Meet The Newest Michelin Star Holders In Los Angeles

Photo Credit: Irina Logra/Meteora

THE MICHELIN GUIDE SETS THE GOLD STANDARD FOR HAUTE CUISINE, AND this year, there are only four restaurants that made the cut in the City of Angels. Chef Jordan Kahn is the man behind two of those additions with the two-star Vespertine, an innovative, tasting menu-only eatery located in Culver City’s eye-catching Waffle Building, as well as Meteora, a holistic restaurant experience that takes diners on a multi-sensory journey through nature, creativity, and discovery. There are two other one-star additions in Uka, which serves contemporary Japanese, and Holbox, a Mexican spot in downtown Los Angeles. Given that we highlighted the newly reopened Vespertine as one of the best additions to L.A.’s culinary scene in our last issue, here, we’ve focused on the new one-stars. So, without further ado, it’s time to get fine dining.

METEORA

Photo Credit: Meteora
Meteora, by chef Jordan Kahn of the two-Michelin-starred Vespertine, is truly out of this world. It’s a live-fire restaurant that highlights ingredients of rich biodiversity, global influence, and creativity — all while playing up the best of contemporary California cuisine. Kahn offers both four and seven-course seasonal omakase tasting menus, with intricately-prepared items such as flame-seared oysters with flaming beef fat, spiced tomato compote, and allspice and Santa Barbara spot prawns seared over hot stones and served with a tempura of prawn bodies, smoked prawn shell infused butter, spicy green peppercorn paste, and coconut flatbread vying for dominance. The bar program is just as inspired: it features a selection of signature and classic cocktails, most of which are prepared using ancestral methods, our favorite of which is the Cloud Forest Margarita, made with grilled papaya juice, aged tequila, Clairin Le Rocher, allspice, sea buckthorn, and lime. The eatery’s design — a collaboration with Tulum-based Roth Architecture — is an extension of its imaginative food and beverage program with lush tropical plants, sculptural vines, hand-woven accents, and textured walls. The biophilic design as “living architecture” interprets a natural, regenerative atmosphere that cannot only be seen, but felt. 6703 Melrose Ave, 90038 

Photo Credit: Meteora

UKA

Photo Credit: Ryan Miller/Japan House Los Angeles
Chef Yoshitaka Mitsue — the personally appointed private chef to the UN Ambassador for Japan — is the tour de force behind UKA, a quietly impressive modern Japanese eatery, appropriately located within Japan House at Ovation Hollywood. This sleek space — complete with bonsai trees, bamboo accents, an open kitchen, natural wood paneling, soft grey hues, and lantern-inspired lighting — sets the tone for Mitsue’s approach to interlocally foraged ingredients and accoutrements alongside his careful aging and curing methods, which he learned during his early training in the fish markets of Japan. Here, particular attention is given to the selection of seasonal, premium fish, meat, and vegetables from both Japan and California. The seasonally changing three, five, and nine-course kaiseki menus remain consistently surprising — and consistently delicious. Japan House, Ovation Hollywood, 6801 Hollywood Blvd Level 5, 90028

Photo Credit: Ryan Miller/Japan House Los Angeles

HOLBOX

Photo Credit: Liam Brown
Holbox, named after the Mayan island off Mexico’s northern Yucatán Peninsula, has definitely brought an explosion of flavor to South Central L.A.’s Mercado la Paloma. Chef Gilberto Cetina Jr., who grew up cooking in his family’s restaurant, Chichen Itza, brings Holbox to life with his flavorful fare that pays homage to Mexico’s coastal cuisine while weaving in Southern California and Baja touches. Though this is a more casual spot, the eatery hosts weekly eight-course tasting menu dinners on Thursdays and Fridays. Regardless of which option is chosen, the food is the same: fresh, with a focus on sustainable seafood, as well as inventive and approachable. 3655 S Grand Ave c9, 90007

Photo Credit: Liam Brown