Michelin Restaurants: Stars & More Awarded to Central Coast Chefs

Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties are the most recent additions to the revered Michelin Guide California with newly-rated Michelin restaurants. There are now 5 restaurants in these counties which were awarded 1 Michelin star! (The 3 spots who got the very first stars in this region kept theirs). Add the very first Central Coast restaurant to get a Michelin star, Aubergine (Monterey), and that makes 6.

There are also new ratings of the Bib Gourmand distinction and restaurants listed in the guide, making a total of 28 Michelin restaurants in SLO & SB Counties.

In Monterey County, there are 15 Michelin restaurants (one with a Michelin star), and in Ventura County, there is 1 Michelin restaurant (Ojai).

That’s a total of 44 Central Coast restaurants in the Michelin Guide! See all the lists below.

Michelin Restaurants 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
• Listed/recommended · fresh ingredients, carefully prepared: a good meal

San Luis Obispo County Michelin Restaurants

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

Its second Michelin star restaurant is the Restaurant at Justin Winery, which was also awarded a green star. The Michelin Guide says, “Green Stars go to restaurants that are highly sustainable; they work with local farmers, growers, and fishers, utilize seasonal ingredients, avoid waste, reduce or remove entirely single-use plastics, and generally working to have a lower environmental impact.”

There are also 6 listed restaurants, which make the total of Michelin-approved dining destinations at 8 in SLO County. The additional named restaurants are below.

Paso Robles:

• The Hatch
• in bloom
• Les Petites Canailles

San Luis Obispo & Arroyo Grande:

• Nate’s on Marsh
• Ox + Anchor
• Ember

That makes 8 total Michelin restaurants in SO County.

Santa Barbara County Michelin Restaurants

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

Its third Michelin star restaurant is Caruso’s at Rosewood Miramar Resort (Montecito), which was also awarded a green star. The Michelin Guide says, “Green Stars go to restaurants that are highly sustainable; they work with local farmers, growers, and fishers, utilize seasonal ingredients, avoid waste, reduce or remove entirely single-use plastics, and generally working to have a lower environmental impact.”

There are also a total of 6 restaurants with the Bib Gourmand distinction:

• Bettina Pizzeria
• Corazon Cocina
• Loquita
• Mesa Verde (Read about Mesa Verde, get their Spring Pea Salad recipe).
• Sama Sama Kitchen
• NEW in 2022: peasants FEAST in Solvang (read about peasants FEAST and get their Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream recipe.

The additional named restaurants are below.

Santa Barbara Area:

• AMA Sushi, Rosewood Miramar Resort (Montecito)
• Barbareño (get their Hive & Honey Coconut Panna Cotta recipe)
• Bibi Ji (get their Chicken Tikka recipe)
• Blackbird at Hotel Californian
• The Lark
• Los Agaves
• Stonehouse at the San Ysidro Ranch (get their Classic Lemon Tart recipe)
• Yoichi’s

Santa Ynez Valley:

• Bar Le Côte in Los Olivos
• Coast Range in Solvang
• First & Oak in Solvang (read about First & Oak, and get their Braised Short Rib with Oyster Mushroom recipe)

Add these up with all the additional named restaurants, and Santa Barbara County has a total of 20 Michelin approved restaurants.

Monterey County Michelin Restaurants

Michelin Star: Aubergine, Carmel-by-the-Sea
Bib Gourmand: Yafa, Carmel-by-the-Sea

Listed:

• Gusto Handcrafted Pasta & Pizza, Seaside
• Lucia Restaurant & Bar, Carmel Valley
• Seventh & Dolores, Carmel-by-the-Sea
• La Bicyclette, Carmel-by-the-Sea
• Akaoni, Carmel-by-the-Sea
• Casanova, Carmel-by-the-Sea
• Cultura, Carmel-by-the-Sea
• Chez Noir, Carmel-by-the-Sea
• Stokes Adobe, Monterey
• Montrio Bistro, Monterey
• Paprika Café, Monterey
• The Sardine Factory, Monterey
• Pèppoli, Pebble Beach

Ventura County Michelin Restaurants

Listed:

• The Dutchess, Ojai

Congratulations to all 44 of California’s Central Coast Michelin restaurants in this year’s Michelin Guide California!