On Tuesday, Forbes Travel Guide released its 2022 Star Award winners, which highlighted a number of top Bay Area restaurants as among the “most outstanding” businesses around the world.
In its 64th annual list, which recognized more than 250 restaurants worldwide, the respected guide recognized 20 fine dining restaurants in the Bay Area for everything from their elegant cuisine to the beautiful ambience of each room. Atelier Crenn, Benu and Saison were among the five-star winners in San Francisco.
“Remember the 1980s TV show Fantasy Island, where a man dressed in white would grant the viewers every wish? Season is the culinary equivalent — a bespoke and luxurious hunter-gatherer fantasy dining experience in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood,” Forbes wrote of Season.
San Francisco’s Saison restaurant was a five-star winner in the Forbes Travel Guide’s 2022 Star Awards.
Lin L. on Yelp
In addition to San Francisco, there are other top destinations like Manresa in Los Gatos, Navio in Half Moon Bay, and many in Napa and Sonoma County that are home to Chef Thomas Keller’s acclaimed The French Laundry. Forbes also added restaurants that deserved four stars and others that were in the Recommended category. Of San Francisco’s recommended restaurant, Spruce, Forbes praised the moody decor and delicious bites, but added that cuisine and service “can suffer from inconsistencies.”
The list of Forbes winners comes the same week that the James Beard Foundation announced its media awards nominees, which saw chef and owner of Mister Jiu’s Brandon Jew and co-author Tienlon Ho for their cookbook Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown: Recipes and Stories from the Birthplace of Chinese-American Food.” San Francisco-based author Kristina Cho and Oakland-based vegan chef and author Bryant Terry were also nominated for their cookbooks.
Below is the full list of Bay Area restaurants that have received the Forbes Travel Guide’s 2022 Star Award. For a full list of national winners, see the 2022 Forbes Travel Guide list.
- Atelier Crenn in San Francisco
- Benu in San Francisco
- Campton Place in San Francisco
- FARM in Napa
- Farmhouse Inn Restaurant in Forestville
- The French Laundry in Napa
- Gary Danko in San Francisco
- Layla at MacArthur Place in Sonoma
- Lucy Restaurant & Bar in Youngville
- Madera in San Jose
- Manresa in Los Gatos
- Navio at Half Moon Bay
- Parallel 37 in San Francisco
- Quince in San Francisco
- The restaurant at the Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford
- The restaurant at the Meadowood in St. Helena
- Season in San Francisco
- Single Thread Farms Restaurant in Healdsburg
- Solbar in Calistoga
- Spruce in San Francisco