The Best Places To Eat In CA: 2025's Ultimate List

CALIFORNIA — This year was a stellar one for California restaurants. Food critics, magazines, networks, and other groups agree — including some of them in 2025 “best of” lists and awards.

One way to gauge culinary excellence in California is to look at the number of James Beard Award winners and nominees.

For example, this year’s 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards covered 25 categories, including an expanded focus on beverage-related honors: Best New Bar, Outstanding Beverage Service Professional, and Outstanding Cocktail Service Professional.

Although no Golden State restaurants made the best restaurants 2025 list, Kato’s chef was named the best in California, highlighting a key achievement for LA’s dining scene.

Making it to the semifinals also carries plenty of prestige. In California, 46 semifinalists were recognized. Among them were Healdsburg's Quail and Condor for Best Bakery, while Darryl Bell of Napa's Stateline Road Smokehouse and Ari Weiswasser of Glen Ellen Star (in Glen Ellen) were both semifinalists for "best chef."

Of course, the James Beard Awards aren't the only honor—Golden State restaurants earned recognition in 2025 through numerous prestigious accolades.

That included numerous lists, some high-brow, like the Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards and the Michelin California Guide. Others focused more on vibe, like OpenTable's rundown of the country's most romantic restaurants.

Check out the following lists for a range of tastes:

• Top 1000 List
• North America's 50 Best Restaurants
• Newsweek Reader's Choice
• The World Culinary Awards
• Resy 100
• Esquire’s Best New Restaurants
• OpenTable’s 100 Best Brunch Restaurants
• OpenTable’s 100 Most Romantic Restaurants
• OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants
• Wine Enthusiast Best Wine Restaurants for 2025
• Michelin California Guide 2025 additions