San Francisco’s Michelin-starred restaurants serve Japanese omakase, California Mexican, and Italian cuisine across compact neighborhoods, turning the city into a culinary passport you can explore on foot. The Michelin Guide recognizes everything from three-star destinations with 20-course tasting menus to one-star neighborhood spots serving approachable fine dining. Whether you want prix fixe menus with wine pairings or California cuisine showcasing seasonal ingredients, San Francisco delivers.
What makes these restaurants exceptional is how chefs combine techniques from around the world with ingredients from California’s farms and coastline. You’ll find Italian restaurants using local seafood, Chinese restaurants earning recognition from Michelin inspectors, and California Mexican spots redefining fine dining.
This guide covers everything you need to know about San Francisco’s Michelin-starred restaurants, from securing reservations to what you’ll experience when you arrive.
Between your dining experiences, explore the city’s iconic attractions with Dylan’s Tours. Our local guides show you the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods’ towering redwoods, wine country, and the best neighborhoods that make San Francisco legendary.
What Makes San Francisco a Michelin Star Destination
San Francisco’s proximity to California’s agricultural regions gives chefs access to ingredients most cities can’t match. Farms in Sonoma and Napa, seafood from the Pacific, and year-round growing seasons mean restaurants here work with produce picked that morning and fish caught hours earlier. The Michelin Guide rewards this commitment to seasonal ingredients and the creativity chefs bring to California cuisine.
The Bay Area’s diverse communities shaped the dining scene long before Michelin inspectors arrived. Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, and Italian immigrants brought culinary traditions that evolved into something distinctly Californian. You’ll find this influence at Michelin-starred restaurants where chefs honor their heritage while pushing fine dining in new directions.
San Francisco’s small size concentrates talent in ways larger cities can’t replicate. Chefs collaborate, share suppliers, and create a dining scene where innovation spreads quickly. When a restaurant earns recognition, it raises standards across the entire city.
Best Restaurants in San Francisco: Understanding Michelin Stars
The Michelin Guide awards stars based on five criteria: ingredient quality, mastery of technique, harmony of flavors, the chef’s personality in the cuisine, and consistency across visits. Michelin inspectors visit restaurants anonymously multiple times before making decisions, and stars can be gained or lost with each new guide. The system originated in France over a century ago and remains the most prestigious recognition in fine dining.
One Michelin star means high-quality cooking worth a stop. Two stars signify excellent cooking worth a detour. Three stars represent exceptional cuisine worth a special journey. San Francisco has three restaurants with three stars, around seven with two stars, and over twenty with one star.
The Michelin Guide also awards Bib Gourmand designations to restaurants serving high-quality food at more accessible prices. These spots deliver the same attention to ingredients and technique without the tasting menu format or premium pricing. San Francisco has over 40 Bib Gourmand restaurants if you want exceptional dining without the starred restaurant price tag.
San Francisco’s Three-Star Michelin Restaurants
Atelier Crenn
Chef Dominique Crenn made history as the first female chef in the United States to earn three Michelin stars. Her pescatarian tasting menu draws from her childhood summers on the Brittany coast, combining French technique with California’s seafood and seasonal produce from the restaurant’s own Bleu Belle Farm in Sonoma.
The dining experience lasts around three hours and focuses on poetic presentations that connect each dish to memory and emotion. Pastry chef Juan Contreras creates desserts that close out the evening with the same artistic approach. The restaurant prioritizes even-numbered parties for reservations, though solo diners and groups of three can join a waitlist.
Atelier Crenn offers a vegetable-forward menu for guests who can’t eat the full pescatarian tasting. The Marina District location seats just eight tables, creating an intimate atmosphere where the food takes center stage.
Location: 3127 Fillmore St, San Francisco
Price: Around $498 per person per person for the tasting menu
Reservations: Book through their website or Tock, often months in advance
Benu
Chef Corey Lee opened Benu in 2010 after years as chef de cuisine at The French Laundry, and the restaurant became San Francisco’s first to earn three Michelin stars in 2014. Lee’s Korean-American background shapes a menu that blends contemporary Asian influences with California ingredients, creating dishes you won’t find anywhere else.
The tasting menu begins with a series of small delicacies before moving into seafood and vegetable courses, a few meat preparations, and refined desserts. Signature dishes include faux shark’s fin soup and xiao long bao that demonstrate the technical precision the kitchen brings to every plate. The dining room in SoMa creates a calm, minimalist atmosphere that keeps focus on the food.
Reservations open 30 days in advance at 10am PT through Tock and fill quickly, especially for Friday and Saturday evenings. The meal takes around three hours.
Location: 22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco
Price: Around $425 per person
Reservations: Through Tock, released 30 days ahead
Quince
Michael and Lindsay Tusk’s Quince has held three Michelin stars since 2017, making it one of only three San Francisco restaurants at this level. Chef Michael Tusk’s Italian-influenced California cuisine emphasizes ingredients from the restaurant’s partner Fresh Run Farm in Bolinas, where produce is grown specifically for Quince’s seasonal menus.
