Last night, Michelin announced its list of starred California restaurants for 2022 at L.A.’s very own Petersen Automotive Museum, and the results for the city at large are in—seven all-new one-star additions within L.A. County. An eighth “new” star was given to Kato, Jon Yao’s Taiwanese-inflected fine-dining experience, which already had a star before moving to a larger Arts District space and changing its menu earlier this year.
One of the world’s most famous dining guides (as well as a multinational French tire company), Michelin decides what it considers worth visiting by sending anonymous inspectors all over a given city, state, region or country. In North America, the guide’s overall bias towards Japanese omakase and French fine-dining restaurants is well-known, though it also includes a variety of unstarred restaurants in terms of cuisine and price point within each edition of the guide.
This year in L.A. was largely no different. New starred restaurants for 2022 include three predominantly French fine-dining spots: Citrin, the eponymous à la carte sibling of Josiah Citrin’s two-star Mélisse in Santa Monica; Camphor, Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George’s Asian-inflected bistro in the Arts District; and Manzke, the eponymous Pico-Robertson tasting menu eatery from Walter and Margarita Manzke.
Two new omakase counters—715 Sushi in the Arts District and Little Tokyo’s Sushi Kaneyoshi—also received stars. In a slight deviation from the usual fine-dining recognition, Michelin’s final two one-star additions were Southern-inspired Hatchet Hall in Culver City and Hollywood’s Gwen, the meat-oriented sibling to Maude in Beverly Hills, which also retained its Michelin star.
Eight other critically acclaimed spots, however, were not so lucky. Jordan Kahn’s Vespertine, which has remained closed for dine-in service since the start of the pandemic, lost both its stars, while six L.A. area restaurants lost their one-star designations: Bistro Na’s in Temple City; Cut in Beverly Hills; Koreatown’s Le Comptoir; West L.A.’s Mori Sushi; and three restaurants in Santa Monica—Pasjoli, Rustic Canyon and the relocated Shunji Japanese Cuisine.
At the awards ceremony, chefs and restaurant teams from across California live-streamed in to accept their star and Bib Gourmand designations. The latter, a more budget-friendly recommendation category, were first announced for the entire state last week, and included 10 new additions in L.A. and Long Beach.
In total, California gained 18 new one-star restaurants, eight of which are within L.A. County. Ninety miles northwest in Montecito, Caruso’s at the Rosewood Miramar received a star; the restaurant is owned by its namesake mall-owning billionaire and unsuccessful Los Angeles mayoral candidate. San Diego’s Addison also added a third star to its belt, bringing the state’s total number of three-star restaurants to seven.
The Central Coast, known for its increasingly interesting culinary scene, added another starred restaurant by way of Paso Robles with the Restaurant at JUSTIN. The buzzy wine-growing region’s pre-existing Michelin-starred restaurants, Six Test Kitchen–also of Paso Robles—and Bell’s in Los Alamos also retained their stars.
The guide also announced two new additions for the Michelin Green Stars, a category recognizing sustainable industry practices: Caruso’s and the Restaurant at JUSTIN. (In Los Angeles, Nancy Silverton’s one-star Osteria Mozza and Chi Spacca currently hold this designation.)
Among veterans of the global fine-dining circuit, chefs and diners alike, the international prestige of a Michelin star is undeniable, even as the Big Red Book’s bias is crystal-clear: ultra-fancy, ultra-expensive restaurants that largely fail to capture the way most Angelenos actually eat.
For ease of use, we’ve detailed L.A.’s new and lost Michelin stars in list form below in alphabetical order (and will soon update our list of the city’s Michelin-starred restaurants). All restaurants are within the city of L.A. unless noted in parentheses.
Any links reflect previous coverage here at Time Out—and we’ve included call-outs of our own starred ratings in brackets (out of 5) if you’d like a more locally informed perspective than the concise description offered by Michelin. Time Out Los Angeles sends congratulations to all of L.A.’s new Michelin star restaurants.
L.A.’s new one-star Michelin restaurants:
- 715 Sushi
- Camphor
- Citrin (Santa Monica)
- Hatchet Hall (Culver City)
- Sushi Kaneyoshi [5 stars]
- Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant
- Manzke [5 stars]
L.A. restaurants that lost their stars:
- Bistro Na’s (Temple City)
- Cut (Beverly Hills)
- Le Comptoir [3 stars]
- Mori Sushi
- Pasjoli (Santa Monica)
- Rustic Canyon (Santa Monica)
- Shunji Japanese Cuisine (Santa Monica) [4 stars]
- Vespertine (temporarily closed)