These Bay Area restaurants were added to the Michelin guide

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Beef Cheeks Tortellini, a menu item at Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma. Photo courtesy of Table Culture Provisions.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Michelin Guide, a culinary roadmap of must-try places, added 15 new restaurants for California, and nearly half of them are in the Bay Area. 

In San Francisco, there are four newly added restaurants, all with different tastes and cuisines. 

The first one is Four Kings, a Chinese restaurant in the city's Chinatown neighborhood, but with a contemporary twist.

"Reservations evaporate almost immediately, but determined diners can line up for counter seating before doors open…once inside, the favored few will find themselves packed into a lively room with quirky decor, where food takes center stage," according to the guide.

Next is Prelude in the city's Financial District.  One doesn't need to travel far to get the tastes of the American South, as Prelude brings a Southern cuisine to the table. 

"Although Chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones grew up in California, maternal grandmothers from Alabama had a formative influence on his cooking, resulting in cuisine that seamlessly blends humble roots with an elevated technique and a modern sensibility," the Michelin Guide read.

Following was a contemporary restaurant with Japanese touches, The Wild, also in the Financial District.

"We’re absolutely thrilled to be acknowledged in the Michelin Guide…the entire team (both culinary and service) have put a great deal of effort into curating and providing an experience that truly showcases what it means for us to live and cook in the SF Bay Area," said owner and chef Marc Zimmerman.

Lastly added for San Francisco was French restaurant Verjus, steps away from the Transamerica Pyramid.

"The appealingly simple, skillfully prepared cuisine, which highlights top-notch seafood and peak produce, as in sweet razor clams anointed with celery brunoise and Meyer lemon," the guide read.

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Across the Bay was Oakland's addition of Sun Moon Studio, which offers Chinese cuisine at its "inconspicuous little spot," according to the guide. 

"We are honored and humbled for the recent feature in Michelin…It's an exciting time to be cooking in the Bay and we're looking forward to continued collaboration with the area's farmers and producers for whom we have tremendous respect," said Sun Moon co-chef-owners Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu.

Sonoma County welcomed two new additions to the Michelin Guide. First is Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma, a contemporary restaurant that offers "elegant Californian cooking with classic French flourishes."

Maidai Crudo Tart, a menu item at Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma. Photo courtesy of Table Culture Provisions.

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"Being added to the Michelin Guide is such an incredible moment for us. We’ve poured our hearts into Table Culture Provisions from day one, and to have that work recognized on this level is really special," said chef Stéphanie Saint Louis.

"This recognition just pushes us to keep going, keep evolving, and keep doing what we love," she added.

Nearby in the county is also fellow contemporary restaurant Enclos in Sonoma, tucked away in an 1880 Victorian on Stone Edge Farm winery, the guide stated.

Chef Brian Limoges said the inclusion of Enclos was an unexpected honor and that receiving such recognition early in their journey is "deeply humbling."

"As chefs, we all hope for our restaurants to be included in the Michelin Guide. Enclos has been a true labor of love for our team and owners, and we’ve worked incredibly hard to bring this vision to life…[the mention] certainly adds extra motivation as we continue to grow and refine what we do," Limoges said.

While no restaurants in the South Bay were recently added to the guide, Stationæry in Carmel-by-the-Sea was featured, an American cuisine restaurant that's become a "local brunch favorite" with its "cleverly California-inflected takes" on its dishes.

KTVU reached out to Four Kings, Prelude, Verjus, and Stationæry for a comment on their additions and features to the Michelin Guide but did not hear in time for publication.