California Chefs and Restaurants Win Top Honors at 2026 James Beard Awards

California’s dining scene has a reason to celebrate, with several establishments, particularly San Francisco restaurants, earning top honors on this year’s James Beard Awards.

The James Beard Foundation announced the list of winners of its 2026 Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 15. The award ceremony was held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The prestigious annual awards celebrate top culinary talent across the U.S., recognizing the people and establishments that influence the country’s dining culture.

In addition to storied restaurants, the awards also honor chefs, restaurateurs, and beverage professionals whose work reflects innovation and excellence.

The winners from California in the 2026 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award Winners include:

• Outstanding Chef: Michael Tusk, Quince, San Francisco
• Outstanding Hospitality: Providence, Los Angeles
• Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program: Kato, Los Angeles
• Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service: Kevin Diedrich, Pacific Cocktail Haven, San Francisco
• Best Chefs (California): Dave Beran, Seline, Santa Monica

The Outstanding Chef award is conferred to a chef who sets “high culinary standards” and has served as a positive example to other chefs, according to the James Beard Foundation. The eligible chef should have worked for at least five years.

The Outstanding Hospitality award honors a restaurant, bar, or other dining and drinking establishment that fosters a “sense of hospitality” among diners and staff, while demonstrating consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, operations, and hospitality.

Recognizing talent and care while pairing wine and other beverages with food, the Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service award zeroes in on three aspects: selection, preparation, and serving of wine, cocktails, spirits, coffee, tea, beer, or other beverages with outstanding hospitality and service.

This year’s recognition also underscores San Francisco’s vibrant dining landscape and its reputation as one of the country’s most dynamic dining destinations, where chefs and hospitality professionals continue to innovate and earn national acclaim.

Recognizing Culinary Excellence

For almost 40 years, the James Beard Awards have been considered one of the highest honors in the American dining industry.

Since its inception in 1986, the James Beard Foundation has evolved from a body honoring excellent food to a changemaker and thought leader.

The foundation works to advance excellence in the independent restaurant industry through education, advocacy, recognition, and community-based initiatives.

The foundation is named after James Beard, often referred to as the “Dean of American cookery,” and a pioneer of American food culture.

Beard championed local ingredients and regional culinary traditions long before it became a mainstream practice.

Through his cookbooks, cooking schools, and appearances on television cooking shows, he helped shape the way Americans think about food and inspired generations of home cooks and professional chefs.