These Are the Best Restaurants in California, According to the Brand New Michelin Awards

The Michelin Guide just announced its 2022 Star selection restaurants in California and there are some welcome additions. Stars were awarded to 89 restaurants this year, including 18 establishments that are new to the list.

Addison in San Diego received three stars (so now California has seven three-star restaurants). Two spots, Caruso’s in Montecito and The Restaurant at Justin in Paso Robles, were also awarded a MICHELIN Green star in addition to their MICHELIN Star. “Our inspectors also named two new MICHELIN Green-Star establishments, which prove themselves to be industry leaders in sustainable practices,” Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the MICHELIN Guides, said in a press release. “The fact that the state has such a high concentration of Green Stars is a testament to the culinary scene’s strong commitment to the environment. There’s just so much to be excited about in this year’s selection.”

So what do the star rankings mean, actually? Here’s a refresher from Michelin:

One star: “Awarded to restaurants using top quality ingredients, where dishes with distinct flavors are prepared to a consistently high standard.”

Two stars: “Awarded when the personality and talent of the chef are evident in their expertly crafted dishes; their food is refined and inspired.”

Three stars: Michelin’s highest award. It is “given for the superlative cooking of chefs at the peak of their profession; their cooking is elevated to an art form and some of their dishes are destined to become classics.”

Eric Wolfinger

Take a look at the full list of newly-starred restaurants below:

Three MICHELIN Stars

Addison (San Diego; Contemporary/Californian cuisine)

One MICHELIN Star

715 (Los Angeles; Japanese/Sushi cuisine)

Camphor (Los Angeles; Contemporary/French cuisine)

Caruso’s (Montecito; Californian cuisine)

Citrin (Santa Monica; Californian cuisine)

Cyrus (Geyserville; Californian cuisine)

Gwen (Los Angeles; Steakhouse)

Hatchet Hall (Los Angeles; American cuisine)

Kato (Los Angeles; Asian/Contemporary cuisine)

Localis (Sacramento; Californian cuisine)

Manzke (Los Angeles; Contemporary cuisine)

Nisei (San Francisco; Japanese/Contemporary cuisine)

Osito (San Francisco; Contemporary cuisine)

Press (St. Helena; American cuisine)

The Restaurant at JUSTIN (Paso Robles; Californian cuisine)

San Ho Won (San Francisco; Korean cuisine)

Ssal (San Francisco; Korean cuisine)

Sushi Kaneyoshi (Los Angeles; Japanese/Sushi cuisine)

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