These SF Bay Area restaurants won
The dining industry’s much-anticipated Michelin stars were announced at a ceremony in Oakland on Tuesday night, with three new Bay Area restaurants winning the prestigious award.
Nari, a popular Thai restaurant in San Francisco whose lack of a star long befuddled local diners and food insiders, won the accolade after years on the guide’s value-driven Bib Gourmand list. (Nari’s sister restaurant, Kin Khao in San Francisco, held onto its star even throughout a temporary pandemic closure.)
New restaurants Aphotic, a seafood-centric spot in San Francisco, and Auro at the Four Seasons in Calistoga, helmed by “Top Chef” alum Rogelio Garcia, also won their first stars. Farther afield, Carmel’s Chez Noir, which in less than a year has become a coastal dining destination, earned one star.
Stephen Lam/The Chronicle
Five Bay Area restaurants lost stars, meanwhile. Spruce, a San Francisco standby run by a restaurant group with other starred spots, lost the distinction; as did San Francisco’s Marlena, whose chefs recently left after a dispute with the owner; and Omakase, a high-end sushi restaurant in San Francisco.
Adega, once San Jose’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, didn’t retain the award this year. The owners announced Sunday that the Portuguese restaurant will close permanently in December. It will be replaced by a new outpost of their more casual spin-off, Petiscos, which was just added to the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list. (This year’s other new Bib Gourmand additions are Bansang in San Francisco, and Bombera and Snail Bar in Oakland.)
Peter Prato/Special to The Chronicle
One of the Bay Area’s only three-starred restaurants, Manresa in Los Gatos, closed in November, so is no longer included in the guide.
Several prominent restaurants that lost stars last year, including Mourad and Ju-Ni in San Francisco, didn’t regain them.
Pomet in Oakland, run by a celebrated Bay Area farmer, won a “green star,” a relatively new award for restaurants devoted to sustainability, as did Aphotic, which is known for dry-aging fish. Other Bay Area restaurants with the distinction include Chez Panisse in Berkeley and SingleThread in Healdsburg.
Three Bay Area restaurants were also represented in the guide’s special awards: John Haffey, lead sommelier at Aubergine in Carmel, won a sommelier award; SingleThread director of operations John Schafer was honored for outstanding service; and Harrison Cheney, executive chef at Sons & Daughters, took home the “young chef” award.
The Bay Area is now home to 45 Michelin-starred restaurants.
Here’s the full list of Michelin-starred restaurants in Northern California:
Three stars
Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
Benu, San Francisco
The French Laundry, Yountville
Quince, San Francisco
SingleThread, Healdsburg
Two stars
Acquerello, San Francisco
Birdsong, San Francisco
Californios, San Francisco
Commis, Oakland
Harbor House, Elk
Lazy Bear, San Francisco
Saison, San Francisco
One star
Angler, San Francisco
Aphotic, San Francisco (NEW)
Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford
Aubergine, Carmel-by-the-Sea
Auro, Calistoga (NEW)
Avery, San Francisco
Barndiva, Healdsburg
Chez Noir, Carmel-by-the-Sea (NEW)
Chez TJ, Mountain View
Cyrus, Geyserville
Gary Danko, San Francisco
Kenzo, Napa
Kin Khao, San Francisco
The Kitchen, Sacramento
Le Comptoir at Bar Crenn, San Francisco
Localis, Sacramento
Madcap, San Anselmo
Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.
Mister Jiu’s, San Francisco
Nari, San Francisco (NEW)
Niku Steakhouse, San Francisco
Nisei, San Francisco
O’ by Claude Le Tohic, San Francisco
Osito, San Francisco
Plumed Horse, Saratoga
Press, St. Helena
The Progress, San Francisco
Protégé, Palo Alto
San Ho Won, San Francisco
Selby’s, Redwood City
The Shota, San Francisco
Sons & Daughters, San Francisco
Sorrel, San Francisco
Ssal, San Francisco
State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
Sushi Shin, Redwood City
Sushi Yoshizumi, San Mateo
The Village Pub, Woodside
Wakuriya, San Mateo
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
