Michelin adds 11 Los Angeles restaurants

Michelin added 11 Los Angeles-area restaurants to its California selection in a May 2026 update, widening the list of Southern California places now under consideration before this year’s awards are announced. Michelin said the additions are part of its regular midyear refresh, which puts newly recognized restaurants on its website and app ahead of the annual California ceremony. The company said stars and Bib Gourmands for California will be revealed on June 24. The Los Angeles additions ranged from sushi counters and tasting-menu rooms to pizza, tapas and live-fire cooking. ### Why did these 11 Los Angeles restaurants matter before any stars were handed out? Michelin said new restaurants are added to the selection twice a year, which makes the May update an early signal of what its inspectors have been tracking across California. The guide said those restaurants appear with a “New” symbol on Michelin’s website and mobile app until the annual distinctions are announced on June 24. (guide.michelin.com) The Daily News reported on May 22 that 11 Los Angeles-area restaurants were included in the latest group. NBC Los Angeles said the broader California update covered 21 restaurants statewide and cited Michelin’s standards of quality, technique and consistency. ### Which Los Angeles restaurants were added? Michelin’s California update identified several Los Angeles entries by name, including ALTO in Studio City, CASA LEO, Electric Bleu in Mar Vista, KOJIMA in Sawtelle, Lielle and Lynx. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin described ALTO as a live-fire restaurant from chefs Juana Castellanos Lagemann and Esteban Klenzi, Electric Bleu as chef-owner Craig Hopson’s French bistro with a California accent, and KOJIMA as an eight-seat counter from chef Hayato Kojima. (dailynews.com) The Los Angeles Michelin listings page also shows newly marked local entries including Lynx, Sonoratown and SORA Craft Kitchen among the city’s current selections. That page reflects restaurants already in the guide and distinguishes new additions from previously listed spots. ### How does this fit with Michelin’s Mexico 2026 update? Michelin said on May 20 that its 2026 Mexico selection included 29 starred restaurants, with seven newcomers receiving stars. (guide.michelin.com) The company also said the guide expanded into three additional states — Jalisco, Puebla and Yucatán — alongside regions already covered including Mexico City, Oaxaca, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo and Nuevo León. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin’s Mexico article said the 2026 guide’s expansion was “perhaps the biggest news” of the year’s selection. In its regional examples, Michelin pointed to restaurants in Guadalajara, Puebla and Yucatán while also highlighting quick-service destinations it said define Mexican dining culture. (guide.michelin.com) ### Where does Pancho’s Takos fit into that Mexico guide? Michelin’s official listing now includes Pancho’s Takos in Puerto Vallarta as “a restaurant in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Mexico.” The guide describes the taqueria as a cash-only stop in Zona Romántica with long lines and says pastor tacos draw diners throughout the day. Michelin’s broader Mexico 2026 roundup also singled out Pancho’s Takos in its section on “quick eats,” placing the Puerto Vallarta taqueria alongside other casual destinations as part of the guide’s expanded regional coverage. (guide.michelin.com) ### What happens next in California and Mexico? June 24 is the next key date in California, when Michelin said it will reveal the state’s 2026 stars and Bib Gourmands at its annual ceremony. (guide.michelin.com) In Mexico, the 2026 selection released on May 20 is already live on Michelin’s website, where the full restaurant lists for Los Angeles, California and Mexico can be searched by city and distinction. (guide.michelin.com 1) (guide.michelin.com 2)