Good news, foodies: The Michelin Guide has identified 10 Southern California restaurants that will be honored at next month’s Michelin Guide Ceremony.
The celebrated spots include four restaurants in Los Angeles, three in Orange County, two in Santa Monica and one in San Diego, the Michelin Guide said in a news release.
Los Angeles
Cento Pasta Bar
This West Adams restaurant, once a pop-up, serves contemporary Italian food by chef Avner Levi. “As the name suggests, pasta takes center stage,” the Michelin inspector wrote.
Villa’s Tacos
The inspector highlighted the restaurant’s signature queso taco, as well as a variety of meats and vegan options. “Colorful, messy and filling, these tacos thrive on their own but also sing with the homemade salsas, some of which are ferociously spicy,” the inspector wrote.
Dunsmoor
Dunsmoor serves Southern-inspired food that is largely cooked in “two ferocious ovens [that] serve as the twin hearts and hearths of this Glassell Park hot spot … Nearly everything here offers some kind of hearty, no-nonsense kind of comfort,” the inspector wrote.
Juliet
“Dinner is where this team shines,” wrote the inspector, who highlighted the restaurant’s mousse au foie de volaille, sea bream with ratatouille and pistou, and multitude of wines available by the glass.
Santa Monica
Cobi’s
This Southeast Asian restaurant features “Thai and Malaysian delights,” the inspector wrote. Star dishes include the dumplings, satay and curry puffs as a starter. “From there, pick a curry or a wood-grilled main dish such as grilled prawns in a ginger and yellow bean sauce,” the inspector added.
Dear Jane’s
Dear Jane’s celebrates the life aquatic with its focus on old-school seafood and Continental cuisine,” noted the inspector, who praised the “large portions and over-the-top flourishes … while keeping things grounded with strong cooking.”
Orange County
Kaori Sushi
“Don’t let its location within a nondescript open-air mall fool you, as this spot’s flavors are anything but ho-hum,” the inspector wrote. Highlights include mara udon, gyu tongue, kani blue crab “risotto” and “the classic sashimi and nigiri,” they added.
Poppy & Seed
Some of the star dishes include “plump” shrimp and “creamy” grits, “sweet and salty” fried Brussels sprouts with bacon jam and pomegranate” and “juicy strawberries and roasted beets … that could pull double duty as dessert.
Taira Sushi & Sake
“A love letter to Japan” from chef Ben and Akayo Sato, the detail-oriented restaurant “makes everyone feel welcome” with warm hospitality, the inspector wrote. “Standouts include kinmedai seared with ponzu, spring onions and red yuzu or tender firefly squid topped with scallions and laced with nori.”
San Diego
Artifact at Mingei
The inspector praised the “proudly eclectic and international” food. Highlights include rock shrimp gyoza with a yuzu-flavored dashi, lamb kibbeh with quinoa tabbouleh and Thai green curry with sweet potato and crispy noodles. The desserts, like cardamom tapioca with saffron granita, “hold their own,” the inspector said.
At the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland on July 18, the restaurants find out if they’ve received Michelin Stars, Bib Gourmands or other awards.