Michelin adds six L.A. restaurants to its California guide. Look for the coveted stars next month

As California draws nearer to the annual release of the Michelin Guide’s top restaurants across the state, fans and followers of the global restaurant rating system can put a few more new businesses and star contenders on their “to visit” lists. This week Michelin added six new L.A.-area restaurants to its statewide guide in advance of the announcement ceremony slated for next month.

The global gustatorial guide is most recognizable for its awarding of stars, widely recognized as one of the highest honors in restaurants, especially as it pertains to fine dining in the U.S. One star signifies “a very good restaurant in its category,” while two stars marks “excellent cuisine, worth a detour,” and a three-star rating translates to “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.”

Michelin also awards businesses with nods for value and affordability (Bib Gourmands) as well as noteworthy openings. Whether this week’s new additions will garner stars or Bib Gourmand notation in the 2024 statewide guide will be revealed at the ceremony on Aug. 5 in Half Moon Bay.

On Wednesday the guide welcomed 13 California restaurants into the 2024 guide, including six in Los Angeles. Mike Santos, an owner and the namesake of Portuguese restaurant Barra Santos, said the consideration was “really unexpected” and “an honor.”

The cozy Cypress Park restaurant with a focus on sherries debuted last spring from the hospitality group behind Found Oyster, Queen St. and Nossa Caipirinha Bar. Its dishes, often inspired by family recipes, include bacalhau fritters, prawns in vinho verde, piri piri chicken and spiced almond cake.

“I’m this kid from a small town in Arizona so I never expected anything like this to happen to us,” said executive chef Melissa López. “It just goes to show that hard work and having people that really believe in what you do and what you serve, and how you treat people, makes a difference in this industry. I’m super proud to do it with Mike, who’s like my brother, and everyone who has been here from the very beginning. It’s a big deal.”

Barra Santos chef Melissa López stands in the kitchen of the Cypress Park restaurant, which is now listed in the Michelin California Guide.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

The year has proved fruitful in accolades for Barra Santos, which also received a James Beard Foundation semifinalist nomination in January in the category of best new restaurant; it was the only Southern California restaurant in the running this year.

Santos hopes to use the restaurant and bar’s newfound attention to spotlight other local chefs by way of collaborations and hosting pop-ups.

“Because we do have a lot of eyes on us, the focus is working with people like Drew [Ponce] and his [pop-up, A Tí] and smaller brands and chefs that are trying to make it,” Santos said. “We’re trying to help them kind of grow within the city as well as give them an opportunity to showcase their stuff.”

The new project from chef Joshua Skenes also made the guide this week. Leopardo, on the border of Mid-Wilshire and Hancock Park, is serving a tight menu of pizzas that feature painstakingly sourced flours and house-made cheeses from the former Saison and Angler chef-founder. It also offers creative cocktails, wood-fired seafood and seasonal vegetables.

Another new Michelin addition included Koreatown’s Danbi, a modern-Korean restaurant from the hospitality group that owns and operates nearby Liu’s Cafe — which was added to the California guide in March. Danbi opened in spring, a pivot from a previous restaurant concept from the same group; this week the Michelin Guide noted Danbi executive chef Lareine Ko’s scallop pancake, mushroom bibimbap and wagyu zabuton, as well as pastry chef Isabell Manibusan’s desserts.

Koreatown restaurant Danbi’s charcoal-grilled, galbi-inspired wagyu zabuton with bone marrow and kimchi received notice in the Michelin Guide this week.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Boat-noodle specialist Mae Malai House of Noodles is another Michelin pick, with the inspectors calling the new restaurant from the team behind Thai Town street stall Mae Malai “a comfortable, welcoming spot with a tempting menu to boot.”

Grá, an Echo Park pizzeria that opened in 2019, focuses on sourdough pizzas and seasonal fermented goods. It was also added to the guide on Wednesday. “All eyes will be on the cooks preparing pizzas in their wood-fired oven,” Michelin’s anonymous inspectors wrote. “It’s all about the thin and crispy sourdough crust with high quality toppings.”

An Italian restaurant on the other side of town was also added to the guide. West Hollywood’s Stella serves pastas, crudos, pizzas and grilled meats and seafood from former Toronto chef Rob Gentile. Michelin noted, among its California-ingredient influence, the view of live-fire cooking seen from the chef’s counter.

Italian restaurant Ambrogio by Acquerello of La Jolla was the only restaurant south of Los Angeles added to the California Guide this week, though a number to the north were.

In Santa Barbara new sushi omakase Silvers Omakase, from Sushi by Scratch Restaurants vet Lennon Silvers Lee, was added to the guide.

Healdsburg Italian restaurant Molti Amici garnered an addition, as did Oakland’s contemporary-Southern restaurant Burdell. In San Francisco, Malaysian destination Azalina’s, Thai spot Hed 11 and Indian restaurant Tiya were also added to the guide.

The 2024 Michelin California Guide ceremony will be held Aug. 5 at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, when these new additions will learn whether they might have also earned stars or Bib Gourmand accolades.