This column originally ran in Wednesday’s Off Menu newsletter, where you’ll find restaurant news, gossip, tips, and hot takes every week. To sign up, visit the Standard’s newsletter page and select Off Menu.
Things that make you go hmmm: FX released the fourth season of “The Bear” last week, the very same day the 2025 California Michelin stars were announced.
While I would argue that “The Bear” has become less about the restaurant business and more a study of men communicating badly (and women attempting to mother them), the secondary plot of Episode 1 poses the dramatic question: Will The Bear — the struggling fine-dining restaurant at the heart of the show — finally get a Michelin star? And if it does, will that be enough to save it?
To probe this question, l turned to real life. One week after Michelin — celebrating 125 years of scaring the shit out of chefs — held its 2025 California awards ceremony in Sacramento, I reached out to some who have received stars to ask how it had changed their businesses. Or didn’t.
Of the Bay Area restaurants noted this year by Michelin, most, like 2-year-old 7 Adams in Japantown, which was awarded one star in 2024, simply held their ground. While no one would turn down a star, Hi Neighbor CEO Ryan Cole said, “it doesn’t cement your business, but it does give you an immediate boost. It’s not about sales, though. It’s about keeping your reservation demand at the highest level.”
There is a flip side, however: “You’re just more scrutinized when you have a star.” People might go to Yelp to complain about undercooked pasta being a “misstep” or the room being a little too tight. “People all have their own idea what Michelin means,” Cole has observed. (And that idea is drastically changing as the Michelin guide, outside the U.S., has started awarding stars to taquerias in Mexico City and street vendors in Bangkok.)
However, there were a few new Michelin honorees, including teensy Sun Moon Studio (one star) in West Oakland and Enclos (two stars) in Sonoma. In SF, the biggest news was that Kiln in Hayes Valley, which opened in 2023, went from one star to two — a notable achievement.
“We were floored,” said chef and co-owner John Wesley, who swears they weren’t trying to add a star. “I think we just refined what we were already doing and stopped overthinking things.” But even after getting its first star, Kiln suffered a “brutal, brutal, brutal” summer last year. Labor costs had to be kept in line, so a skeleton crew of five cooks has been preparing the 20 courses Kiln serves as part of its $285 set menu. Compared to other Michelin-starred restaurants, such as Quince, which has up to 18 cooks at one time, this is Bear-level scrappiness.
“No one is getting rich off Kiln, obviously,” said Wesley, who’s about as humble as they come (and better with his words than Carmy). “It’s always been about creative expression for me. We don’t have any real financial backing. We don’t have a publicist. It’s just us.”
So, how has the second star affected business a week in? “The morning after the awards, we had like 70 covers for July.” They haven’t opened up the books for August yet. “Getting two stars won’t change anything for us internally,” said Wesley. “We’re just going to keep doing what we do, and hopefully people will appreciate it. And if they don’t, that’s going to suck.”
Do you make a point of dining at Michelin-starred restaurants? (And, more importantly, is “The Bear” about the industry or about men’s communication skills?) Let us know at [email protected].