The MICHELIN Guide California 2025 has spotlighted West Hollywood’s culinary scene, with Somni, a groundbreaking restaurant led by Chef Aitor Zabala, earning an impressive three-star rating in its debut. This accolade places Somni among the elite of Los Angeles dining, joining Providence in Hollywood as one of only two three-star establishments in the city, celebrating bold flavors and innovative cuisine.
What You Need to Know
- Somni in West Hollywood received three MICHELIN stars, marking its first entry into the guide at the highest level.
- Chef Aitor Zabala’s reimagined tasting menu blends Spanish influences with creative storytelling, earning praise for its “deeply personal” approach.
- The guide also awarded one star to Mori Nozomi and Restaurant Ki, while adding Komal and Rasarumah to the Bib Gourmand list.
- Somni’s journey reflects resilience, reopening after a pandemic closure with a transformed vision.
Located in the heart of West Hollywood, Somni stands out with its intimate 14-seat setup, offering a tasting journey that blurs the lines between chef and diner. Chef Zabala, inspired by Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli: El Sabor del Mediterráneo in 1997, has crafted a menu that merges high skill with personal narrative, using the finest ingredients to tell stories of love and challenge. Inspectors lauded its boundary-pushing creativity, noting, “Somni earned acclaim for its ‘deeply personal’ tasting journey built on Spanish influences and boundary-pushing creativity.”
Zabala’s path to this honor reflects resilience. Opening in 2018, Somni quickly gained two Michelin stars by 2019, only to close during the pandemic. “Sometimes, magic emerges unexpectedly,” Zabala reflects on his website. “We turned misfortune into an opportunity for transformation… a continuous laboratory of reassessment, leading to a renewed and elevated version of our project.” The new Somni, reopened after three years of introspection, invites diners into a world of culinary freedom, where “cooks are servers and servers are cooks,” fostering a sense of shared family.
This achievement comes as Los Angeles boasts two three-star restaurants (Somni, Providence), two new one-star spots (Mori Nozomi, Restaurant Ki), and over 26 Bib Gourmand eateries, including newcomers Komal and Rasarumah.
This article has been updated to correct an earlier reference to Somni as a 10-seat restaurant.
Don’t they know that West Hollywood demands its workers get paid too much (damn) money???
Somni can afford to pay.