The Jackson Square location underwent a complete renovation in 2023, emerging with a refined dining room that balances elegance with California warmth. The gastronomy menu features 8-10 courses built around what’s at peak season, with pasta consistently standing out as a highlight. Lamb cooked in the fireplace, agnolotti with local asparagus, and bread tinted with vegetable ash show how Tusk honors each ingredient.
A four-course lunch is available Friday and Saturday for guests who want to experience Quince without the full tasting menu commitment. Dinner reservations book far in advance.
Location: 470 Pacific Ave, San Francisco
Price: Around $475 per person for the 10-course gastronomy menu
Reservations: Through Tock, often booked months ahead
Best Two-Star Michelin Restaurants
Saison
Executive Chef Richard Lee runs the kitchen at Saison, where open wood fire cooking defines the dining experience. The restaurant earned three Michelin stars under founding chef Joshua Skenes before losing one star after multiple chef changes, but the current two-star rating reflects exceptional cooking that highlights California’s seasonal ingredients through fire-focused techniques.
The SoMa location near the ballpark features an open kitchen where guests watch as vegetables, seafood, and meats come off the wood fire. The tasting menu showcases local produce with dishes like dry-aged antelope and seafood preparations that demonstrate technical precision. For a more accessible introduction, the bar menu offers five courses for $78 on select evenings (Tue-Thu).
The full dining room experience includes around 12 courses over three hours, with optional wine pairings from a collection focused on France, California, Germany, and Austria.
Location: 178 Townsend St, San Francisco
Price: $328-$368 for the tasting menu (plus tax/service), $78 for the bar experience
Reservations: Through OpenTable, reservations fill quickly
Californios
Val M. Cantú created the first Mexican restaurant in the United States to earn two Michelin stars. His contemporary approach to Mexican cuisine uses Bay Area ingredients and refined technique to elevate traditional dishes into something completely unique. The restaurant moved from its original Mission District location to a larger SoMa space in 2020, maintaining the food quality while expanding capacity.
The tasting menu features dishes like blue masa tostadas with Dungeness crab and smoked trout roe, sourdough tortillas holding battered cod with huitlacoche, and squab tacos that redefine what Mexican fine dining can be. The wine program includes side-by-side tastings of Old World and Mexican bottles, while the agave spirits selection showcases special tequilas and mezcals sourced directly from Mexico.
Dinner takes around three hours and requires advance planning. Reservations book weeks ahead for this distinctive dining experience that proves Mexican cuisine deserves its place at the highest level of fine dining.
Location: 355 11th St, San Francisco
Price: Around $390 for the tasting menu (plus tax/service)
Reservations: Through Tock, often fully booked
Kiln
Chef John Wesley and general manager Julianna Yang opened Kiln in 2023 after meeting at Sons & Daughters, where Wesley served as chef de cuisine. The restaurant earned one Michelin star in its first year of eligibility and was promoted to two stars in 2025, proving Wesley’s decade-long vision for a focused tasting menu restaurant.
The Hayes Valley location occupies a former mechanic’s garage from the 1910s, with exposed concrete walls and a 30-foot ceiling creating a stark, industrial atmosphere. Wesley’s Nordic-influenced menu emphasizes preservation techniques like curing, drying, and fermentation, combining French, Japanese, and Scandinavian approaches he developed while working at Aska in New York and Commis in Oakland.
The 20-course tasting menu showcases dishes where simplicity masks intricate technique. Puffed beef tendon delivers crunch, squab breast gets lacquered with burnt honey and truffled jus, and aged Norwegian mackerel demonstrates how preservation intensifies flavor. A vintage 6×8-foot hearth inherited from the previous tenant adds live-fire elements to the cooking.
Location: 149 Fell St, San Francisco
Price: $285 for the tasting menu (plus tax/service)
Reservations: Through the website, book ahead
Top One-Star Michelin Restaurants
Niku Steakhouse
Chef Dustin Falcon runs this Design District steakhouse where Japanese A5 wagyu meets wood-fired cooking over binchotan charcoal. The 18-seat chef’s counter gives you front-row views as steaks hit the grill, with dishes like wagyu meatballs, bone marrow with short rib, and the signature tomahawk steak. The Butcher Shop next door handles in-house dry-aging and sources rare cuts like Kagawa olive wagyu directly from Japan.
Location: 61 Division St, San Francisco
Price: Around $200-300 per person (plus tax/service)
Reservations: OpenTable, book ahead
State Bird Provisions
Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski serve inventive small plates on dim sum-style carts that wheel through the dining room. The restaurant earned the James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant in 2013 and its Michelin star in 2014. Signature items include crispy quail with onions, sourdough-sauerkraut pancakes, and Nicole’s iconic World Peace peanut muscovado milk for dessert.
