Los Angeles Won Big at the 2026 James Beard Awards

It was a big night for Los Angeles at the 2026 James Beard Awards, which were hosted in Chicago on June 15. The city took home a number of awards including Best Chef: California, Outstanding Hospitality, and Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.

At the ceremony, Dave Beran of Santa Monica tasting menu restaurant Seline took home Best Chef: California. Seline serves a 15 to 18-course menu at the restaurant with dishes that may include puffed beef tendon displayed on a branch; black cod with mussels and fennel; and coffee and caviar, a nod to Beran's prior restaurant, Dialogue. In his acceptance speech, Beran thanked the people surrounding him, saying “What you need more than anything are the people in your life.â€

Kato won the award for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program; this is the second year in a row the restaurant has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation — chef Jon Yao took home Best Chef: California in 2025. Ryan Bailey (co-owner and operations and wine director) runs Kato's beverage program alongside bar director Austin Hennelly. In his speech, Bailey spoke of Kato's beginnings in a tight West Los Angeles dining room a decade ago before moving to its current home at Row DTLA. He thanked Los Angeles for its continued support of the restaurant. Today, Bailey and Hennelly offer a menu to complement Yao's Taiwanese-influenced cooking including cocktails, an impressive wine cellar, and non-alcoholic pairings.

Michael Cimarusti and Donato Poto's three-Michelin-starred seafood restaurant, Providence, won Outstanding Hospitality. “Hospitality is an art of reaching out a hand without asking for anything in return,†Poto said while accepting the award. Cimarusti opened the standard-bearing seafood restaurant in 2005; the following year, it took home the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. At the 2025 Michelin California ceremony, Providence received its third star.

Other finalists this year included Fátima Juárez (Komal) for Emerging Chef, Jack Benchakul (Endorffeine) for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, Ki for Best New Restaurant, and Gilberto Cetina (Holbox) and Niki Nakayama (N/Naka) for Outstanding Chef.

The James Beard Foundation Awards, often called the “Oscars of food,†have long been considered one of the most prestigious awards in the food and hospitality industry. Beginning with its inaugural ceremony in 1991, the James Beard Foundation has recognized chefs, restaurants, and bakeries across the country in categories including Emerging Chef and Best New Restaurant, as well as its America's Classics Awards, which honor restaurants that have been open for more than a decade. In addition to its annual restaurant and chef awards, the Foundation hosted its media awards on June 13, which celebrated outstanding journalism, the best cookbooks of the year, and more.

In recent years, the James Beard Awards have been under increased scrutiny after canceling its programming in 2020 and 2021 due to allegations of misconduct and abuse against nominated chefs, as well as a lack of nominated and winning Black chefs in the categories. In response, the James Beard Foundation conducted an internal audit to form an ethics committee, diversify the judges, and make its voting processes more inclusive and equitable; the awards eventually returned in 2022.

Prior to this year's restaurant and chef ceremony, the Serving Spoon, a longstanding Inglewood restaurant, was named one of the recipients of the 2026 America's Classics award. Founded in 1983 by Harold E. Sparks, the restaurant has become a pillar of Los Angeles's Black community. It serves a menu of breakfast and Southern classics, including the Spooner Breakfast with a choice of breakfast meat, sides like homestyle potatoes or grits, and bread, as well as dishes such as shrimp and grits and catfish nuggets. The Serving Spoon joins previous America's Classics recipients in Los Angeles, including Sherman Oaks Mexican restaurant Casa Vega, Oaxacan standby Guelaguetza, pastrami specialist Langer's Deli, and French dip favorite Philippe the Original.

Damián Diaz and Othón Nolasco of No Us Without You were also recognized as Humanitarian of the Year for their organization No Us Without You, which supports undocumented restaurant workers. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), a Los Angeles County-based organization focused on immigrant rights, were among the honorees for the Impact Award. Nancy Silverton was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor recognizing her decades of influential cooking at restaurants including Campanile, Chi Spacca, Mozza. “Thank you to restaurants everywhere,†Silverton said in her acceptance speech.

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Foundation Awards.