Here are L.A.’s 2026 Michelin winners, and the world’s first three-star Mexican restaurant

For the first time in its history, the Michelin Guide awarded a Mexican restaurant three stars.

Michelin currently lists 340 restaurants serving Mexican cuisine in the U.S., and in an awards ceremony on Wednesday night, one of them received three stars — the highest possible rating in the world-famous dining guide.

Michelin recognition, often considered one of the most prestigious benchmarks in the restaurant industry, can take the form of stars, which are rated on a scale of one to three; value-minded bib gourmand denotation; sustainability-minded green stars; or inclusion in the guide as a recommended restaurant or bar. On Wednesday at a ceremony held in San Diego, Michelin announced its 2026 California Guide.

Last year’s statewide compendium proved momentous for Los Angeles: The city was awarded its first-ever three star ratings, for Providence and Somni. While no L.A. restaurants freshly earned that ranking this year, San Francisco Mexican restaurant Californios did. Sonoma’s Enclos also earned three stars for the first time.

In L.A., Kato received its second star, and multiple restaurants achieved one-star status for the first time. Little Fish husband-and-wife owners Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle also garnered the Michelin young chef award.

According to a company representative, Michelin’s team of anonymous inspectors follow five criteria when visiting and assessing a restaurant: “product quality; mastery of cooking techniques; harmony of flavors; the personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine; and consistency over time and across the entire menu.”

Three-star designations

Sonoma contemporary fine dining restaurant Enclos and San Francisco’s Californios were the only restaurants to newly earn three stars in California this year.

“California has precious few fine-dining temples devoted to Mexican cuisine, which makes Val Cantú’s accomplished tasting-menu restaurant all the more special,” L.A. Times Food critic Bill Additon wrote last year. “The restaurant, named after a term for Californians of colonial Spanish and Mexican descent, has grown remarkably in scope and ambition. “

All eight restaurants that held three stars in 2025 retained them — including Hollywood’s Providence and West Hollywood’s Somni.

“I think what we think about most nowadays is just the responsibility of earning the third star, holding onto the third star,” said Providence chef and co-owner Michael Cimarusti, “and just trying to excel every single day, every service in every way that we possibly can to keep our guests happy. That’s the most important thing, I think.”

The restaurant just celebrated its 13th birthday, and last week also won the James Beard Foundation Award for outstanding hospitality.

Two-star designations

Kato chef and co-owner Jon Yao pictured in 2019.

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Only one restaurant in the state newly garnered two stars this year: The Arts District’s Kato.

“We have a huge network of producers, farmers, artisans, captains, somms, cooks, so it’s [the win is] really for everybody,” chef and co-owner Jon Yao said from the stage. “It takes a lot of people, a lot of diligent work and persistence to make our guests happy.”

Last week Kato also won a James Beard Foundation Award for outstanding wine and other beverages; last year, Yao took home the Beard Foundation’s award for the best chef in the state.

In L.A., the Arts District’s Hayato, Santa Monica’s Mélisse and Culver City’s Vespertine all retained their two-star rating. No Los Angeles restaurants lost their two stars.

One-star designations

Santa Monica’s Seline won its first star on Wednesday night. Its chef-founder, Dave Beran, won the James Beard Foundation Award for best chef in California earlier this month. Other first-time L.A. one-star awardees include Beverly Hills’ Miura, Sawtelle’s Kojima, Melrose Hill’s Corridor 109 and Pico-Robertson’s Lielle.

A decorated platter with smoked sturgeon tart (front left and rear center), fried maitake mushroom (right and rear left) and pumpkin, chestnut puree with truffle (center and far right) at Seline in Santa Monica.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

In La Jolla, Lucien also earned its first star, and so did Healdsburg’s Troubadour and San Francisco restaurants Wolfsbane and Naides.

Citrin, Heritage, Holbox, Kali, Meteora, Mori Nozomi, n/naka, Nozawa Bar, Orsa & Winston, Osteria Mozza, Pasta Bar, Restaurant Ki, Shin Sushi, Sushi Inaba and Sushi Kaneyoshi all retained their one-star ratings.

L.A. restaurants that did not retain one-star ratings include 715, Camphor, Gwen and Morihiro. Some that held one star in 2025 have since closed, such as Shibumi, Uka and Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura.

The Wednesday night awards ceremony also celebrated other achievements.

L.A.’s Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle of Melrose Hill restaurant Little Fish earned the Michelin young chef award.

Little Fish owners Niki Vahle, left, and Anna Sonenshein in the dining rooom of their Melrose Hill restaurant on Friday, June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Shelby Moore / For The Times)

(Shelby Moore / For The Times)

The bar team of San Francisco’s Maria Isabel took home the exceptional-cocktail award, while Carlsbad’s Savannah Riedler of Lilo was the recipient of the sommelier award. Frida Blomdahl Hay of San Francisco’s Sons & Daughters won the year’s Michelin service award.

In 2026 Michelin also announced expansions to the Southwest — Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah — and the Great Lakes (encompassing Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh), and abroad to South Australia and beyond.

The full 2026 California Guide can be found online here.