Six California restaurants are included in The Restaurant List 2026, an elite compilation of the 50 best restaurants in America by The New York Times.
A 16-person scouting team traveled across the country for the list, eating everywhere from small-town Wisconsin to downtown Manhattan. The critics made reservations, waited in lines and arrived unannounced, paying for their meals and accepting no freebies.
Yerord Mas Bakery and Deli (6800 San Fernando Rd., Glendale): Known for holding LA's most expensive sandwich, among other rich menu items. It offers no takeout option, as the "food is made to be eaten fresh, the way it was intended," according to the restaurant.
"Yerord Mas may be a tiny, no-frills restaurant in a former doughnut shop, but Arthur Grigoryan takes his work here seriously, drawing dishes from Armenian home kitchens through time and across borders," according to the New York Times.
Komal (3655 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles): Komal offers Mexican street foods with soulful flavors that can be found in Mexico City's streets.
"Don't leave without visiting the molino itself, which also sells Ms. Juárez's longaniza sausages, blushing with chiles, along with a number of pitch-perfect salsas," The New York Times writes.
Jacaranda (6623 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles): Jacaranda has been considered one of Los Angeles's best places to grab a bite by many publications. The Los Angeles Times once described the ambiance of the place as a dinner party rather than a "hushed temple of gastronomy."
"Dinner at Jacaranda, which quietly and confidently contains a remarkable technical range, flows from one marvel to the next, giving you something different to delight in each time, according to The New York Times. "The effect is abundance — how can one dinner hold so many beautiful things?"
Restaurant Naides (708 Bush St., San Francisco): Restaurant Naides offers modern takes of Filipino cuisine grounded in heritage.
"Each of the courses, executed by the chef Patrick Gabon and his small crew, brings pleasures that have largely been absent from top-tier dining rooms in the United States," according to The New York Times.
Mesa Agrícola (707 South Escondido Blvd., Escondido): Mesa Agrícola is known for its tacos and burritos, except the meats are slow-cooked to perfection to create guisados.
"The deceivingly bare-bones menu turns out to be quite expansive, with dishes like a mole that interprets the Filipino influence that emerged in Mexico through the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade," The New York Times writes.
Bar Panisse (1515 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley): The neighborhood wine bar is the latest hit in Berkeley, with droves of people lining up before opening at 5 p.m. It's also a spinoff of Chez Panisse, a highly influential restaurant.
The restaurants aren't ranked, and none appeared on a previous edition of the annual list. The selections include places that opened only weeks ago as well as restaurants that have been serving customers for decades.