-
Californios
Mexican, Contemporary
Servers arrive tableside with trays of heirloom corn varieties and raw mole ingredients before a single plate lands, which tells you exactly the kind of evening this is going to be. Californios is a two-Michelin-star tasting menu restaurant where Val Cantú runs Mexican culinary tradition through fine dining without flattening either one. The room is enormous and nearly black, more concert hall than chapel, and the 14 courses move from masa to mole to dessert without feeling like a lecture.
Ten honors, in evidence:
The record strongest first
- Michelin Guide 3 Stars
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The Infatuation #7 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Best fine dining restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle #26 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Val Cantu
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Val M. Cantu
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Val M. Cantú
One number, weighted & current 96
How we scoreThe dishes from the writeups
- Mezcal-battered black cod Michelin Guide
- Sweet tamal San Francisco Chronicle
Nearby in the record closest first
- Bar Agricole Drink · 64
- Sextant Coffee Roasters Eat · 62
- Northern China BBQ Northern Chinese Eat · 65
- SHOWA Japanese Eat · 66
- Izakaya Rintaro Japanese Eat · 87
- Baklavastory Turkish Bakery Eat · 65
- Dining Yamamoto Sushi Eat · 65
- Agrodolce Provisions Italian Eat · 67
Something wrong with this entry? Tell us — closed, moved, miscategorized, we want to know.