LA star chef Josiah Citrin has earned two MICHELIN Stars for Mélisse’s Californian tasting menus in an intimate setting since 1999. Current chef Ken Takayama collaborates with local farmers from San Diego to Napa Valley to create menus with fresh ingredients, including items like caviar and A5 Wagyu. It’s a nearly three-hour-long guided culinary experience, combining kitchen and dining room elements to create an immersive, 18-serving symphony.

Vespertine is more than just a two-MICHELIN-Starred restaurant—it’s a multi-sensory experience. Chef Jordan Kahn’s restaurant is located inside a twisted steel and glass building designed by architect Eric Owen Moss. Each element of the multi-course meal is carefully curated to provide a mix of food, art, and architecture. The menu pays homage to California’s four regions with wild-foraged and regenerative ingredients that have earned the restaurant a coveted MICHELIN Green Star.

One of only two LA restaurants to earn prestigious three-MICHELIN-Starred status, Providence spotlights sustainable seafood. James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Cimarusti’s menu stars Santa Barbara spot prawns and Golden Kaluga caviar, prepared with the utmost precision and respect. The upscale interior with dark green walls, stylish black carpet, and intimate lighting at each table provides a memorable finishing touch, elevating this restaurant to the highest level in fine dining.

Acclaimed chef Josiah Citrin’s one-MICHELIN-Starred Citrin brings fine-dining-quality food to a comfortable setting with signature dishes like lobster bolognese, truffle risotto, and “dirty” roast chicken for two, served in either an à la carte or four-course tasting menu form. For a more low-key time, head to the large bar to sip on creative cocktails and signature dishes at a more accessible price during happy hour.

One-MICHELIN-Starred Gwen comes from acclaimed brothers Curtis and Luke Stone and is named after their maternal grandmother, who lived on a livestock farm just outside of Melbourne. Gwen turns that heritage into an upscale butcher shop with a fine-dining restaurant focused on fire-cooking techniques. The à la carte menu and tasting experience serve up items like housemade charcuterie, 30-day aged ribeye, and black truffle pappardelle.

Lifelong friends Kevin Meehan and Drew Langley dreamed of bringing fine dining to a more casual and enjoyable environment, and one-MICHELIN-Starred Kali is the brilliant result. The comfortable interior emulates a living room, and the modern steakhouse menu includes dishes like expertly sourced meats and sides with a California twist, like a wedge salad and Brentwood corn. Pair them with ice-cold martinis for the ultimate night out.

At Kato, James Beard Award-winning chef Jon Yao is known for putting an LA twist on classic Taiwanese and Asian American dishes, such as a locally caught sole topped with carrots, leeks, and dashi vinaigrette. The one-MICHELIN-Starred result also landed the restaurant the title of World’s 50 Best’s One to Watch in 2024. Pair it all with a creative alcohol-free flight, which contains non-alcoholic wine and some of the best zero-proof beverages in LA.

Vespertine chef Jordan Kahn works exclusively with local California farmers, fishers, ranchers, and foragers to provide a creative and sustainable seasonal menu at one-MICHELIN-Starred Meteora. Dishes that could include 21 day dry-aged California duck stuffed with caramelized duck jam, strawberries, tamarind, and black lime are served in an otherworldly environment, done up in neutral tones with all-natural materials (without a hint of plastic to be found, anywhere).

Orsa & Winston from chef Josef Centeno is known for blending the best of Italian and Japanese cuisines. The menu changes nightly based on available fresh ingredients, resulting in a five-course omakase tasting menu that’s largely pescatarian, with past dishes including squid ink spaghetti and a standout satsuki porridge with Santa Barbara uni. Plus, an entirely vegetarian tasting menu can be prepared upon request, along with beer, sake, and wine pairings.

Legendary James Beard Award-winning chef Nancy Silverton presides over the one-MICHELIN-Starred Osteria Mozza. The menu features seasonal pasta dishes, such as orecchiette with fennel sausage and Swiss chard, plus bites from the famous mozzarella bar, which is the restaurant’s centerpiece. Don’t miss the impressive Old World wine list to match.

With both a MICHELIN Star and a Green Star, the elegant tasting menu at Heritage gets extra-special status for sourcing ingredients from sibling owners Phillip and Lauren Pretty’s nearby farm. Meat and seafood are also Californian, including fish from Long Beach’s own waters. It’s all incorporated into an elegant seasonal menu featuring the likes of steamed baby corn with summer truffles, slow-cooked farm beets, and Mt. Lassen trout with Baluga lentil.

Somni’s reboot has earned exclusive three-MICHELIN-Starred status for acclaimed chef Aitor Zabala’s bold, imaginative approach to Spanish cuisine. Enjoy a tasting menu of experimental dishes that blend Zabala’s Catalan and Basque heritage with Southern California ingredients in the intimate, 14-seat space located off a lush, hidden courtyard. Pair your meal with a glass of Spanish wine from the deep list.