Off Menu Can a Michelin star save a restaurant?

There is a flip side, however: “You’re just more scrutinized when you have a star.” People might go to Yelp to complain about undercooked pasta being a “misstep” or the room being a little too tight. “People all have their own idea what Michelin means,” Cole has observed. (And that idea is drastically changing as the Michelin guide, outside the U.S., has started awarding stars to taquerias in Mexico City and street vendors in Bangkok.)

However, there were a few new Michelin honorees, including teensy Sun Moon Studio (one star) in West Oakland and Enclos (two stars) in Sonoma. In SF, the biggest news was that Kiln in Hayes Valley, which opened in 2023, went from one star to two — a notable achievement. 

“We were floored,” said chef and co-owner John Wesley, who swears they weren’t trying to add a star. “I think we just refined what we were already doing and stopped overthinking things.” But even after getting its first star, Kiln suffered a “brutal, brutal, brutal” summer last year. Labor costs had to be kept in line, so a skeleton crew of five cooks has been preparing the 20 courses Kiln serves as part of its $285 set menu. Compared to other Michelin-starred restaurants, such as Quince, which has up to 18 cooks at one time, this is Bear-level scrappiness.

“No one is getting rich off Kiln, obviously,” said Wesley, who’s about as humble as they come (and better with his words than Carmy). “It’s always been about creative expression for me. We don’t have any real financial backing. We don’t have a publicist. It’s just us.”

So, how has the second star affected business a week in? “The morning after the awards, we had like 70 covers for July.” They haven’t opened up the books for August yet. “Getting two stars won’t change anything for us internally,” said Wesley. “We’re just going to keep doing what we do, and hopefully people will appreciate it. And if they don’t, that’s going to suck.”