Restaurants everywhere have had to adapt, in their own ways, to the COVID-19 crisis. Some have closed their doors, at least temporarily, while others are focusing their energy on feeding frontline workers and folks in need. A significant number of Golden State eateries have managed to shift their services, offering menus for curbside takeout or delivery to locals.
High-profile, chef-driven restaurants are no exception. Currently, about 30 California restaurants that have earned at least one Michelin star are operating during this stay-home era, either by offering a scaled-back menu or getting creative with artfully created family meals. Also, dozens of California restaurants that have earned Michelin’s Bib Gourmand honor are also offering takeout and delivery.
Certainly, getting a to-go dinner from a Michelin-starred restaurant quickly elevates your #CATakeOutTuesday experience. It can also help you celebrate a birthday or anniversary from home with aplomb.
Beyond that, ordering a Michelin-recommended meal offers a unique way to experience these special restaurants—the kinds of places where getting a regular table reservation can sometimes take months. Granted, you may still have to be a little strategic about ordering these dinners: Many of these restaurants only serve on certain nights, and some release a week’s worth of menus just once a week. A big bonus: these limited-time takeaway meals tend to be very affordable luxuries.
Browse the below menus of these Michelin honorees (listed in descending order of stars, and then north to south), place your order—and then use this as an excuse to break out the good napkins and wine glasses. For a complete list of Michelin-recommended restaurants offering takeout/delivery in California, including Plate honorees, click here.
(Note: Offers and details are subject to change. Check with each restaurant directly for the latest information.)
Three Michelin Stars
SingleThread, Healdsburg
The to-go meals from this Sonoma County fine dining temple emphasize Asian-meets-Californian cuisine—like the Petaluma Peking Chicken, with steamed buns and egg custard tart bars; wine packages are also available. Starts at $85 for a meal that feeds four.
Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
Farm-to-table cuisine becomes a work of art under the guidance of chef Dominique Crenn. The to-go Crenn Kits are vegetarian feasts, including an entrée such as stuffed cabbage with veggies and bechamel, a soup, and sliced brioche—plus a dessert by Pastry Chef Juan Contreras. Or, choose a Blind Taste Kit with three half-bottles of wine and notes from the sommelier. The same kits are available at the one-Michelin-star Bar Crenn, starting at $38 per person.
Manresa, Los Gatos
Chef David Kinch—GQ’s Chef of the Year in 2011—sources his ingredients from the region surrounding the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Manresa Family Meal features dishes such as a grilled lamb loin with beluga lentils, Parker House rolls, and brownies, and starts at $41 per person.
Two Michelin Stars
Lazy Bear, San Francisco
This restaurant started out as an underground-dinner-party scene, but its Camp Commissary is all to-go, offering family meals as well as a la carte comfort foods like spicy chicken breakfast biscuits and duck banh mi sandwiches. The popular Champagne + Caviar Kit includes crème fraîche panna cotta, chive blossoms, and a mini brioche loaf. Meals kits are $80.
n/naka, Los Angeles
Chef Niki Nakayama has built this Westside restaurant’s acclaimed menu around the Japanese culinary concept of kaiseki, taking seasonal ingredients and presenting them in their most natural state. Choose from sushi and tiered kaiseki bento boxes (jubako) that start at $38.
Vespertine, Los Angeles
Michelin calls dining at this Culver City restaurant a “sensory, albeit futuristic, journey.” The family-style takeout meals have themes such as Lowcountry Southern, featuring lots of seafood, vegetables, greens, and heritage grains. Starts at $58 per person.
One Michelin Star—Northern California
Harbor House, Elk
Choose from packed lunches or family dinners from the house restaurant at this idyllic Mendocino County inn. Menus reflect both super-local and foraged ingredients, often from the grounds of the inn or the neighboring Pacific Ocean. Think lamb meatballs, goat-cheese tartines, and parsnip soup with candied bacon.
Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Forestville
The Sonoma County restaurant’s Farmstand offers a menu of signature soups and salads, along with pozole, rabbit pot pie, or the 6-oz, grass-fed Farmhouse Burger on brioche. Pair it with a bottle of wine at 20 percent off. Prices range from $12–$28.
Madcap, San Anselmo
The Marin County restaurant fuels its family meals with organic and farm-raised ingredients: Dinners feature a soup or salad plus one large-format main, like red-wine braised short ribs or local black cod with a teriyaki glaze. Prices start at $45 per person.
Birdsong, San Francisco
This restaurant south of Union Square has long excelled at comfort food, with an emphasis on wood-smoked meats. The takeout "Birdbox" includes fried chicken, cornbread, and a cookie, ordered via Resy or Caviar. Starts at $35.
Jū-ni, San Francisco
The signature ikura (salmon roe cured in soy sauce, sake, and honey, and finished with monkfish liver) is one of the featured menu items at this acclaimed sushi bar. It’s also featured in the to-go chirashi bowls, which also include Hokkaido scallop, crab, and house pickled veggies. Or, you can pick up some uncooked Hamachi Kama to prepare at home. Chirashi bowls start at $39.
Kin Khao, San Francisco
This Cal-Thai restaurant has joined with its sister restaurant Nari for a menu that includes curries, khao mun gai, and select pantry essentials such as curry sauce and duck stock, along with produce boxes from organic farm Dirty Girl. Entrees start at $25.
Lord Stanley and Mister Jiu's, San Francisco
This duo of restaurants—one European, one Cantonese—are collaborating to create five-course dinners under the banner of “Lord Jiu’s.” The changing menus, ordered through Tock, feature entrees such as slow-cooked short ribs with noodles or Liberty Farms duck cassoulet. Starts at $100 per person.
Michael Mina, San Francisco
The global-themed menu of Mina Family Kitchen extends to its takeaway menu right now, with everything from Egyptian chicken stew to sushi and St. Louis-style ribs. Or, choose one of the four-course family-style menus (with the themes of Italian, Comfort, Mediterranean, or Plant-Based). Entrees start at $17; family meals at $45 per person.
Nico, San Francisco
Feast on French comfort food—like petit salé aux lentilles vertes with sausage, pork belly, and lentils—with these dinners created by Gap Year at Nico’s chef Jordan Guevara, who’s doing a one-year residency. Nico also offers special birthday and anniversary kits. Meals start at $38 per person.
Sons & Daughters, San Francisco
Locally sourced veggies and fresh-baked bread are the centerpieces of these three-course prix fixe takeout dinners, with themes such as “Provençale Week,” featuring braised lamb shank with paprika. Starts at $50 per person.
SPQR, San Francisco
Take “going Italian” to new heights with Chef Matt Accarrino's creative Italian takeout menu: Eggplant parm, fantastic pasta, pizza slices, even a Caesar salad rendered in Brussels sprouts. Entrees start at $28.
Spruce, San Francisco
These family meals are emblematic of this rustically elegant restaurant—think beef bourguignon with egg noodles and mushrooms, along with artfully made burgers on English muffins and giant cookies. Its sister restaurant in Woodside, The Village Pub, is offering the same family-meal options and burgers. Entrees start at $20.
Wako, San Francisco
Add some sake or beer to your takeout order from this Clemente Street favorite: Choose a menu that includes chicken karaage or chirashi bowls, starting at just $15.
Sushi Yoshizumi, San Mateo
Experience this Japanese restaurant’s beautifully created dishes by way of its tekka don or nigiri and chirashi bowls. Starts at $75.
Wakuriya, San Mateo
This three-course kaiseki dinner includes delights such as Snake River Wagyu beef and seared-white-tuna moriawase. Starts at $50 per person.
Aubergine, Carmel-by-the-Sea
Follow this restaurant on Instagram to learn more about its weekend-only takeout offerings that showcase Justin Cogley's refined, ingredient-driven offerings. Fifty percent of the proceeds and 100 percent of any additional gratuity goes directly to assist the restaurant's staff who are unable to work at this time.
