At least 12 restaurants will be added to Michelin’s California guide in 2026, and six of those are in Los Angeles. On Wednesday the world-famous dining compendium inducted a handful of restaurants that will appear in the statewide guide, slated to be published later this year. These restaurant additions could earn stars, the most prestigious and sought-after of Michelin’s awards; bib gourmand awards, which indicate value; or nods as new and notable. Green stars, which signify environmental practices, are also awarded. Michelin’s anonymous inspectors allot star ratings based on criteria including “ingredient quality, harmony of flavors, the mastery of culinary techniques, how the chef’s personality shines through their cuisine and, crucially, consistency across the entire menu and over time,” according to the Michelin website. The announcement comes at a moment when calls for reform at fine-dining institutions and the awards bestowed on them have become a flashpoint. But L. A.’s six new inclusions run the gamut, from a fine-dining tasting menu focused on Japanese ingredients to a food stall serving fire-kissed Indigenous Oaxacan cuisine. Husband-and-wife team Azim Rahmatov and Gulnigor “Gigi” Ganieva said they got goosebumps and were “bouncing all over the walls” when they learned the news that their Fairfax Uzbek restaurant, Zira Uzbek Kitchen, is now included in the Michelin Guide. The pair, along with Rahmatov’s brother, chef Azam, debuted their restaurant and community space in 2024 as one of L. A.’s few destinations for Uzbekistan’s culture-crossing Central Asian flavors. “This is very exciting news for us, to showcase our Uzbek cuisine,” Rahmatov said. “We’re proud of our heritage, proud of our cuisine, proud of what we serve: simple, delicious food. This is an honor.” Zira Uzbek Kitchen home to steamed manti, house-made pickle plates, piles of plov and beyond is currently one of only two Michelin-recognized Uzbek-designated restaurants in the U. S. The other is Uzbegim, which can be found in Nashville. Rahmatov hopes that earning notice from Michelin Guide and the country’s potential inclusion in the 2026 World Cup could help spread Uzbekistan’s cuisine and broader culture to those who might be unfamiliar. “Hopefully it will give this kind of opportunity for guests to know about the history, tradition, heritage, country and the food,” he said. Roughly two miles east, in Melrose Hill, two more restaurants found their way into the Michelin Guide. Little Fish is the full-service restaurant from a former fish sandwich pop-up of the same name. In Melrose Hill, owners Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle expanded their more casual offerings with daily crudos, a wine program, dry-aged seafood and detail-oriented dishes such as cabbage stuffed with abalone rice. Around the corner is Corridor 109, the new fine-dining restaurant from chef-owner Brian Baik. This, too, began as a pop-up, with Baik hosting dinners inside his parents’ Koreatown restaurant, Kobawoo House. Now he’s serving a seafood-forward tasting menu to 10 seats, and sourcing most of his ingredients from Japan. Corridor 109 is also home to a tandem cocktail bar, Bar 109, which debuted in 2025 and serves genre-bending cocktails, plus bites such as Wagyu hot dogs. In neighboring Koreatown, Korean-Italian pasta bar Lapaba made its way into the statewide guide. Husband-and-wife team Matthew Kim and McKenna Lelah, with support from Nancy Silverton, are serving bulgogi-informed meatballs, a cheese-corn riff on sweet corn agnolotti, cacio e pepe rice cakes, misugaru-tinged tiramisu and more. In Chinatown a modern Chinese restaurant, Firstborn, just earned Michelin recognition. Chef-owner Anthony Wang serves dishes such as mapo tofu with braised sweetbreads; fried chicken showered in a morita-chile jus; and Wagyu beef tongue carpaccio with mala vinaigrette. And in West Adams, Lugya’h from the team behind Poncho’s Tlayudas uses live fire and generational recipes to share Indigenous Zapotec dishes from Oaxaca. “It’s not often that our food is seen,” said chef-owner Alfonso “Poncho” Martinez. “We have culture, we have traditions, we have gastronomy. It’s important that they have noticed Indigenous cuisine.” Lugya’h, located in global food hall Maydan Market, translates to “the face and heart of the plaza” in Zapotec and serves Sierra Norte cuisine such as turkey mole; amarillo tamales; pepita tostadas and Martinez’s famed tlayudas. Martinez and his partner and interpreter, Odilia Romero, are thrilled with inclusion and hope for a star designation but say there are many others who should also be included. “When we think about Indigenous populations in the U. S., when we think about the agricultural fields of California, Indigenous people are the backbone,” said Romero. “There’s many Ponchos throughout California, throughout the U. S., that need to be seen in the Michelin Guide not people that are appropriating our culture or inspired, but these people are here, in your backyard.”.
https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2026-03-25/michelin-adds-six-la-restaurants-california-guide
