The Michelin Guide just dropped its midyear restaurant additions for California, and the Bay Area is getting some serious love. While we’re still waiting for the official star announcements later this summer, these five new restaurants are now officially on the inspectors’ radar, which honestly feels like a pretty big deal.

Let’s talk about what made the cut in San Francisco. Wolfsbane, a new fine dining spot in Dogpatch from Chef Rupert Blease and his wife Carrie, is stealing the spotlight with its indulgent multicourse tasting menu. According to Michelin inspectors, the team is showing “no shortage of creative flair”, with pristine local products prepared with precision and sauces that perfectly balance richness and brightness.

Then there’s Restaurant Naides, which opened just a few months ago in December in the former Sons & Daughters space on Bush Street. This one’s extra special because Chef Patrick Gabon named it after his mother. The inspectors describe it as a “jewel box operation” that’s clearly a labor of love. The menu pulls together Californian ingredients, including foraged herbs and flowers, with traditional Filipino flavors and bold creativity. It’s already been getting rave reviews from the San Francisco Chronicle, so the hype is real.

Dingles Public House is bringing British pub energy to the Bay Area, and Michelin is here for it. We’re talking perfectly executed beer-battered fish and chips with mushy peas and curry sauce, plus a spot-on Scotch egg with a jammy yolk and crunchy panko exterior. The restaurant even put a local spin on Welsh rarebit by using Vermont cheddar from Jasper Hill Farm.

The fourth San Francisco addition is Le Cigale, while Yeobo, Darling over in Menlo Park also made the list.

Worth noting: Wolfsbane and Dingles Public House were both on several critics’ lists of the best new restaurants last year, so Michelin is basically confirming what the Bay Area food scene already knew. Restaurant Naides is the newcomer of the group, having just opened, but it’s already making waves.

Here’s the thing about these midyear additions, they’re basically a sneak peek at which restaurants are catching Michelin’s attention before the official star designations happen. Usually, the California guide gets updated sometime in the summer, though the timing has been all over the place recently. Pre-pandemic, we’d get updates in October, but lately it’s been anywhere from mid-June to early August.

So yeah, these five restaurants are now officially in the Michelin Selection, which sets them apart even before any stars get handed out. If you’ve been wanting to check out some of the Bay Area’s most exciting new spots, this is basically your roadmap.