There are many unique eats here on the Central Coast, and at least eight restaurants here will be part of the upcoming MICHELIN Guide.
Owner of Nate's On Marsh in San Luis Obispo, Nathan Long told KSBY, "I was like, this is someone's playing a joke like this is this seems fishy. And she [his social media personnel] says, 'No I think it's legit.'"
Long opened his restaurant back in October of 2021, “To be even considered and then to have someone come and then actually write about it is just like beyond so-called wildest dreams.”
Guide inspectors visit each restaurant anonymously, often several times, before selecting them.
Co-owner and Chef of Les Petites Canailles (LPC) in Paso Robles, Julien Asseo, opened the restaurant three years this month.
“It was amazing news. My wife texted me and said, 'Oh, we got a note on the MICHELIN Guide!' And so it was a surprise, obviously, being French, being a chef, MICHELIN is a big importance in my life,” he explained.
Both restaurant owners mentioned they had to adapt to get to his point: Asseo opened LPC shortly before the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“Just the unknown of if we were going to make it, how long it was going to last, how worse it was going to get…” he added.
“Nuts like crazy. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Super fun. Challenging all the things, but it's mine,” explained Long.
There isn't a public nomination process for the MICHELIN Guide. Instead, the inspectors decide where to visit based on their research.
At LPC, they typically serve 100 people per night and at Nate's On Marsh, it is around 150.
“We're living in a pretty crazy time. So to have recognition like this just is, again, super validating. And I hope it just brings us more business,” said Long.
The Guide includes restaurants the inspectors recommend, but it does not mean the restaurant has a MICHELIN Star yet.
“Right now it's just an acknowledgment, you know, where we're being recognized. But next, we'll be finding out what they think we deserve, so either a Plate or Bib Gourmand or, the ultimate recognition, which is a Star,” said Asseo.
The MICHELIN organization did tell KSBY that a "[R]ecommended restaurant is the same thing as a Plate, which is a term that's been phased out."
A full list of California restaurants that made it on the Guide will be unveiled on December 5th, along with other awards.
Of those that made it onto the Guide for the first time here on the Central Coast, there are five in San Luis Obispo County and three in Santa Barbara County. Here are the restaurants:
Les Petites Canailles in Paso Robles
The Hatch in Paso Robles
in Bloom in Paso Robles
Nate's on Marsh in San Luis Obispo
Emberin Arroyo Grande
peasants FEAST in Solvang
Bar le Côte in Los Olivos
AMA Sushiin Montecito.
