star. 

The Michelin Guide praises Mori’s “exquisitely intricate knifework” and finely tuned shari. The seafood is flown in from Japan, and Mori combines it with fresh, local produce. Mori Nozomi only serves omakase, and seating is only available at the sushi counter. The omakase menu includes 25 courses and costs $250 per person. Reservations are released every Sunday morning, but be warned that they go fast as there are only eight seats available at the counter.

morinozomi.com

11500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Restaurant Ki is an intimate, Korean-influenced fine dining experience that is hiding in the basement of an office building in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. The restaurant is named after its chef, Ki Kim, who previously worked as chef de cuisine at Meteora (a one-starred Michelin restaurant in Los Angeles) before opening Kinn in LA’s Koreatown. While Kinn shuttered back in 2023, Kim followed up with Ki, which opened in January 2025. Ki seems to finally be the realization of Kim’s vision. Not only did Restaurant Ki receive its first Michelin star, but Kim also won this year’s Young Chef Award, which is given to outstanding chefs who are still early in their careers.

Restaurant Ki serves a contemporary Korean tasting menu that continuously changes with the seasons but may include an improved version of the famous, crispy octopus dish that Kim previously served at Kinn. The restaurant consists of a 10-seat chef’s counter, and Kim only does one seating per night, so reservations are hard to come by. Dinner at Ki involves a 12-course tasting menu and costs $285 per person. 

restaurantki.com

111 S San Pedro St B2, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Silvers Omakase in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone is a sushi omakase experience from chef Lennon Silvers Lee. Lee previously opened Sushi|Bar in Montecito (now called Sushi by Scratch) with his brother Phillip Frankland Lee, which also earned a Michelin star during Lee’s tenure as executive chef in 2021. Lee then decided to strike out on his own and opened Silvers Omakase in February 2024.

At Silvers Omakase, Lee uses a special Isehikari rice from Japan that is then milled in-house. The fish is sourced both locally and from Japan, and the well-executed dishes earned Silvers Omakase its first Michelin star in 2025. The omakase here usually consists of 13-15 courses, starting with a couple of small dishes before moving on to nigiri sushi. There are only 10 seats at this counter-only experience, and the menu costs $185 per person (increasing to $235 in July).

silversomakase.com

224 Helena Ave, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

The small but mighty Sun Moon Studio in Oakland comes from chefs Alan Hsu and Sarah Cooper who brought their experiences working at some of the most celebrated restaurants around the country to this intimate, farmer-driven restaurant. Hsu worked his way through the three-starred Benu and later at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where he met Cooper. The two later worked together at Pomet in Oakland where Hsu oversaw the kitchen and Cooper led the bread and pastry program.

In the summer of 2024, the two struck out on their own and opened Sun Moon Studio with just four tables. At Sun Moon Studio, Hsu and Cooper offer a tasting menu made with ingredients sourced from local farms. You can often find Taiwanese-influenced dishes drawn from Hsu’s Taiwanese-American heritage, like the house-made Taiwanese sausage served in steamed brioche buns. The dinner typically includes around 12 courses and runs for $150 per person (the price will increase to $180 starting on July 18). The Michelin Guide calls the tasting menu here “mercurial” and “technically precise,” allowing the ingredients shine as the focus of the dish.

sunmoonstudio.com

1940 Union St, Ste 21, Oakland, CA 94607