Californios (restaurant)

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Californios
Interactive map of Californios
Restaurant information
EstablishedJanuary 2015 (2015-01)
Owners
  • Val M. Cantu
  • Carolyn Cantu
  • Charlotte Randolph
Head chefVal M. Cantu
Food typeMexican and northern California
Rating3 Michelin stars (2026)
2 Michelin stars (2017–2025)
1 Michelin star (2015–2017)
Location355 11th Street, SoMa (2021–present)
3115 22nd Street, Mission District (2015–2020), San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 94103 (2021–present)
94110 (2015–2020), United States
Coordinates37°46′17″N 122°24′47″W / 37.77141°N 122.41296°W / 37.77141; -122.41296
Seating capacity
≤50 (2021–present)
24 (2015–2021)

Californios is a Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco, California, serving Mexican cuisine. Its head chef is Val M. Cantú, one of the restaurant's co-owners. Californios earned its first Michelin star in 2015 and its second in 2017, becoming the first US restaurant serving Mexican cuisine to earn two Michelin stars. In 2026 it was awarded a third star, becoming the first Mexican restaurant in the world with three Michelin stars. Its original Mission District location closed in 2020. The restaurant relocated to the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood in early 2021.

History

Val M. Cantu ran a series of Mexican pop-up restaurants called Californios for two years.[1] He then opened the permanent location using the same name in the Mission District in January 2015.[2][3] Californios's seating capacity was eighteen in the dining room and six at the chef's counter.[4] The interior design was dark, and windows were tinted.[5]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Californios's original location closed in 2020.[6] The restaurant in early 2021 was relocated to the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood.[6]

The restaurant's capacity was doubled to about fifty seats later that year.[7] The SoMa location's size is 4,959 sq ft (460.7 m2), including an 1,742 sq ft (161.8 m2) outdoor patio.[8]

Cantu's family ran a Mexican restaurant in Brownwood, Texas, where he was raised.[9] His recipes have blended Mexican and northern Californian cuisines and have been inspired by his "Nani" Rosa.[9][10] The menu is prix fixe and changes in response to seasonal availability of ingredients.[2][9]

Reception

Californios received its first Michelin star in October 2015[11] and its second in October 2017, becoming the first Mexican restaurant in the US to earn two Michelin stars.[12] Until June 2026, it had remained the only two-Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant in the US.[13] On June 24, 2026, the restaurant earned its third star, making it the first ever Mexican restaurant in the world with three Michelin stars.[14][15]

Chef and restaurateur

Val M. Cantu graduated in 2006 from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied business and English literature.[9] Cantu began his hospitality career by working for a Japanese restaurant Uchi in Austin, Texas, and worked for other restaurants, such as a Mexican restaurant Pujol in Mexico City and a California-inspired restaurant Sons & Daughters as a sous chef in San Francisco.[1][9] While working for Uchi, he attended Austin Community College.[9]

Cantu, his wife Carolyn, and his sister-in-law Charlotte Randolph, beverage director of Californios and former employee of another restaurant the French Laundry, have co-owned the restaurant throughout its run in old and new locations.[2][6]

Food & Wine magazine named him one of "Best New Chefs" of 2017.[16][17]

See also

References

  1. Kauffman, Jonathan (September 19, 2014). "Pop-up restaurants get personal". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  2. Bauer, Michael (March 6, 2015). "Californios takes Mexican to a new place: Precious". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  3. Bauer, Michael (July 15, 2016). "When new restaurants push the price too far, too quickly". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  4. Bauer, Michael (2018). "Top 100 Restaurants: Californios". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  5. Mobley, Esther (March 24, 2021). "A star cast of S.F. bartenders is opening an all-day, sustainability-minded bar in the Mission". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  6. Bitker, Janelle (March 24, 2021). "Michelin-starred Mexican fine dining destination Californios has reopened in S.F's SoMa". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  7. Ho, Soleil (July 1, 2021). "In a new SoMa space, Californios cements a grand vision of Latin American fine dining". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  8. Barreira, Alex (April 2, 2021). "Real Estate Deals: Californios lease". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  9. Bauer, Michael (October 27, 2017). "Californios, S.F.'s newest 4-star restaurant, exquisitely reimagines Mexican cuisine". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  10. Liviakis, Vicki (September 17, 2021). "Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrating modern Mexican cuisine". KRON-TV. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  11. "Michelin Stars Light Up Bay Area in 10th Edition of Famed Restaurant Guide". Michelin North America. October 20, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  12. Phillips, Justin (October 25, 2017). "Michelin awards top 3-star ratings to 7 Bay Area restaurants". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  13. Leitner, Brittany (August 25, 2021). "This ultra-exclusive wine subscription takes the guesswork out of Michelin-star pairings". SFGate. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  14. "How Californios Became the First Three-Michelin-Star Mexican Restaurant in the World". Michelin Guide. June 24, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  15. Cortez, Mario (June 26, 2026). "How S.F.'s Californios became the world's first three-Michelin-star Mexican restaurant". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  16. Phillips, Justin (April 3, 2017). "Val Cantu of Californios lands spot on Food & Wine's Best New Chefs list". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  17. "Food & Wine's Best New Chefs 2017". Food & Wine. June 11, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2022. Another article from the same website covered the same list the following week.

Further reading