Michelin adds 21 California discoveries

Michelin added 21 California restaurants to its guide on May 20, giving diners an early look at places now under consideration ahead of the 2026 California Guide ceremony. The additions appeared on Michelin’s official California “new additions” list, which the company said is updated twice a year. The May release included 11 Los Angeles-area restaurants and seven in the Bay Area, with other additions in places including La Jolla. Michelin said Stars and Bib Gourmands for California will be announced on June 24. ### What does Michelin mean by a “new discovery”? Michelin said the restaurants added in May are new establishments that have “won over” its inspectors and are now part of the California selection. The company said those restaurants appear on its website and mobile app with a “New” symbol before the annual awards ceremony. Michelin also said new restaurants are added to the selection twice a year, separate from the later announcement of Stars and Bib Gourmands. (guide.michelin.com) June 24 is the next key date. Michelin said that is when its annual California ceremony will reveal distinctions including Stars and Bib Gourmands, making the May additions an early watchlist rather than an awards announcement. ### Which parts of California dominated this round? Los Angeles accounted for 11 of the 21 additions, according to Michelin’s May list and regional coverage of the release. (guide.michelin.com) Eater Los Angeles reported the Southern California group also included restaurants in San Diego, Santa Barbara and Palm Springs beyond the Los Angeles entries. The Bay Area accounted for seven additions. Eater San Francisco reported those restaurants were spread across San Francisco, Oakland and Los Gatos, while the San Francisco Business Times said the seven are making their Michelin Guide California debut this year. (guide.michelin.com) ### Which restaurants were named in Los Angeles? Michelin’s official list named Beverly Hills sushi counter Miura, Studio City live-fire restaurant ALTO, Casa Leo, Electric Bleu, Kojima, Lielle and Lynx among the Los Angeles-area additions. Michelin’s blurbs also identified chefs tied to several of those restaurants, including Derek Wilcox at Miura, Juana Castellanos Lagemann and Esteban Klenzi at ALTO, Joshua Whigham at Casa Leo, Craig Hopson at Electric Bleu, Hayato Kojima at Kojima and Marcus Jernmark at Lielle. (sf.eater.com) NBC Los Angeles and Eater Los Angeles reported that longtime taqueria Sonoratown was also among the Los Angeles-area additions. Their coverage described the May 20 announcement as part of Michelin’s build-up to the 2026 California Guide reveal. (guide.michelin.com) ### What stood out in the Bay Area list? Seven Bay Area restaurants made the cut, according to Eater San Francisco and the San Francisco Business Times. The Business Times highlighted Vicinity in Los Gatos and said Michelin inspectors praised chef Julian Silvera’s tasting menu for its “vivid creativity and visual flair.” (nbclosangeles.com) SFGATE reported the Bay Area group ranged from an Oakland Korean banchan shop to a San Francisco soul food restaurant, underscoring the geographic and stylistic spread of the selections. That report, like Eater’s, treated the additions as entries into Michelin’s California guide rather than as star awards. (sf.eater.com) ### So what happens next for these restaurants? June 24 is the next milestone for all 21 restaurants. Michelin said its California ceremony that day will reveal the 2026 distinctions, including Stars and Bib Gourmands, after the restaurants have already been flagged online and in the Michelin app as new additions. (guide.michelin.com) (sfgate.com)