It was Michelin Monday in California.
The renowned dining guide has unveiled its list of 2024 honorees, bestowing a series of stars on some of the most prominent restaurants in Los Angeles and beyond during a ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay last night. While there were no new stars in California, Los Angeles did get three new stars thanks to chef Gilberto Cetina’s Holbox in South Central, Jordan Kahn’s Meteora on Melrose Avenue and Yoshitaka Mitsue and Shingo Kato’s kaiseki restaurant Uka in Hollywood. R|O-Rebel Omakase in Laguna Beach and 7 Adams in San Francisco also earned one star.
Kahn’s recently reopened Culver City dining hotspot Vespertine also got its two stars back after a four-year closure that began with the pandemic in March 2020. Other two-star Los Angeles locations include Hayato, Mélisse and Providence. Aubergine in Carmel, California, and Sons & Daughters in San Francisco also earned two stars. That wasn’t the only honor for Vespertine last night, as the restaurant picked up a Green Star Award for sustainability.
Michelin scores each selection. For Vespertine, inspectors called the operation a “singular operation” that emerged from its hiatus with a renewed creative vision. “Each dish is visually stunning, with cuisine that is not only boldly inventive but also employs finely honed technique and impeccably balanced flavors, as in an artistic dish of scallops with passion fruit, ají amarillo, and horseradish tuile petals, or an ‘obsidian mirror’ of smoked mussel cream with salted plums. The meal ends as strong as it began, with a mesmerizing dessert of kaleidoscopic flavors,” according to Michelin.
Vespertine Restaurant.
Courtesy of Vespertine
In addition, a Sommelier Award went to Ian Krupp, wine director of Anajak Thai Cuisine in Sherman Oaks. The Ventura Boulevard restaurant has seen a surge in popularity after being named the best restaurant in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Times.
“California continues to shine brightly, with the culinary scene evolving and shining a spotlight on emerging talent and cuisines,” said Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guides. “Our inspectors continue to be impressed by this year’s selection and we celebrate the excellence of the chefs and restaurant teams honored.”
As for Holbox, Michelin praised Cetina for drawing inspiration from coastal Mexican cuisine in dishes “whose simplicity belies remarkable flavor.” The ratings highlighted “spectacularly high-quality, fresh seafood” in everything from “vibrant aguachiles and ceviches, to excellent tacos served on homemade corn tortillas, to expertly grilled lobster.”
Responding to the news, Cetina said that it was a…
