Michelin Stars Awarded to Central Coast Chefs

That’s right! Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are the most recent additions to the revered Michelin Guide California with newly rated restaurants. There are 3 restaurants on the Central Coast who were awarded 1 Michelin star, making them all the very first to get any stars. There are also new ratings of the Bib Gourmand distinction and restaurants listed in the guide (signified with a Plate).

Ratings Explained

• Three MICHELIN Stars: Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey!
• Two MICHELIN Stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour!
• One MICHELIN Star: High quality cooking, worth a stop!
• Bib Gourmand: good quality, good value cooking
• The Plate · fresh ingredients, carefully prepared: a good meal

San Luis Obispo Michelin Ratings

San Luis Obispo’s first Michelin star restaurant is Six Test Kitchen in Paso Robles. Read all about it at this link.

There are also 2 listed restaurants, which make the total of Michelin-approved dining destinations at 3 in SLO County. The additional named restaurants are Ox + Anchor and the Restaurant at Justin Winery.

Santa Barbara Michelin Ratings

Santa Barbara’s first Michelin star restaurants are Bell’s in Los Alamos and Sushi | Bar Montecito. (Read all about Bell’s and get their recipe for Moules Frites.)

There were also 3 restaurants added with the Bib Gourmand distinction, for a total of 5:

• Bettina Pizzeria
• Corazon Cocina
• Loquita
• Mesa Verde (Read about Mesa Verde, get their Spring Pea Salad recipe).
• Sama Sama Kitchen

Some of the additional named restaurants are Bibi Ji (get their Chicken Tikka recipe), Stonehouse at the San Ysidro Ranch (get their Classic Lemon Tart recipe) and First & Oak in Solvang (get their Braised Short Rib with Oyster Mushroom recipe). Along with all the additional named restaurants, Santa Barbara has a total of 16 Michelin approved restaurants.

• 

• 

• 

Congratulations to all 19 restaurants mentioned in this year’s Michelin Guide California!