The James Beard Awards are basically the Oscars of the food world, and the 2026 nominees just dropped, and honestly, it’s a mixed bag for us Bay Area foodies. While a few local spots managed to break through, it feels like we’re still getting the short end of the stick in some major categories.

Here’s the thing: the nominating committee expanded their semifinalist pool to try to be more geographically diverse, which is cool in theory. But when you’ve got categories like Best New Restaurant with 30 semifinalists competing for just 10 finalist spots, something’s gotta give. This year, California only scored one nomination in that category (Ki in LA), and our own Happy Crane in Hayes Valley didn’t make the cut. Ouch.

It gets worse. There are zero Bay Area nominees in the Emerging Chef category, despite Steve Joo of Oakland’s Joodooboo making the semifinalist list. Foreign Cinema also got long-listed in Outstanding Restaurant but didn’t advance. That’s rough, especially when we’re talking about some of the most innovative food scenes in the country.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. We did manage some wins that show there’s still hope. Michael Tusk of Quince snagged a nomination in the prestigious Outstanding Chef category, a pretty big deal considering he’s a former Best Chef: West winner. And the dynamic duo behind Cal-India Collective, Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar, made it into Outstanding Restaurateur for their impressive portfolio including spots like Ettan, Copra, Eylan, and Little Blue Door.

The Bay Area also claimed two of the five Best Chef: California slots, with nominations going to Harrison Cheney of Sons & Daughters and the team behind Oakland’s Sun Moon Studio (Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu). Meanwhile, the cocktail scene got some love too, Smuggler’s Cove earned a nod in Outstanding Bar, and Kevin Diedrich of Pacific Cocktail Haven scored a nomination for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

Still, we can’t help but notice that iconic spots like House of Prime Rib didn’t make the Outstanding Hospitality cut, which feels like a missed opportunity to celebrate one of the Bay’s most legendary establishments.

The ceremony is happening Monday, June 15, 2026 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where we’ll find out if our local favorites can actually take home the gold. Fingers crossed that next year, the James Beard Awards give the Bay Area the recognition we clearly deserve.