Best Sonoma County Restaurants Under $40, California Bib Gourmands 2019

A new statewide Michelin Guide will soon be released. See which local restaurants made the California list.


In advance of its first-ever statewide restaurant listings, Michelin has announced it’s inaugural class of value-priced California restaurants, referred to as Bib Gourmands.  (See previous Bay Area Bib Gourmands here.)

Tapping into previously unrecognized food scenes in San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, the San Gabriel Valley and Carmel, a total of 151 restaurants were included in the forthcoming 2019 California Michelin Guide, 88 of them new additions that include Petaluma’s Stockhome and Yountville’s La Calenda.

The Bib Gourmand category allows more accessibly-priced restaurants — pizzerias, taquerias and even burger spots — to be noted for their exceptional quality.

Inspectors described Stockhome as providing “Swedish food as found in Stockholm today; that is, with an intriguing global influence as found in kebabs and Swedish meatballs offered side by side.” Napa’s La Calenda, which opened in January, is “a casual walk-in-only restaurant that’s full of finesse. The chef’s Oaxacan upbringing shines through in regional Mexican cuisine.”

“We are so very honored to be included among the culinary best, and grateful to the Michelin Guide for including us.  We hope to continue sharing popular cuisine in Swedish culture with a wider audience, given this new notoriety,” said Stockhome chef and co-owner Roberth Sundell.

A total of 15 local restaurants were tapped as 2019 California edition, and most were already on the Bay Area list released in November. They include Backyard (Forestville), Bravas (Healdsburg), Chalkboard (Healdsburg), Diavola (Geyserville), El Molino Central (Sonoma), Glen Ellen Star (Glen Ellen), Ramen Gaijin (Sebastopol) and Risibisi (Petaluma). In Napa, Ciccio, Cook St. Helena, Farmstead, Gran Electrica, Oenotri and Redd Wood were named. Shuttered restaurants SHED and Two Birds/One Stone (which transitioned to Roadhouse 29) were named in the 2019 Bay Area Guide. Grace’s Table also fell off the list.

To be considered, restaurants must “serve high-quality meals which include two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less,” according to Michelin inspectors. Michelin stars have a more vigorous rubric and are considered the pinnacle of culinary stardom. Most starred restaurants cost well over $100 per person. Statewide Michelin stars, which include the vibrant Los Angeles and Sacramento food scenes for the first time, will be released on June 3.

Stay tuned for more details…

See the full list of California winners.