Eleven restaurants in Los Angeles have been awarded the prestigious Michelin Guide, putting the city’s dining scene back on the map.
At an awards ceremony held in the Bay Area on Monday, chefs from across California gathered to hear the fruits of years of culinary work. The Michelin Guide awards are considered the most prestigious in the industry.
In total, 13 Californian restaurants left the event with new Michelin stars, while a handful more were awarded Bib Gourmands.
Michelin star winner: Holbox
Holbox, a Mexican seafood restaurant that offers coastal classics, is known and loved for its experimental ceviche.
Although the traditional menu is served in a casual, relaxed atmosphere, seats are coveted at Holbox’s tasting menus. The eight-course meal, served Thursdays and Fridays, includes chef-selected seafood and off-menu dishes.
The new Michelin star is not the restaurant’s first award in the Michelin Guide, having already been awarded Bib Gourmands in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Michelin star winner: Meteora
Meteora is described by critics as more of an experience than a restaurant. Cooking over an open fire allows guests to watch their dishes being prepared, and the restaurant’s design, with its “living architecture,” brings the outside in. The restaurant specializes in avant-garde cuisine using sustainable ingredients.
Meteora offers two dining options – Lounge and Tasting. The Lounge offers an a la carte menu with sharing dishes and matching drinks, while the Tasting Menu is designed for larger groups.
Michelin star winner: Verspetine
Vespertine received its second star on Monday and regained its first. The restaurant closed in early 2020, losing its original star, and recently reopened.
Vespertine aims to “revolutionize modern gastronomy.” It is celebrated for its unique combinations of ingredients.
Vespertine has also been awarded a Green Star for its ethical sourcing of ingredients and sustainable restaurant operations.
Michelin-starred companies: Uka
UKA shows the kaiseki Japanese culinary tradition of multi-course, complex dinners, serving modern dishes. The restaurant offers three omakase menu options each season. The cheapest menu consists of six courses, the others nine courses.
Bib Gourmands: Pollo a la Brasa
The Peruvian-style chicken restaurant evokes a home-cooked-fresh atmosphere and is visited by dozens of diners daily for its roasted chicken. A glass wall allows diners to watch the chickens roasting and the chefs cooking, making the experience even more immersive.
The menu is simple and limited, offering various cuts of a whole chicken and a handful of sides. The chicken is cooked over the wood-fired oven.
Bib Gourmands: Gra
Grà became the first of two pizza restaurants to receive Bib Gourmands on Monday. The menu features sourdough pizza with seasonal vegetable toppings, and the focus on fermentation is also reflected in the drinks.
Their pizzas are appreciated for the perfect combination of sweet and savory ingredients. Their appetizers and desserts also contain unique flavor combinations that perfectly complement the pizzas.
The open concept restaurant allows for a complete food preparation experience, with wood-fired pizzas serving as decoration in the dining area.
Bib Gourmands: Quarter Leaves
Quarter Sheets offers a customized experience for all types of pizza eaters, including whole pizzas to go and slices to take home. Their square pizza and friendly service have made their mark on Echo Park.
Bib Gourmands: Small Fish
What began as a pop-up seafood stand run by experienced Los Angeles chefs is now one of Los Angeles’ most famous seafood restaurants. Now permanently located in Echo Park, Little Fish’s serves breakfast and lunch.
Their signature dish, the Fried Fish sandwich, is a popular take-out option among local regulars.
Bib Gourmands: Manohar’s Delhi Palace
Manohar’s Delhi Palace bills itself as “the most ambitious Indian restaurant” in the area. Featuring Punjabi-style dishes, it is one of the few Indian restaurants in Los Angeles that makes a point of maintaining traditional cooking techniques.
The restaurant uses North Indian and Mughal cooking techniques and the chefs pride themselves on the mildness of their dishes, allowing all guests to enjoy their tasty masalas.
Bib Gourmands: Liu’s Café
Liu’s Cafe is the team’s second restaurant behind Tokki, a Korean bar that closed earlier this week. The cafe is a Chinese-American diner, bakery and coffee shop. One guest described it as a “Hong Kong-style menu with a distinct Taiwanese flair,” and its selection of comfort food has been turning heads in Koreatown.
Bib Gourmands: Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles
Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles is a warm, inviting spot in a strip mall on Hollywood Boulevard. They specialize in boat noodles – noodles with a thick broth and pork or beef. Their stir-fries are also popular and are small enough to be served with noodle bowls.
What are the Michelin awards?
Michelin publishes a restaurant guide every year that lists the best restaurants in the world. If the restaurants in the guide stand out, they can be awarded various prizes. These prizes must be repeated every year and can be revoked at any time.
Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants that “offer outstanding cuisine,” according to the Michelin Guide. The annual awards are given by anonymous judges who work as a team to make their decisions based on five criteria – quality of ingredients, harmony of flavors, mastery of the cuisine, how the chef expresses his personality through the cuisine, and consistency on the menu and over time.
Restaurants can receive up to three Michelin stars. One star is the lowest rating and represents a high standard of excellence. Three stars highlight artful cuisine that is “destined to become a classic.” Stars are awarded to fine dining restaurants.
Bib Gourmands, on the other hand, are awarded for both high performance and affordable prices. Their latest award, the Green Star, is given to restaurants that operate sustainably.
Two of Los Angeles’ Bib Gourmand-winning restaurants – Grà and Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles – were named to the Michelin Guide in June. This achievement is particularly impressive because it usually takes longer for a restaurant to catch the attention of Michelin critics and receive an award. The other restaurants on the list were already listed in the Michelin Guide before the update earlier this summer.
