[title]
Over two and a half years since last publishing their guide to California, Michelin is back with its latest round of Bib Gourmands for 2021—including 10 new restaurants in Los Angeles.
Spanning from the Westside to the San Gabriel Valley, these new picks acknowledge the city’s strong Chinese and Mexican culinary traditions as well as other standouts offering Indian, Brazilian and Italian fare.
In order to be considered for the more affordable category of the French tire company’s world-renowned dining guide, Bib Gourmand restaurants must offer a full menu that makes it possible to order two courses and drink or dessert for under $40 (sans tax and gratuity). In L.A., of course, that can be a tall order, particularly when you factor in ridesharing or parking costs with every night out.
Last year, Michelin paused its 2020 guide in California due to the pandemic’s fallout on the restaurant industry, among other widespread calamities. Now, amid an improving, if still delicate stage of the pandemic, the team behind the international guide had announced its newest Bib Gourmand picks—with the full list of existing Bibs as well as the larger, more well-known Michelin Stars list for the Golden State to come on September 28.
With 45 newcomers across the state, and over a dozen across Southern California, there’s plenty to work through if you haven’t tried out these new spots already. Up in Santa Barbara, the guide highlighted the Montecito pizzeria Bettina, the brainchild of two Roberta’s Pizza alums, as well as Orange County’s Heritage Barbecue, which has drawn smoked meat lovers from all over the Southland.
Closer to home, however, there’s still plenty to eat. Here are the 10 L.A. area restaurants that made the Bib Gourmand list, in alphabetical order:
- Bee Taqueria (West Adams)
- Chifa (Eagle Rock)
- Colapasta (Santa Monica)
- Jiang Nan Spring (Alhambra)
- Kazan (Beverly Hills)
- Konbi (Echo Park)
- La Azteca (East L.A.)
- Luscious Dumplings (Monrovia)
- Tumbi (Santa Monica)
- Woodspoon (Downtown)
If you’re unfamiliar with how Michelin restaurants are selected, here’s how it works: The company’s anonymous inspectors travel across a given region, awarding the best of the best anywhere from one to three stars. Here in L.A., that’s meant both ultra-special occasion meals like Vespertine and Sushi Ginza Onodera, as well as more date-night friendly restaurants like Orsa & Winston and Osteria Mozza.