Sacramento gets new Bib Gourmand, Localis chef lauded for pairings on Michelin’s big night
The line outside Pho Momma starts early, long before the doors open. On Wednesday night, that line turned into a path to national acclaim.
The La Riviera Vietnamese restaurant — known for its hand-rolled spring rolls, simmered-for-days broths, and $6 pho bowls — earned the coveted Bib Gourmand award at the 2025 Michelin Guide California ceremony in downtown Sacramento, one of only six new restaurants statewide to receive the value-driven distinction.
It was a standout night for Sacramento’s dining scene, even if no new stars were added to the capital region’s tally for the third consecutive year.
Chef Chris Barnum-Dann of Localis, one of Sacramento’s two Michelin-starred restaurants, received the prestigious Sommelier Award for his expert wine pairings. The Kitchen, the city’s other star-holder, retained its status, as did Canon and Nixtaco in the Bib Gourmand category.
Before the Michelin ceremony, Barnum-Dann said he was simply excited to connect with chefs from all over the state.
“I don’t like to have any predictions,” he said. “I like to just come here and expect nothing.”
The distinction for Pho Momma — and its owner and chef My Le — comes a month after the renowned and elite dining guide added it and two other establishments to its 2025 guide.
Le handcrafts every dish herself, from the rich, multi-day broths to the rice paper rolls praised by Michelin inspectors. She joined a short list of honorees of only six restaurants statewide to catch new Bib Gourmands, which recognizes quality food at a great value.
Sacramento’s culinary community had a strong showing Wednesday evening at the ceremony held at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center.
Localis in midtown and The Kitchen in Land Park, Sacramento’s two existing Michelin-starred restaurants, both retained their stars in the guide’s newest revision.
“It’s amazing for Sacramento, and it really represents a lot of work that a lot of people have been doing for a long time,” said Kelly McCown, The Kitchen’s executive chef. “When tide rises, all (boats float).”
Barnum-Dann, known for Localis’ bold, globally inspired tasting menus, earned praise from inspectors for pairing dishes like spicy Thai-inspired plates with off-dry Riesling, and octopus piccata with Austrian red wine.
“I see it as symbiosis, really,” the Placer County native told Michelin of the interplay between food and wine. “They flow into each other.”
Barnum-Dann said he feels fortunate that Localis has reached a decade operating in Sacramento, saying he did not expect it to get past the first year after opening.
“We fought for it. We’re here now. We’re not going anywhere,” he said. “We love our city, so we’re going to continue pushing for everything that is Sacramento.”
As Sacramento’s top restaurants in the guide, The Kitchen and Localis each had a food station centrally located in the auditorium’s lobby, where Barnum-Dann and McCown shared a taste of the capital region with restaurateurs and foodies from across the state.
Localis tapped into the Thai flavors Michelin lauded with a wagyu beef tartare over a ginger-tapioca chip, in addition to a vegetarian option capturing the essence of the California sun — a roasted sunflower panna cotta, sunflower brittle and black garlic puree topped pickled cucumber slices.
The Kitchen welcomed Northern California’s heirloom tomato season with a bite-sized tomato tarte filled with savory custard and topped with smooth Ossetra caviar, alongside a light scallop ceviche with touches of coconut, passion fruit and lime.
This year’s Michelin Guide featured 548 California restaurants across 55 cuisines. It was the state guide’s first edition to add new restaurants in all four star categories.
Major honors included a new three-star ranking for Providence in Hollywood and the return of Somni in West Hollywood with three stars. Enclos in Sonoma and Kiln in San Francisco were each elevated to two stars, while five new one-star awards were given across the state.
Two restaurants — Enclos and San Francisco’s Sons & Daughters — earned Green Star designations for excellence in sustainable gastronomy.
Despite Sacramento’s hopes for new stars, the city remained in the Michelin spotlight through culinary excellence, affordability and wine-forward creativity.
East Sacramento’s elevated staple Canon and Roseville’s intriguing and colorful Nixtaco also maintained their Bib Gourmand statuses.
Nixtaco’s Patricio Wise said he was pleased that his Roseville restaurant kept its accolade, all while renovating Folsom’s Cantina Pedregal into a second Nixtaco outpost. Wise’s Folsom Pointe shopping center eatery opened in April, and he said the community’s reception made it feel like the high-end Mexican restaurant had “been there forever.”
Downtown icon Frank Fat’s and North Natomas’ Yue Huang weren’t so lucky. Both Chinese powerhouses were left off the list of 123 Gourmand designees statewide. Frank Fat’s, along with Mulvaney’s B&L in midtown, were quietly left off the state’s 2025 list entirely, shrinking Sacramento’s representation in the guide to 15 restaurants.
Last month, in addition to Pho Momma, Michelin recognized 13 new additions statewide including Majka Pizzeria & Bakery and Kin Thai Street Eatery — both relatively new to the midtown scene — for their distinctive menus and community ties.
The Michelin Guide last stopped by the state capital in 2019, when it announced California would receive the nation’s first statewide restaurant guide.
“It’s a testament to our food scene that they wanted to come back,” said Mike Testa, CEO of Visit Sacramento. “When we started, (Sacramento) had a few in the guide, now we have (15) restaurants in the guide. Our culinary scene is past on its way, we’ve arrived.”
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 9:25 PM.