One Michelin Star—Southern California
Dialogue, Santa Monica
Fans love this spot in Santa Monica’s Gallery Food Hall for its seasonal tasting menus, and its three-course takeout meals offer plenty of comfort—such as beef Wellington, fennel gratin, and a slice of Basque cheesecake. Starts at $36 per person.
Maude, Beverly Hills
The Marketplace affiliated with Curtis Stone’s intimate restaurant is offering pantry essentials plus family meals that serve 4–6—like a whole spatchcock chicken with spaetzle, and desserts such as carrot cake or berry crumble. Family meals runs about $150.
Shunji, Los Angeles
Experience this restaurant’s omakase-style menu through 10-piece sushi boxes, or an assortment of rolls or appetizers. Start at $24 per person.
Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurants
The Bib Gourmand restaurants listed below have been praised for providing “very good value for money.” Click on the links to see each establishment’s takeout/delivery offerings, and please note that offerings and availability are subject to change.
Gold Country
Canon, Sacramento
Frank Fat's, Sacramento
San Francisco Bay Area
Diavola, Geyserville
Bravas, Healdsburg
Chalkboard, Healdsburg
Cook St. Helena, St. Helena
Backyard, Forestville
Ciccio, Yountville
Glen Ellen Star, Glen Ellen
El Molino Central, Sonoma
Risibisi, Petaluma
Playa, Mill Valley
Sushi Ran, Sausalito
Corso, Berkeley
Thai House, Danville
A16, San Francisco
Cotogna, San Francisco
Delfina, San Francisco
Del Popolo, San Francisco
Farmhouse Kitchen Thai, San Francisco
Gran Electrica, San Francisco
Izakaya Rintaro, San Francisco
Luna Mexican Kitchen, San Francisco
Okane, San Francisco
Pig in a Pickle, San Francisco
Poggio, San Francisco
Sichuan Home, San Francisco
1601 Bar & Kitchen, San Francisco
Sociale, San Francisco
Starbelly, San Francisco
Stockhome, San Francisco
Teni East Kitchen, San Francisco
Trestle, San Francisco
Zero Zero, San Francisco
Royal Feast, Millbrae
Vesta, Redwood City
Orchard City Kitchen, Campbell
The Bywater, Los Gatos
Central Coast
Sama Sama Kitchen, Santa Barbara
Los Angeles County
Adano, Pasadena
LaoXi Noodle House, Arcadia
Chuan’s, Temple City
Grand Harbor, Temple City
Sea Harbour, Rosemead
Shanghai No. 1, San Gabriel
Longo Seafood, South San Gabriel
Village Sake, Fairfax
Cassia, Santa Monica
Ayara Thai Cuisine, Los Angeles
Badmaash, Los Angeles
Bowery Bungalow, Los Angeles
Broken Spanish, Los Angeles
Burritos La Palma, Los Angeles
Chengdu Taste, Los Angeles
Coni’Seafood, Los Angeles
Dai Ho, Los Angeles
Dha Rae Oak, Los Angeles
Father's Office, Los Angeles
Guerrilla Tacos, Los Angeles
Langer's, Los Angeles
Jitlada, Los Angeles
Jon & Vinny's, Los Angeles
Maccheroni Republic, Los Angeles
Meals by Genet, Los Angeles
Mi Lindo Nayarit Mariscos, Los Angeles
Okiboru Ramen, Los Angeles
Papilles, Los Angeles
Pizzana, Los Angeles
Preux & Proper, Los Angeles
Sichuan Impression, Los Angeles
Salazar, Los Angeles
Tsubaki, Los Angeles
Rocio's Mexican Kitchen, Bell Gardens
Baran's 2239, Hermosa Beach
Orange County
Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen, Orange
Mix Mix Kitchen & Bar, Santa Ana
San Diego County
Juniper & Ivy, San Diego
Kettner Exchange, San Diego
LOLA 55, San Diego
Solare, San Diego
