Michelin Guide reveals star Los Angeles County restaurants for 2023

Arguably the world’s most esteemed dining guide, Michelin announced its constellation for 2023 at a ceremony in Oakland on Tuesday evening, July 18, with one new star shining bright in Los Angeles.

Two Southern California restaurants received their first one-star rating this year: Heritage in Long Beach and Valle in Oceanside. No new two- or three-star restaurants were awarded for 2023.

Michelin Guide’s award system is ranked on a three-tier system: one star (“high-quality cooking, worth a stop,” according to the official guide), two stars (“excellent cooking, worth a detour”), and three stars (“exceptional cuisine, worth a journey”). California has six three-star joints, which includes Addison (San Diego), Benu (San Francisco), Quince (San Francisco), Atelier Crenn (San Francisco), the French Laundry (Yountville), and SingleThread (Healdsburg).

Following is the full list of Michelin star wins for Los Angeles, Central Coast, Orange County and San Diego for 2023:

Three stars:

Addison (San Diego)

Two stars:

Hayato (Los Angeles)

Mélisse (Santa Monica)

n/naka (Los Angeles)

Providence (Hollywood)

Sushi Ginza Onodera (West Hollywood)

One-star (* denotes newly awarded):

715 (Los Angeles)

Bell’s (Los Alamos)

Camphor (Los Angeles)

Caruso’s (Montecito)

Citrin (Santa Monica)

Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura (Beverly Hills)

Gwen (Los Angeles)

Hana re (Costa Mesa)

* Heritage (Long Beach)

Jeune et Jolie (Carlsbad)

Kali (Hollywood)

Kato (Los Angeles)

Knife Pleat (Costa Mesa)

Madcap (San Anselmo)

Manzke (Los Angeles)

Maude (Beverly Hills)

Morihiro (Los Angeles)

Nozawa Bar (Beverly Hills)

Orsa & Winston (Los Angeles)

Osteria Mozza (Los Angeles)

Pasta | Bar (Encino)

Q Sushi (Los Angeles)

Shibumi (Los Angeles)

Shin Sushi (Encino)

Six Test Kitchen (Paso Robles)

Soichi (San Diego)

Sushi I-NABA (Torrance)

Sushi Kaneyoshi (Los Angeles)

Sushi Tadokoro (San Diego)

Taco María (Costa Mesa)

The Restaurant at Justin (Paso Robles)

* Valle (Oceanside)

The star system, which has been an annual tradition since 1926, is ranked by anonymous Michelin inspectors who are “experts in food, dining and hotel sectors with many years of experience working in the hospitality industry.” The consortium of critics are employees of the Michelin Group only and not linked to any outside organizations. Stars are awarded by a group of inspectors who anonymously visit establishments multiple times, according to Michelin. Honors are based off the quality of food using the five criteria: quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in his cuisine, value for money and consistency between visits.

Widely considered restaurant industry’s most coveted award — the guide’s sparklers are a recurring theme on The Bear; the fictional restaurant’s chef-owner, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, once worked as chef de cuisine at a toxic three-star spot  — some have questioned the guide’s relevance in recent years. Michelin doles out its sought-after celestial honors, which can make or break a business, typically to pricey and venerable restaurants, like Noma or the French Laundry, but not to street food, taquerias, and the roughly 11,724,000-square-mile continent of Africa.