Location: 1529 Fillmore St, San Francisco
Price: Around $50-80 per person (plus tax/service)
Reservations: Resy, often booked weeks ahead
Restaurant Nisei
Chef David Yoshimura earned a Michelin star just six months after opening this Polk Gulch restaurant in 2021, along with the Michelin Guide’s Young Chef Award. The name “Nisei” refers to second-generation Japanese Americans, and the cuisine reflects that heritage through Japanese techniques applied to Northern California ingredients. Master Sommelier Andrey Ivanov leads wine and sake pairings, and the wagashi cart showcasing Japanese confections adds an artistic finish.
Location: Polk Gulch (near Russian Hill), San Francisco
Price: Tasting menu pricing varies (plus tax/service)
Reservations: Tock
O’ by Claude Le Tohic
Chef Claude Le Tohic’s restaurant sits on the fifth floor of ONE65 in Union Square, serving modern French cuisine after his career leading the three-Michelin-starred kitchen at Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas. The five-course menu starts at $210 while the nine-course grand tasting runs $295, with dishes pairing classic French technique and California ingredients. The meal often begins with caviar service and ends with a mignardise cart.
Location: 165 O’Farrell St, San Francisco
Price: $210 for 5-course, $295 for 9-course (plus tax/service)
Reservations: OpenTable or ONE65 website
The French Laundry and Wine Country Michelin Dining
The French Laundry in Yountville stands as one of America’s most legendary restaurants. Chef Thomas Keller has held three Michelin stars here since the 2007 Michelin Guide debuted in California, making it the longest-running three-star restaurant in the state. The restaurant occupies a historic stone cottage built in 1900, serving daily-changing menus that pair classic French technique with California’s seasonal ingredients.
Located in Napa Valley about 60 miles north of San Francisco, The French Laundry represents the pinnacle of wine country dining. Reservations open on Tock with 30-day releases at 9AM PT and remain among the most sought-after in American fine dining. The tasting menu runs $550+ per person (plus tax/service), with wine pairings available from one of the country’s most celebrated cellars.
Wine country offers several other Michelin-starred restaurants beyond The French Laundry. SingleThread in Healdsburg holds three stars, while Napa Valley is home to one-star restaurants including Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford, Kenzo in Napa, and Auro in Calistoga.
Dylan’s Tours offers wine country day trips from San Francisco that combine Napa and Sonoma wine tastings with stops at local wineries.
Our guides know the region’s best spots for lunch between tastings, making it easy to experience Wine Country’s food scene alongside world-class wines. Book your Ultimate Wine Country Tour and discover why this region attracts food lovers from around the world.
Planning Your Michelin Experience in SF
Making Reservations
Reservations at San Francisco’s Michelin-starred restaurants open anywhere from 30 days to several months in advance depending on the restaurant. Three-star restaurants like Atelier Crenn, Benu, and Quince book months ahead, especially for weekend evenings. Two-star restaurants typically fill 4-6 weeks out, while some one-star spots accept reservations just 2-3 weeks in advance.
Most restaurants use Tock, Resy, or OpenTable for reservations. Set calendar reminders for when reservations open, and be ready to book right at release time for popular spots. If your preferred date is unavailable, check back regularly as cancellations open up.
What to Expect
Michelin-starred dining experiences typically last 2-3 hours for tasting menus. Three-star restaurants serve 10-20 courses, two-star restaurants offer 8-12 courses, and one-star spots range from full tasting menus to more casual formats. Dress codes vary from smart casual at most one-star restaurants to business casual or cocktail attire at three-star destinations.
Tasting menus come at fixed prices that range from $200-600+ per person before tax, service charges, and wine pairings. Many restaurants include service charges (typically 20%) in the final bill. Wine pairings add $100-300+ depending on the restaurant and pairing tier.
Making the Most of Your Visit
Let restaurants know about dietary restrictions when booking, as most can accommodate allergies and preferences with advance notice. Arrive on time since tasting menus are carefully paced for all guests. Take your time between courses and engage with servers who can explain preparations and ingredients.
Consider booking lunch at restaurants that offer it, as daytime tasting menus often cost less than dinner while featuring the same quality. Some one-star restaurants also offer à la carte options alongside tasting menus if you prefer more flexibility.
San Francisco Beyond the Michelin Guide
San Francisco’s dining excellence extends beyond starred restaurants through the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand category, with over 40 restaurants serving high-quality food at more accessible prices. The city’s diverse neighborhoods each offer distinct food scenes worth exploring, from the Mission’s California Mexican cuisine to Chinatown’s authentic Cantonese dishes.
Between your Michelin dining experiences, explore the iconic attractions that make San Francisco legendary. Dylan’s Tours connects you to the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods’ towering redwoods, Alcatraz, and the neighborhoods where this culinary culture thrives. Our local guides share the stories behind San Francisco’s food scene while showing you why this city attracts travelers from around the world.
Ready to experience San Francisco beyond the restaurant?
Book your tour with Dylan’s Tours and discover the landmarks, neighborhoods, and natural beauty that make this one of America’s greatest destinations.
