San Francisco Michelin-Star Restaurants 2018

The area now has the most three-star spots in the country

After postponing the release of its highly anticipated San Francisco guide, Michelin has finally revealed its listing of the Bay Area's best restaurants.

Seven newcomers have joined the prestigious ranking this year, including—and not surprisingly—Kyle Connaughton's Healdsburg restaurant, SingleThread, which jumped onto the list with two stars. (Connaughton earned a "flawless" four-star review earlier this year from San Francisco Chronicle critic Michael Bauer, and many have dubbed his restaurant the new French Laundry.) Meanwhile, Californios from chef Val Cantu is now North America's first and only two-star restaurant that specializes in Mexican cuisine, Eater reports. In addition, Rich Table, a longtime resident of the guide's Bib Gourmand list, which highlights a city's noteworthy but more affordable restaurants, has finally been added to the guide with its first star.

The biggest upset continues to be Dominique Crenn's exclusion from the three-star club. Her flagship restaurant, Atelier Crenn, has sat in the two-star category since 2013, while fellow male-run restaurants in the same position have mostly been upgraded to three stars during that time.

One of those restaurants is Coi, which earned its last star thanks to Matthew Kirkley, who took over the role of executive chef after chef/owner Daniel Patterson stepped down. The restaurant now joins the ranks of other legendary fine dining destinations, including The French Laundry, Manresa and Saison, for a total of seven three-star restaurants in San Francisco, the most of any other American city.

According to the guide's director, Michael Ellis, there are a few reasons why San Francisco can lay claim to this title: "You have incredible products from the area and beyond, an open international city, a vibrant and affluent audience in the Bay Area that is interested in trying new things. We're really excited by what we see," he tells Eater.  

So while NYC may take most of the credit when we think of fine dining, for now, San Francisco officially takes the trophy—that is, unless there are big surprises waiting when the NYC guide comes out next week.

Here's the full list:

Three Stars

Benu 

Coi (previously two-star)

The French Laundry

Manresa

Quince

Restaurant at Meadowood

Saison 

Two Stars

Acquerello

Atelier Crenn

Baumé

Californios (previously one-star)

Commis

Lazy Bear

SingleThread (new)

One Star

Adega

Al's Place

Aster

Auberge du Soleil

Bouchon

Campton Place

Chez TJ

Commonwealth

Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant

Gary Danko

Hashiri

In Situ (new)

Ju-Ni

Keiko a Nob Hill

Kenzo (new)

Kin Khao

Kinjo (new)

La Toque

Lord Stanley

Luce

Madera

Madrona Manor

Michael Mina

Mister Jiu's

Mourad

Octavia

Omakase

Plumed Horse

The Progress

Rasa

Rich Table (new)

Sons & Daughters

SPQR

Spruce

State Bird Provisions

Sushi Yoshizumi

Terra

Terrapin Creek

The Village Pub

Wako

Wakuriya