HEALDSBURG, CA – A Healdsburg restaurant has been featured in the famed 2024 Michelin Guide. The guide catalogs dining experiences that are worth the drive. The newest additions to the California guide were unveiled at a ceremony Aug. 5 in the ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay.
Many friendsan Italian restaurant at 330 Healdsburg Ave. that offers “handmade pizza, pasta, cocktails and bocce ball,” according to its menu, was one of 10 Bib Gourmands discovered this year by traveling Michelin inspectors as “hidden gems full of flavor that don’t come cheap.”
A Bib Gourmand selection may not be a Michelin-starred restaurant – at least not yet – but according to the Michelin Guide it offers “high-quality, good-value cuisine.”
This is what the Michelin inspectors say about the restaurant in Healdsburg:
“There’s certainly no shortage of these kinds of casual Italian spots in wine country, with the usual wood-fired pizzas and house-made pastas on the menu—but few manage to nail their flavors as perfectly as they do here. They may not be reinventing the wheel, but these pizzas are ideally blistered and have simple but compelling toppings like squash blossoms with fontina and balsamic, and the pasta, like a satisfying version of bucatini amatriciana with crispy breadcrumbs, offers an ideal bite. On one of Healdsburg’s not-infrequent balmy days, the enclosed patio with bocce ball court is actually an excellent place to gather with “lots of friends,” as the name suggests.”
The 2024 guide highlighted 577 restaurants across the state and listed 85 California restaurants with stars. Michelin added one new green-star restaurant, three new two-star restaurants and seven new one-star restaurants to its 2024 California Guide.
Molti Amici, with its Bib Gourmand, was the only new addition to the region this year.
Shine brightly in the wine-growing region of Northern California
Seven wine country restaurants were honored again and retained their star status in the Michelin Guide 2024:
Three stars (Exceptional cuisine that is worth a special trip)
SingleThread, Healdsburg, Sonoma County, was included in the guide for the first time in 2018 and is now in the guide for the sixth year in a row. Cuisine: Contemporary
The French Laundry in Yountville, Napa County, was first included in the guide in 2007. It has been included for the 17th year in a row and has also received a Green Star. Cuisine: Contemporary
One star (High quality kitchen)
Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford, Napa County, was first included in the guide in 2008 and has now retained its star for 16 years in a row. Cuisine: Californian
Auro, Calistoga, Napa County, was included in the 2023 Guide for the second year in a row. Cuisine: Contemporary
Cyrus, Geyserville, Sonoma County, was included in the guide for the first time in 2022 and is now in the guide for the third year in a row. Cuisine: Californian
Kenzo, Napa County, was first included in the guide in 2019 and has been featured for the sixth year in a row. Cuisine: Japanese
Press, Saint Helena, Napa County, was included in the guide for the third year in a row in 2022. Cuisine: American
Shooting Star
Barndiva in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, received no stars this year after being a one-star restaurant for three years in a row.
Michelin inspectors conduct anonymous assessments and do not comment on changes to the star rating or the removal of a restaurant from the guide. Michelin re-evaluates all previous winners and new nominees, looking at five criteria: quality of the food, harmony of flavors, mastery of technique, personality of the chef and the kitchen, and consistency between visits.
