(KTXL) — Yelp recently released its list of “Top 100 U.S. Restaurants 2023,” an annual collection of top eateries according to online reviewers, and California locations make up more than one-quarter of the list.
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The company, known for providing a platform for people to rate and review restaurants and businesses, said that its list was compiled by online reviewers — Yelpers, as they are commonly known — then ranked by Yelp staff by the total number of submissions, ratings, reviews and geographic representation.
The list features restaurants that offer dishes as diverse as birria, laulau, plant-based foods and even a California place that offers “humongous” sandwiches.
Below are the 28 California restaurants that made the list.
Northern California Restaurants in Yelp’s Top 100
#100. Timmy’s Brown Bag (Sandwiches) | Placerville
•The owner of Timmy’s is a former college professor of architecture who experiments with food from around the world to create unique takes on the sandwich.
#76. The Kitchen Restaurant (American) | Sacramento
•One of Sacramento’s Michelin-Rated restaurants, The Kitchen is known for allowing diners into the kitchen to interact with the chefs as the meals are prepared.
#66. West Coast Taco Bar (Mexican) | Sacramento
•This taco truck serves a small menu of classic taqueria items, such as tacos and burritos.
Bay Area Restaurants in Yelp’s Top 100
#55. Curry Hyuga (Japanese) | Burlingame
•The location is known for its small menu specializing in Japanese curry, which can be served spicy, sweet or both.
#14. Gigi’s Café (American) | Burlingame
•The café, located inside of an office building, offers traditional and specialty sandwiches, as well as cakes and cookies.
Central California Restaurants in Yelp’s Top 100
#68. Sam’s Italian Deli & Market (Italian Market) | Fresno
•Sam’s is known for its sandwich and pasta deli counter, and for stocking pastas, meats, salads and other classic Italian ingredients for those that opt to cook at home.
Southern California Restaurants in Yelp’s Top 100
#94. Hanuman Thai Eatery (Thai) | Costa Mesa
•The owner started selling Thai food on the street with her mom before perfecting some recipes and launching her own restaurant, then later opening a second location in the same city.
#89. Fiore Market (Italian/Café) | Pasadena
•The café changed owners after 10 years, but the original owners are still lightly involved in the neighborhood spot known for sandwiches, salads and pastries.
#81. Corazon Taste of Mexico (Mexican) | Brea
•The owner started working in restaurants at age 15 and his father worked for the founder of Marie Callender’s.
#70. Thanh Do Restaurant (Vietnamese) | Garden Grove
•The owner “serves the kind of cooking her mom and grandma used to make” when she was growing up in Ho Chi Minh City.
#61. Lord Empanada (Argentine) | Monrovia
•The family that owns the place hails from Cordoba, Argentina, and serves traditional chicken or beef empanadas, as well as empanadas stuffed with mushrooms or soy chorizo.
#52. Mike’s Red Tacos (Mexican) | San Diego
•The owner studied how to make birria in Mexico before opening a food truck and restaurant, where diners can order birria in tacos, ramen, nachos or even french fries.
#46. Nonno’s Ristorante (Italian) | Murrieta
•The traditional Italian restaurant is known for its lasagna, as well as its charred pizzas and tiramisu.
#44. OmG Omakase by Gino (Sushi) | Santa Ana
•The chef brings in fresh fish, scallops and other sea creatures from Japan and “provides stories and detailed descriptions of each fish.”
#41. Dolce Vita (Italian/Café) | Oxnard
•The owner took over the “train-station snack shack” from his mother, providing sandwiches, croissants, gelato, candies and coffee.
#35. Baba Kabob (Afghan) | San Diego
•The recipes were passed down over several generations before the family immigrated to the United States in 1982.
#34. Maison Café & Market (French-Italian Café) | Dana Point
•The oft-changed menu features organic produce turned into grain bowls, salads and lunch plates, along with pastries and bread.
#25. Rajas con Crema (Mexican) | Maywood
•The chef and her husband hail from the Mexican state of Jalisco, whose traditional recipes are showcased at the restaurant.
#23. BMORE Protein Pub (American) | Long Beach
•The café serves sandwiches and paninis that are influenced by foods from around the world.
#20. GONZO! (Japanese Ramen) | Carlsbad
•One of the owners worked as a “lunch lady” before opening the restaurant with her family, where they mix traditional ramen recipes with local tastes.
#18. Trust (American) | Santa Ana
•The location has no set menu and never repeats a meal, leaving the diners to, quite literally, trust the chefs with the dining experience.
#13. Little France Coffee & Bakery (French) | Mission Viejo
•The chef uses ingredients and techniques he learned from his father’s pastry shop in Cognac, France.
#12. Appu’s Café (Indian) | Long Beach
•The menu is entirely vegan and vegetarian but includes some recipes with Indo-Mexican influences.
#10. Sababa Falafel Shop (Middle Eastern) | Garden Grove
•The owners strive to offer the home cooking they grew up eating in Jerusalem.
#7. The Nook Cajun Café (Cajun) | Norco
•Diners come to The Nook for its offerings of seafood boils, hot link sausage, Manila clams, jambalaya and other Cajun staples.
#6. Sunbliss Café (American) | Anaheim
•This café serves smoothie bowls, toast and lattes that accommodate special diets.
#4. Beyer Deli (Sandwiches/Deli) | San Diego
•The cash-only location is located close to the border with Mexico and features specialty sandwiches as well as classic sandwiches.
#1. Broken Mouth (Hawaiian, Korean) | Los Angeles
•The location features a small menu of homestyle comfort foods from the chef-owner who describes himself as “Korean by blood, Hawaiian at heart.”